Tuesday in the Park With Me

Tonight I am posting from Brooklyn Bridge Park while enjoying a beautiful sunset over Lower Manhattan. I may have mentioned this before, but this park is one of my favorite hangouts in New York. It is situated between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges on the Brooklyn side of the East River, so it's right by downtown Brooklyn (in DUMBO). In addition to the great views and green grass, they also have free wi-fi access. What more does a modern urban park need?

I love to come down here and spread out on the grass for a nap. Sometimes I read. Sometimes I do both. Here you'll find a lot of pavement-pounding pedestrians just relaxing in bare feet on the lawn. Some people picnic. Others sun-bathe or exercise. There are always photographers, amateur and professional I'm sure, trying to find the perfect angle. Couples, families, friends, and people sitting alone are all spread out across the space. Earlier this evening there were young people with band instruments playing music down by the water. One day I ran across a man practicing his bass off the path behind some shrubbery.

The water traffic on the river and helicopters buzzing around overhead aren't what I typically think of when I think about parks, but they add to the atmosphere here on the Brooklyn waterfront.

Right now there's a man doing cross-legged push-ups and bouncing around like he's boxer. If you like to people-watch, this is a good location for it. The interaction between dogs, their masters and other random people who get caught in the mix is also a source of continual entertainment.

For being a "concrete jungle", New York City has some great green spaces. They invest a lot in these parks, and I think overall they do a quality job of maintaining them. I believe people need to get out and connect with nature. It is a blessing indeed.

Oh, look. A white cottony seed of some kind just floated in front of my face.

This is a good place to be tonight.

Of Faeries and Caffeine

So this morning at work I was serving a British woman who wasn't fully awake yet. Obviously that's quite common where I work. Customers and baristas alike often have trouble getting their thoughts and words in order, as most of them are still in need of their morning caffeine fix. After a conversation that was a bit confusing, I finally had this customer's drink order.

In response to the confusion of the exchange, I thought she said something about the ferry.

"I'm sorry?" I said, assuming she was talking about riding a ferry to the City, perhaps from Staten Island. The sentence didn't seem altogether sensible.

More clearly she stated, "I'm away with the faeries in the morning."

...Ummm, yeah. It must be a British thing.

But to be quite honest with you, any woman speaking with a British accent commands my attention, especially a beautiful British woman, so I would gladly listen to her talk about imaginary winged people over coffee anytime she wants.

THIRTINESS

July looms in front of me.

I will soon be thirty no longer. I really like being thirty. But in less than one week I will go from being "30" to being "in my thirties". In my mind there seems to be some distinction.

While I have my share of disappointments about my life and how I've used it, I am not all-together bothered by this new age. Maybe some. But I am also happy about how some things have gone. And getting older seems to lend some credibility to one, even if that is just in my mind and prideful. I always seem to be on the hunt for credibility and affirmation; often to a fault, I suppose....I know.

Thirty has been a very good year overall. I really like milestone years. Some people told me that 25 was a very difficult year for them. Personally, I found that 25 really agreed with me. In my mind, reaching the quarter-of-a-century mark was something to celebrate and a time to make positive changes and choices. 25 was a great year.

Back when I was a kid there was an award-winning television show called "thirtysomething" about a group of yuppy baby-boomers in Philadelphia. The characters were (obviously) in their thirties. But as I recall, those people had careers and mortgages and marriages and children....things which do not define my decade of thirtiness so far. And sometimes I look at pictures like the one above and think, "Is that what thirty-something people look like? And do I fit the bill? Hmmm."

Thirtiness.

I think I just coined that word. I like it.

QT, NYP and GG

Okay, so I know that in a former post I questioned whether I would write anymore about celebrities coming into the store, but I've had a couple of experiences I want to share.

First of all, Quentin Tarantino came into our store a couple of times today. If you're not familiar with this writer-director-actor, just know that his films are famous for containing "stylized violence". His work is certainly not for everyone, but I confess that Pulp Fiction is one of my guilty pleasures. "Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead." Here's a short video clip I found that is not from a Q.T. film, but it cracked me up and may give you a feel for how his work is perceived:

I enjoyed having Mr. Tarantino in the store today. He was a very nice customer, despite the fact that his drink was delayed because no one wrote it down. He was waiting by the bar and when I asked him what drink he was waiting for, he was very polite and waited patiently while I made it for him. I would be glad to have him as a customer anytime. If you'd like to see an actual video of him, click here for a clip I found of him coming out of a SB store that's not in New York City.

And even though I am telling you where I saw him, I am not going to tell you what he had to drink. The man needs some privacy.

The second celebrity-related item I wanted to share with you is that two drinks I sold recently made it into the New York Post (which, in my opinion, is mostly just a big celebrity gossip paper). I was flipping through the Post during a break and saw a picture of one of our fairly regular customers and her daughter and I thought, "Huh, that looks like what they were wearing the other day. And those are the two drinks I sold them." Not that big of a deal, but I thought it was fun to see. Here's the clipping (edited for her daughter's privacy):

Oh, and one last thing. I'm about 85% sure that last week Gilbert Gottfried and I were walking across a street on the Lower East Side at the same time. Completely random celebrity sighting...and of all celebrities...well, it just made me laugh. My brother Jerry said that I would have known for sure it was him if I could have heard him say just one thing. I think Jerry is right. Remember the voice of the parrot Iago from Disney's Aladdin?

I read that Mr. Gottfried was born in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn rocks.

