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Weekends are the province of the errand, the little voyages we take to pick up things and get things done. Contrast the errand with the chore: Chores are domestic obligations, performed at home. The errand is an excursion with a purpose. In Old English, an “aerend” was a message or mission; an angel was an aerendgast, or messenger-ghost, divinely sent to perform a sacred duty.
Running errands is satisfying in a way so much else in our lives isn’t. We wander out into the world with a map to follow — stop here to drop off the dry cleaning, now, to replace the watch battery, to the supermarket, the pet food store — and when we complete the route, our work is done. The metrics for success are clear and achievable.
Each episode of the social-media show “Errands” accompanies someone on their angel’s mission. My colleague Alex Vadukul recently tagged along with the show’s creator, Noah Blau, as he filmed an episode featuring the comedian Ivy Wolk, on a mission to buy an air-conditioner window unit and install it in her apartment. Wolk distilled why a show so apparently mundane has become popular. “Beauty is found in the minutiae, and the things that are banal are often the most interesting,” she said. “It’s those in-between moments of life where growth and realization happen.”
The genius of “Errands” (I watched every episode in one feverish gulp) is how it provides a window into the personalities and preoccupations of its subjects. A stranger appears and announces today’s errand. Then we’re privy to their internal monologues as they carry out the mission, the serendipitous run-ins and pit stops they make along the way. The episodes are just a couple of minutes long and waste no time on introductions or establishing scenes. We’re passengers for typically private expeditions, instantly thrust into someone’s personal life. Even when his subjects don’t accomplish the errand, Blau told Alex, the concept still works. “The show is about: I set out to do something, and did I accomplish it? So as mundane as the errand might be, everyone understands that feeling.”
When visiting friends, it’s a treat to see the highlights of their hometown, but I always find it more interesting to run errands with them, to see how they live when I’m not around. What do they listen to in the car, what’s their hardware store like, who do they run into in the produce aisle? Other people’s errands are revealing of their actual day-to-day lives, not the performed existence — our best restaurant! — that gets presented for company.
You might, if you’re running your own errands today, enlist someone to join you. In a recent piece in The Times, experts told my colleague Dana G. Smith that running errands with a friend might help increase longevity. “The reality of midlife is that it can be hard to carve out time for yourself,” Dana writes, “let alone coordinate schedules with another busy friend.” Regardless of which stage of life you’re in, why not make your first stop picking up a friend you haven’t caught up with in a while?
On the other hand, I have a friend who loves errands because they’re “excuses to not be with other people,” a rare break from family duties. She praises the “soft-touch socialization” you get while out and about: the salesperson you chat with before going on your way, the neighbor you catch up with when you run into them at the dump. I cherish the connective tissue of errands, when you’re between stops, driving or walking. Bursts of activity followed by respites of solitude, each stop its own tidy episode.
Errands get us out of our own homes and out into the world. It’s tempting to hibernate on weekends, to stay in and recharge. But the errand allows us to, as Virginia Woolf wrote, “become part of that vast republican army of anonymous trampers, whose society is so agreeable after the solitude of one’s own room.”
Trump Administration
The Reflecting Pool earlier this week.Credit...Andrew Leyden for The New York Times
- Federal prosecutors said they would drop charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the renovated Reflecting Pool in Washington. And they acknowledged that contractors hired by the Trump administration had “botched” the job.
- President Trump’s Board of Peace released a 15-point plan detailing the deal to disarm Hamas. But it remains unclear whether Hamas and Israel will carry out the agreement.
- Trump, without offering evidence, blamed Minnesota and its Democratic governor for the recent cyberattack on municipal water systems in the state. U.S. officials have said Iran was likely behind the attack.
More Politics
- Republicans in Congress have quietly blocked an expansion of military health coverage for in vitro fertilization treatment.
- The State Department will issue thousands of additional commemorative passports featuring Trump’s portrait.
Around the World
Credit...Abdel Majid Bziouat/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
- Tens of thousands of migrants rushed into the small Spanish territory of Ceuta from Morocco. **Spain’s** pro-immigration prime minister mobilized the military to respond, and by night most of the migrants had left.
