That's What I THOUGHT You Said....

Of all days, I had to come in early yesterday (the yucky, ice-in-your-face-snow day) because a colleague of mine asked if I would help her out with an event at the Empire State Building. Every year about a dozen or so couples get married atop the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day. Most of couples have some sort of compelling story: cancer survivors, back from fighting in Iraq, father's dying wish, etc. It's a nice story, though, it really is.

I had helped her out previously at the Empire State Building Run-up and I guess she was so impressed, she asked for my help again. But I'm happy to do it. She's a nice woman and now I have someone to hit up when I need help with an event.

Anyhoo, it was about 8 AM and I am walking down 34th Street, wind and ice in my face, when a young woman approaches me with what looks like a small packet of something. I could see that the package had little subway dots on it but at that hour, I wasn't even mildly curious. I politely waved her away. It was cold, I needed my coffee, plus my head was so bundled up, I could hardly hear what she was hawking. It sounded as if she was saying "free condoms" or something like that. But, I said to myself, "Nah, too outlandish. Can't be. It's freakin' 19 degrees out, it's 8 AM on a workday, and the last thing I want to think about is getting nekkid, even for sex."

But sonofagun. I turned on the evening news later and that's exactly what it was! A FREE CONDOM! Because it's Valentine's Day, get it? And, Lord knows, that's the only day of the year that you have to worry about having unsafe sex, getting an STD and getting preggers.