An elderly man at the next till says cheerfully to the cashier, “Hallo Fräulein. Wie geht’s dir? Do you know what I just said?” She giggles and says no, and that it sounded funny. He takes it in good stride. I turn to look at him and he is smiling, wearing a cardigan I actually would like to own myself.
Later, in the rain, another elderly man, this one in a trenchcoat, waves at a hot dog vendor. The vendor waves back enthusiastically and calls out, “How are you, Major?”
I see the German man at the side of the road, toes pointing out over the edge of the curb, ready to jaywalk. I follow in the path he clears.