So there I was, in the middle of a lovely spring day. I had spent the morning in Brooklyn, and had decided to walk back into town over Brooklyn Bridge. It had been a friendly morning, where I could even buy a coffee and have it on the square at Columbus Park. However, as I was walking on the bridge, it started to slightly rain. By the time I reached Manhattan, it was coming down hard. Finding myself in Chinatown, I decided to take temporary shelter in some of the shops over there. I had to think about the time, too, because I was supposed to meet a friend at Broadway around 42nd street in a little while.
When I entered one particular shop, I saw a basket with umbrellas for sale, one for $2. I was quite happy that I found a relatively cheap solution and felt a new sense of motivation to keep on walking; so I bought one, and found my way back into the rain.
Even though I was very satisfied with my new purchase, the pleasure wasn’t meant to last very long. By the time I had reached Houston and Washington Square Park, my fresh umbrella was already showing signs of decay you would normally expect after a year or two. The metal skeleton proved to be quite the opposite of sturdy, and was already starting to break down on multiple places. This definitely reduced the Umbrella’s ability to keep me from getting wet. But, what can you expect from a $2 product?
When I continued to walk up North on Broadway, the rain kept on pouring down. And my umbrella, in the mean time, had given up its capacity to protect me completely. Then, as I was walking past some of the other shops there, I saw another umbrella sale: $1! What perfect timing! So I chucked my old one, bought a “new” $1 umbrella, and kept on my way!
Then, as you can guess, by the time I reached 42nd street, this model, too, had given up. But, in the end I had only spent three dollars, I had had quite a pleasant and enjoyable walk up Broadway, and I made it on time!
