I had just picked up a rental car and was driving up West End Avenue in Manhattan. I did this most weekends that particular summer as we had joined a beach club out at Atlantic Beach.
As I headed up West End, I could see a man trying desperately to hail a cab but with no success. He had a suitcase with him so I assumed he was heading out to the airport. As I got closer to the man and could make out his face, I quickly realized it was the singer Lou Reed. Just as I was driving past him, it occurred to me to offer him a lift to wherever he was going. Unfortunately, this thought hit me just seconds too late.
So I quickly made a series of right turns, all the while imagining the great conversation Lou and I would have as we drove out to Kennedy or LaGuardia or even Newark. As I made my fourth right turn back on to West End, I could feel my heart racing with excitement. Would this be the beginning of a great friendship? Or perhaps a fabulous story to tell people for years to come.
I headed back up to where Lou had been standing except…he wasn’t standing there anymore.
Did some other passing driver react more quickly than me? Or did he simply find a taxi?
Years later I still wonder, would Lou have accepted my invitation and gotten into the car? Or would he have thought I was just another New York City wacko?
I like to believe he would have gotten in.
