Running in the park, I passed a slow bicycle-rickshaw and heard the driver say to the passengers:

“You see that kids’ playground there? It was donated by Robin Williams ? the slides and seesaws are made out of a special soft metal so that the kids won’t crack their heads. It really works.”

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I was on an airplane yesterday and was reading the NYR of Books, where the personals are always amusing (Masculin-Feminin) and mostly unrealistic. I like this one because of the kicker in the last few words, in boldface, that display an admirable lack of self-reflection.

GRACE, SUBSTANCE, and just the right amount of sparkle and good looks. Intriguing, passionate, bicultural?harmonious blend of New York and India. Accomplished, published, professional. Sensual self-deprecating charm, keen artistic sensibility. Avid jogger, ardent cook, slender figure, good dancer (performed in India/United States), can be technical klutz (fixing things…). Known for infectious smile, impish mischievousness, easygoing nature, generosity. Intellectual and feminine?loves creating warm, nourishing home, gravitates to Arts/Science New York Times sections, Faulkner, Jhumpa Lahiri, Alvin Ailey, theater, yoga. Admits to guilty pleasures?chocolate, wine, my flatscreen TV for DVDs. Would love to return to Paris or Grand Canyon with special man. Seeking educated, attractive, considerate guy, 50s?60s. In shape, passionate, warm, financially sound, liberal, able to see beyond himself.

You can see the original (and, if you are not too self-involved, the contact information) at Personal Ad.

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And I watched an old movie, La Notte, set in Italy in the early 60s. It made me wonder — how, after WW II, did the Italians manage to go so quickly from being part of the Axis enemy to the height of coolness? England didn?t become cool until the middle of the Swinging Sixties, Germany never got to be really cool, but by the mid Fifties Italy was exporting Vespas, Cappuccino, Espresso, Pizza and a general impression of knowing how live life with no-one regarding them as an old enemy.