Metropolitan Life submission
After returning from a month at the beach during our recent heatwave, I exit the subway at my stop. I tell myself I can manage my duffle on wheels and two shopping bags. I’ve done it for decades. Climbing the stairs, I drop the duffel on the landing and lug the two bags up to the street. I am about to go back for the rest of my gear when a guy hollers “this yours?” I say yes. He picks up my duffle and says “I got you. But hey, you older than me. You shouldn’t be doing like this. Especially in this weather.” He plops my bag down next to me and I thank him as he walks across Seventh Avenue slowly shaking his head in disbelief.