At a street fair on Saturday, I spotted a pre-teen girl wearing a tiny t-shirt emblazoned with the words, “Tell your boyfriend I said thanks.”

Battery Park City had the feeling of San Francisco. The sun was almost clouded over, but it was warm, and the breeze was cool. Mist floated in off the Hudson. The manicured lawn was dotted with white bodies. A woman in a bikini threw a Frisbee to a guy in a white cap and khakis. [...]

At work, my computer had a virus, so I took a walk to the park to place a call to a hypnotist in the privacy of a totally public square. I was my hope that the hypnotist would cure me of a decades-long, disgusting compulsive habit. I dialed her number on the tiny keys of [...]

This morning, during my walk to work, someone yelled after me, “It’s Wednesday, it’s Wednesday! Who’s your Mama?!”