IrvingD

Trinity Church has occupied Wall Street for 315 years. A witness to old New York and a not too small contributor to the life and growth of the city and nation, this church received its charter from the British Crown and became a cornerstone of American independence. It has coexisted, colluded, and collided with the financial powers on Wall Street and lower Broadway. It preceded those institutions and, I suspect, it will outlast them. Not because of its history, which is understandably prestigious. And not at all because of Trinity's own financial and real estate holdings. But because of its spiritual legacy and vitality. I am not a member of Trinity, nor can I remember when I last attended a service there; but I did drop in on Veteran's Day after visiting the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park. On that crisp Fall day off from work, I decided to see for myself what was going on. A couple weeks earlier, my wife went and had some engaging conversations with people ther...

Yesterday I had to bring a stool sample of our pet cat to her vet's office. For fifty dollars, I dropped off the specimen while a vet technician delivered an Italian greyhound to its owner. The dog howled in pain as the owner and tech tried to lower her into the carrier. It had just gotten spayed and the wound was still fresh with sutures and the tenderness of post-op. Looking sympathetically at the pooch that couldn't sit down, much less crouch, in the pet carrier, I instinctively asked the owner if she drove a car to the vet. The owner, a young woman, said that she planned to take the dog home by subway. Pointing to my parked car out in front of the Animal Clinic of Long Island City, I offered to drive her and Stella, her pup, home. Immediately conscious of the awkwardness of the offer, I said something about my daughter being proud of my offer. The young woman paid her account and carried Stella to my car. Her home was only about six blocks away, but she and the dog-no doubt...