Part of a NYC day

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Ever heard of a chick-a-pea?

Yup, she said it several times too. I didn't have the heart to correct her, cause it was soooo good. This was at bistro I frequent for their healthy food. There was a woman at the communal table who was very nice, not a native English speaker (something I'm thoroughly sympathetic with), along with being not quite sure about the currency here (yeah, memories of how I was a beauty with the drachma in Greece).
Anyhow, the lady ordered lentil salad, and said she didn't like the round things in one she had at another of their restaurants. The waitress was at a loss. It became obvious what was meant quite soon. The chickpeas were moved neatly to one side of the plate. Waitress carefully taught the lady how to name the object of her Yuk: chick-a-peas. That's how she pronounced it. I kept on thinking of chickadees, which would have been even funnier.

The next event of this crazy day.... Let me say first that I was Not injured.
I was minding my own business walking uptown on Broadway. A lady (5'6" or 7", maybe 140 lbs, 30s.) tripped with the grace of a cow in labor, as she was starting to pass me.
I often swing my arms a bit when walking, not too much. Feels good and gives me some space. Well, she got a grip on my right forearm. We both hit the pavement. Hers was a forward fall (all over the place), mine on the side and rolling upon impact. Thinking about it after the fact, I tried to help her at first, couldn't, and then her grip broke. I'm fine, and she was too, though she would have done better to relax and let go, rather than fight it. Apologized for taking me down too. I was good natured about it. Though I wondered if there was any minimum size human she would not have grabbed. Yeesh.

Next.
At a bus stop in Queens, driver pulled away, not seeing someone approaching. Isn't as if the guy was right at the door. He was a good looking white fellow in his 30s, dressed in nice casual clothes; he took a whack at a bus window as driver was pulling out. Now, a special moment.

The driver stopped and opened the door. Apologized to the man and said he didn't see him, which was so. Driver was medium sized, husky, even tempered black guy, very self-possessed. He looked ordinary, but ya know, this was a special person in this world. The window whacker calmed. I could see that he had taken all he could that day, and was appreciative though couldn't manage a smile. I wonder what had happened. When I got off the bus, I told the driver he had done a good job ridding the world of some rage, and that I appreciated it. He smiled happily, without a swelled ego.

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