- Trump backtracked on his promise to let **Ukraine** make Patriot missiles, which he had announced earlier this month.
- **FIFA** scrapped its plan to allow private investment in the World Cup, after soccer federations around the world criticized the move.
- **Mexico’s** premier public university will require all students who passed its entrance exam to retake the test, after an investigation suggested that there was widespread cheating.
Other Big Stories
- Law enforcement officials in Arizona released two ransom notes addressed to Savannah Guthrie in the days after her mother, Nancy, vanished. The first demanded millions of dollars; the second said that Nancy had died.
- The head of the U.S. Coast Guard promised “decisive action” to prevent, recognize and treat the brain injuries suffered by crews slamming through rough seas. (Read the Times investigation that prompted the change.)
- Plug-in solar power systems, smaller and cheaper than their rooftop counterparts, are becoming popular as more states legalize their use.
- Forecasters expect blistering heat across the western United States this weekend. Temperatures could rise to 105 in Salt Lake City, 115 in Las Vegas and 117 in Palm Springs.
### **THE WEEK IN CULTURE**
Film and TV
Tom Holland in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”Credit...Sony Pictures via AP
- “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is smaller and more intimate than its predecessors. (And it’s unfortunately not as fun, our critic writes. Read her review.)
- “Game of Thrones” is getting a stage adaptation at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
Music
- Ariana Grande’s new album, “Petal,” finds her dissatisfied with fame, but offers few details on exactly why. Read the review.
- Boy George’s manager pulled him from a production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” after the singer’s pro-Israel reggae song about Oct. 7 drew criticism.
- What’s the song of the summer? Our critics examined eight of the top contenders. Listen to their conversation on “Popcast.”
More Culture
- Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of monumental designs carved into the Amazon rainforest.
- At the Guggenheim Museum, a new survey of Pop Art asks: What exactly did the movement give us?
- Bam! Just like that, a new generation has fallen in love with vintage clips of Emeril Lagasse.
### **RECIPE OF THE WEEK**
Credit...Joseph De Leo for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
## Fruit Crumble
Burbling with sweet, syrupy juices and topped with a nutty, chai spice-flavored streusel (that happens to be gluten-free), Genevieve Ko’s fruit crumble can be made with any fresh fruit you have in abundance: summer’s berries and stone fruit, or fall’s apples and pears. Or feel free to use frozen berries all year long. It’s a lovely, crowd-pleasing dessert no matter when you bake it.
### **REAL ESTATE**
Juan Diego Devia and Hayley Milam Devia.Credit...Scott McIntyre for The New York Times
**The Hunt:** After their rent ballooned, a young couple searched some of Miami’s walkable neighborhoods for a single-family house or townhome where they could start a family. What did they choose? Play our game.
**What you get for $1 million in Costa Rica:** A Bali-inspired villa with expansive sea views, a four-bedroom overlooking the Pacific Ocean and a contemporary home in the rainforest canopy.
**Pick your favorite:** These homes in Oregon City, Ore., St. Louis and Birmingham, Ala., are on the market for $575,000. Which would you choose?
### **LIVING**
**Scan here:** More couples are incorporating QR codes into their weddings to make it easier for guests to R.S.V.P., find seat assignments and share photos and videos.
**The wet look:** Hairstylists give tips on how to wear the style, which plays well across a range of lengths and textures.
### **ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER**
## It’s time to give up on the nonstick pan
You might want to consider quitting nonstick pans altogether. Traditional nonstick pans are slick and easy to clean, but are coated with PFAS — also known as forever chemicals — which have been linked to a host of environmental and health concerns. (We have some tips for how to limit your exposure to PFAS.) And ceramic nonstick pans, which have cropped up as a “clean” alternative to traditional nonstick, lose their slickness quickly and are relatively expensive. Both types of nonstick pans will need to be discarded eventually. We recommend durable cookware made from stainless steel, cast iron or carbon steel, which don’t rely on forever chemicals and should last for life. _— Mace Dent Johnson_
### **NOW TIME TO PLAY**
Melissa Kirsch hosts The Good List, a weekly newsletter of things, big and small, to add joy and meaning to life, and writes The Morning newsletter on Saturdays.
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