NYT Metropolitan Diary
Dec. 21, 2025
Window Watching
Dear Diary:
I used to operate a small shop at the corner of Bleecker and Perry Streets in the West Village. We sold handmade glass, linens, pottery and cutlery. We had two big windows, and I spent a lot of time working on the displays.
One of my neighbors was an older woman who walked by with her dog every day. She would often stop and seem to be looking at the items on display very carefully. She never came in and never looked up to see me watching her.
After I had been there for about a year, she finally opened the door and stuck her head inside.
“Are you the same person who has been doing the window displays this whole time?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“You’ve gotten much better,” she said
— Peg Vance
Capture the Moment
Dear Diary:
My wife and I were leaving a well-known Italian restaurant after lunch on a beautiful October day.
As we stood on the sidewalk, a taxi screeched to a halt and two women jumped out. One appeared to be in her early 20s, the other in her mid-to-late 40s.
The older one thrust her phone into my face.
“Quick,” she said. “Take our picture. My daughter just told me she is going to have a baby!”
— Jay Finger
Good Opener
Dear Diary:
A man walks into a Lexington Avenue bodega. He is cradling a can of green beans, which he sets by the register.
“I need a can opener,” he says.
The man behind the counter gestures to a pegboard covered with kitchen gadgets.
The customer considers the options — a bare-bones metal model or something sturdier with a cushioned handle? — and chooses one.
As he approaches the counter to pay, he sees his can, its lid replaced by a taut square of plastic wrap secured with a rubber band. He nods in appreciation, returns the opener to its hook and carries the can carefully out the door.
— June Bell
= new reply since forum marked as read
I look forward to reading this every week. So glad that you picked up the torch.
I miss her too