And You May Not Think That I Care for You

Lunch Box Meals of sauteed Asparagus, red bell pepper, purple onion, mushrooms over rice.  To add protein, I added boiled eggs.  For the most perfect boiled eggs, drop eggs into cold water and bring to a boil.  When rolling, turn off heat and wait 10 minutes before rinsing in cold water.  The yellow will be bright and no green ring!  

But on this day, I chose the baked enchiladas box with a side of cold iceberg, lime, avocado and onions to top after microwaving for lunch. 

I'm learning for these, what most are calling 'meal prep' boxes, you may need to have a second container to separate cold from the hot, like in this case.  For home I save all jars, small and large to reuse and to store.  For work lunches, small collapsible companion pouches are needed but for now, I used the dreaded plastic baggie.  

Knowing I had enchiladas in my backpack for lunch, I sped to work slightly less foreboding than normal.  As I was riding through the Cobble Hill area, I saw a man screaming as if his head was on fire.  He was double parked in the bike lane and his partner, stayed in the passenger's seat calmly.  I was going to just ride past but felt an empathetic pull to help with whatever was going on.  As I matter of fact, I believe he screamed, 'Stop him!'.  I quickly deduced his cat had fled the apartment whilst they were packing the car for a trip. I jumped off my bike and began to search underneath parked cars.  Another man walking his dog was also prompted to aide the search and soon the dog was corralling the spotted feline into garden apartment stairwells and fenced in front stoops.  The cat was very agile and whipped across the street and back a few times.  Now, a Mexican Grub Hub delivery biker joined the posse. In that moment, I was stunned and delighted that busy as he probably was, this man would stop and help, for a cat.  Brooklyn can be like this but it's always surprising when it is, because normally and more and more so, no one even acknowledges one another.  Finally, after a few attempts and strategic maneuvering by the delivery guy, the owner was able to grab the cat and get him safely inside.  

But the craziest part is that afterwards, instead of what you might think, we all would high five and have a laugh, share a moment, instead, nothing happened.  The man, only held his kitty tight and kissed and talked to him under his breathe as he went inside and closed the door.  If he thanked anyone, I didn't hear him.  His partner remained in the car, unbothered.  This was a presumably gay couple, the cat lover, a white nervous type, the passenger a black 30-something that looked to be a non-cat lover, which made me laugh inside and even harder afterwards realizing he never got out to help.  We, the helpers, just got back on our bikes, the guy with the dog started back on his path.  The other's who gathered, quickly dispersed. I tried to engage anyone but realized when the show was over, everyone went back inside their own heads, the place where most people seem to live these days. Later I thought how a little acknowledgement from all of us, to each other, could have made that so much more special.  It was a head shaking moment on a beautiful sunny, just after the rain morning.