#sol22 March 25 Perhaps I Stood Next to Ron Howard

 

I was late when I finally left the building as a couple of students wanted to talk after class. It was raining a steady rain that required an umbrella or in my case, a jacket hood pulled tight. It was the kind of dark you find when the clouds shroud any possible light from the moon and obscure even the signs that fill the city streets. 

Midtown Manhattan is a busy place, even at 10 PM, as people return from late dinners or shopping. I've had run-ins, in the past with scooters and bikes and Segways, so I was cautious and careful as I made my way onto the sidewalk. There were a lot of people waiting for the light to turn and I wondered if the theater had just gotten out. 

The wind seemed to be blowing the rain straight into our faces and I huddled under my hood to avert the rain from my glasses. Others seemed to be shivering under much too thin jackets as the storm seemed to intensify as we waited.

This night, under an umbrella, wearing a worn baseball cap, donning a scruffy gray beard, and standing right next to me waiting for the light to turn, I think I saw Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) although at that moment, all I could think of was the theme song for Happy Days! I remembered his name as we parted ways without saying a word, as people do in the big city even when it is not raining and not so dark.