The town offers a clear divide between those affiliated with the University and those who aren’t. It is easy to spot who is who. T-shirts and other items with the name printed boldly notwithstanding.

A few blocks from the gothic architecture, Apple store, and J. Crew, I walk by pawn shops, liquor stores, car repairs, braiding hair salons and the Family Dollar. I am looking for a hotpot.

“I hate to send you elsewhere, but we don’t have any, just those large crockpots and that’ll do you no good. No, you need to go over to Stop n Shop is where you need to go,” the manager said.
“I’ll have to come back to buy something else then.”
“That’s what I want to hear.”

Outside Stop n Shop a young woman wore eyeshadow, tiara, white ruffled cocktail dress and a sash. She was standing behind a table with a jar.
“I am Miss New Haven and I am here to raise money for children in the hospitals so they can have quick cures.”
“Quick cures?”
“Yes, as Miss Teen New Haven, I am raising money so sick children can have quick cures.”
I put a few dollars in the jar.

Stop n Shop had no hotpots. I crossed the street to a CVS.

In the aisle I sneezed once, and sneezed again.
“Two sneezes is enough for anyone.”
A small older woman without pause continued.
“My daughter doesn’t like cats, but my grandson adores them. So I keep the cat at my place and he comes over to play with it. I’m not much of a cat lover. But my grandson he adores that cat.” She continued on about her family a little while longer.

A young worker brought me to a shelf. “If we had any hotpots, they would be right here. They were right here a few days ago. We must have sold them all.” I looked three inches over to the left:hotpots.

“Here they are.”

“Oh, we must have moved them.”

Bringing the hotpot to the register I noticed a five-dollar bill fall from the pocket of the same older woman. She accepted it only after I insisted it was hers.

I walked a few blocks back to the world at Yale.