An Angel

Once in a while one comes across an angel. This angel did not drop out from the sky nor walk on water, but rather strolls on cement. Let me explain.

This past summer I noticed someone every so often walking around the UES that was picking up papers and garbage off of the street and sidewalk. He was outfitted with gloves, a large folding shopping cart with a white plastic liner in it and a litter pick-up stick. I eventually struck up a conversation the next time I saw him and gave thanks for helping clean up the area along the street and sidewalk.

Today I noticed him and asked if he would not mind if I wrote about performing this beautiful deed? He requested that he wanted to stay anonymous. Eventually I learned a little about him. I would strike up a conversation and also acknowledged the fact that what he was doing was a beautiful thing.

He goes out every day which keeps him physically active and said that there is a positive result to what he was doing; he was giving back to our community. College-educated, humble and also humorous, he told me that he did this just for the joy of it.

I wanted to mention him in your paper, because he does this every day. Having a fine human being such as this makes our city just a bit brighter and cleaner. I find him to be our angel of the UES.

Patricia C. Bischof is the author of “Memoir of a 2G: Story of Secrecy and Resilience.”