Sameer Puri is a Techno-Geek

Peter Gardell

13 years ago

I was walking on 6th Ave. in New York on my way to meet some people, and a very tall, well-dressed tourist cut me off while I was crossing the street. Luckily for me before I yelled, "Go to hell, you stupid tourist!" I realized it was the world-famous Dr. Sameer Puri.

It's always fun seeing my friend, but I could see that his attention was not with the conversation; he was eying something else.

In my hand, I had a bag from B&H Photo, and he spotted it. I could have been giving out the winning lotto numbers and he wouldn't have heard me.

He just said, "Is B&H near here?"
I said, "Sure, it's just a few blocks away. You want to go?"
"Definitely!"

We walked a few blocks - of course, I should say I walked, Sam was pretty much running and hip-checking anyone in his way. I tried to point out the landmarks of NYC. MSG, Empire State Building; Penn Station; he really wasn't interested. I tried to show him some old-school 42nd street shops, and he only wanted to see B&H.

We finally got to the place, a wonderful l oasis of technology. For those who haven't experienced B&H, it truly is a unique experience. Dr. Puri's eyes were like my 6-year-old's on Christmas morning, the size of pie plates. After a short visit, Dr. Puri had a satisfied look on his face. He had been to his Shangri-La; he was at peace. We left with the satisfaction that there was another satisfied tourist visiting NYC.

And to top it off, we got a phone call from our President, thanking us for stimulating our economy.