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| The view from my host stand |
The most challenging (or, at least, different) job I’ve ever had just ended. I was a host at an outdoor restaurant in Bryant Park Winter Village. I worked in freezing temperatures, rain and snow, and now that it’s over, I’m sad. Not just for the loss of income and routine (although both those things are true), but something more ineffable. In many ways, it was a revelation. When you observe and deal with people for 6-7 hours a day, you learn a few things.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
I dealt with people from all over the country and all over the world. Most of them were polite and grateful for the smallest act of kindness. (Fortunately, politics never came up. I did have one customer with a Trump hat, but I didn’t say anything.)
Here’s another thing I learned: I love kids. (And, it should go without saying, dogs.)
Whenever I saw a family with a baby, toddler or small child, my heart just exploded with paternal love. I thought, Is there any love greater than that of a parent for a child?
There’s a scene at the end of Marty Supreme when Timothée Chalemet’s character bursts into tears when he’s shown his newborn baby and I thought, Of course! The enormity of that moment must be overwhelming!
I’m not saying I’d actually want to raise a child to the age of 18. That must be the most difficult job in the world. But it must also be the most gratifying.
I also want to give a shout out to the deli owner who brightened my day every morning I ordered my coffee and bagel with a schmear. These are the kinds of people who make New York City great!
My original intention in writing this was to write a positive, uplifting piece after what I think we can all agree was one of the most horrendous years any of us have experienced, and I hope I’ve accomplished that. (I could write a whole other piece on the first year of Trump 2.0, but that would take an entire book!)
People have been railing against the commercialism of Christmas at least since Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and I have a bit about Christmas that I do in my stand-up act.
Yet this was the first year I actually experienced the Christmas spirit!
But don’t think I’ve gone soft. After all, they start advertising for Valentine’s Day on December 26.
