Chan & I went out for a walk on this nice fall night. I wanted ice cream, because, for October 18th anyway, it was warm. We went into one of these ice cream places that also sells toys, candy, and stuffed animals(?). I got the cookies 'n' cream on a sugar cone. Then Chan stepped up and placed his order, as I moved toward the front of the place, noticing that most of the candy was described as "suger-free." I thought (all right, I didn't think of it until now), I wonder if they do this on purpose: "Well, yeah, of course there's sugar. But definitely no suger."

The only other people in the store were a high school-aged couple. Maybe college freshmen. I'm at that age where I don't know how old anybody is anymore. Almost everyone I pass on the sidewalk in the city could easliy be exactly twenty-three.

In classic Chan style, Chan suddenly blurts out "You got a quarter," even though I'm a mile away from him. I say, "maybe," and start walking toward him, as I reach into my pocket. The man/boy, the one with his girlfriend, being much closer to Chan than I was, offers to help.

Chan says, "No, that's okay."

But man/boy insists, points to me and says to Chan, "'Cause I like his hat."

Suddenly this guy was my hero. "Take the Red Sox quarter, Chan."

Chan, the casual yankee fan, was forced to take it. He thanked the guy half-heartedly--and I thanked him whole-heartedly.