It's Thursday!

A friend of mine, who has worked in Manhattan since he was a mere barefoot boy with cheek of tan, running about from client to client, told us about a day he was happening along a busy thoroughfare when he saw a cardboard box on the sidewalk. As he drew near, a homeless gentleman popped out of the box and proclaimed, "It's Thursday!"

Now, you may have some questions, as we did:

1) Was it indeed Thursday? (It was.)

2) Was this some kind of calendar service he provided in hopes of getting spare change? (It did not appear so.)

3) Were there seven boxes along the sidewalk, each with its own friendly indigent, ready to proclaim the day of the week on his appointed day? (There were not.)

4) Did our jack-in-the-box seem happy, like he was glad the weekend was coming and he could take a break from his busy schedule? (That would be pure supposition.) 

5) Was it my friend's appearance on that street that prompted the declaration of the day, as if the man were lying in wait for such a thing? 

(No, there were many pedestrians going to and fro.)

6) Did my friend know that it was Thursday, or was this angel-in-a-box sent to remind him of a crucial appointment by telling him the day? (He did know, and it was no help.)

7) After the proclamation, did the man stay out and wait for applause, slink back in his box, or what? (My friend sped up his pace and does not know.)

So many questions, and yet the answers fail to satisfy.

That was decades ago, and probably every Thursday morning since I have greeted the day in my own mind by thinking, or saying aloud, or telling the dogs, "It's Thursday!" 

I sometimes think too of the strange man whose message of the day impressed even those of us who never had the chance to see him. I hope he got free from whatever problems put him in that box, and retired somewhere for quiet contemplation, thinking of the Fourth Day in Genesis, where God separated the Light from the Darkness. Or just looking forward to the weekend.