The Red Door Theatre Company

Tonight I went to midtown to see the play "Proof". I really enjoyed the play, although I almost missed seeing it. I didn't buy a ticket in advance so I was put on the waiting list. Note to self: always check into pre-purchasing tickets. I was the last person to get in.

The Red Door Theatre Company, which my friend Kyleen works for, produced the show. The actors did a great job performing this Pulitzer Prize winning play. Afterwards I hung out and visited with Kyleen and a few others while things were torn down (it was the show's last night). I was reminded of my high school stagecraft class, which I enjoyed being a part of way-back-when (you know, in the mid-90's).

I volunteered to help them with their next production (they are a non-profit organization). This was a great opportunity to meet some new people, be exposed to the theatre community a bit and watch a good live performance.

It's a good thing for me that a woman was running late and missed the show (though bad for her). Otherwise I would have missed out on a very good experience.

A Day at the Lake

Greg, Jolene, Melinda, Peter, Amy and I took the New Jersey Transit to Tuxedo, New York this morning, then hiked three miles on small mountains (or hills?) to a lake, which had a rope swing that Greg and Jolene discovered last year during a three-day excursion into the wilderness. Prepping myself to jump or swing in the first few times reminded me of jumping off of 15- and 30-foot bluffs on the Current River in Missouri...only this was much lower.

We spent almost all afternoon there. It was a beautiful day in beautiful country. The trees on the hike were tall, grass and ferns covered the ground beneath them, and we passed wetlands and walked through tall flowered bushes as we made our way to the lake. On our hike out we saw many chipmunks and a few deer as well. This was my first official trip "upstate" since my move here and I couldn't have been more pleased with the experience.

I enjoy living in a place where train travel is normal. We took the subway to Penn Station, then a short train ride to the Secaucus transfer, followed by another 30 to 45 minute train ride up to Tuxedo. The train makes stops at small, picturesque depots with outdoor platforms as it passes through small towns in New Jersey and New York state. All one has to do as a passenger is find a seat and wait for one's stop. It's convenient and easy. Tuxedo was one of those small towns with a deli and convenience store across from the depot, a post office next door and a tavern/restaurant down the street. We enjoyed cold drinks and french fries there as we waited for our train to arrive. The train fare was only $16 roundtrip and we were home right before dark.

Here's one last video of Greg...

The End of Good Things? (or There Goes the Neighborhood)

Do you ever feel like you always seem to just catch the tail-end of good things? I think I’ve always felt that way a little. Like when there’s a group of single people living in the same city who always take trips together and play pranks on one another and hang out all the time…then you move to that town and start hanging out with that crowd, just as they all seem to be getting married or changing jobs or moving and going their separate ways. Or perhaps you start a new job and really enjoy your co-workers, and then they begin to transfer away from you or leave the company and the dynamics become very different. Or your parents and aunts and uncles tell you that you can play Uno with them when you're a teenager, but after you and your cousins become teenagers, the adults stop playing Uno.

That’s how I’m feeling tonight about Red Hook, Brooklyn.

I had heard of Red Hook, but all I knew was that you have to take a bus to get into the neighborhood (this was pre-bike) and they have an affordable supermarket that carries organic food. This evening I ventured into Red Hook to listen to the group KaiserCartel play at Baked, which is, as the name suggests, a bakery and coffee shop. I first heard of this group through my friend Sue’s blog and I really liked the video I saw and their music was very pleasant, and this was my one chance to catch them live before they go on tour this summer. First I will say that I really enjoyed the coffee at Baked. And the lemon tart was delicious. I could taste the influence of granola in the crust.

Here's a quote I found from JoesPub.com about KaiserCartel: "Eclectic, infectious music" are the words Benjamin Cartel uses to describe KaiserCartel’s low-tech, song-driven style. "We want people to feel like a fly on the wall in our living room." says Courtney Kaiser. KaiserCartel’s earthy blend of folk-rock and pop will make you laugh, cry, sing along, and want to hold hands with the stranger next to you. Warm up by the fire with KaiserCartel.

The venue was small, but very fine. Courtney Kaiser has a gorgeous voice, and Benjamin Cartel’s voice is excellent as well, and the two blend together beautifully. They didn’t use any sound equipment at Baked, and they didn’t need to. The instruments they use in their tunes include guitar, percussion, xylophone and I believe a milk frother, among others. Listening to their music, you might not realize there are just two musicians playing. It sounds like more, so it’s fun to watch them create their songs live.

Their whole style is unique and warm. They seemed to have many friends at the show tonight, who also brought along children, and it was nice to see them enthusiastically greet one another and kindly interact. There was a warmth between Courtney and Benjamin, as well. During the last song, a lovely mellow tune, they began walking around the coffee shop, Courtney singing and Benjamin playing guitar, and beginning with a little baby in the audience, Courtney looked at each one of the audience members as she sang. I felt like there was love in the room and it was good. After the concert I spoke to them briefly while purchasing a CD, and they were kind and took time to speak with me and others. I highly recommend you check out their music and see what you think. The video posted above is very creative and one of the best music videos I've seen.

So back to Red Hook… Kaiser and Cartel reside in Red Hook and I had the impression that perhaps many of the audience members were residents of the neighborhood, as well. Maybe that’s part of the reason the interaction of people at the concert was so pleasant. The area had little shops here and there. It seemed fairly quiet and off the beaten path, without huge buildings or bustling traffic. I really liked the feel of it.

During the concert, both of the musicians wore black armbands labeled “Red Hook” because they were in mourning. You see, Ikea opened a store in Red Hook this week, about half-a-mile from Baked, and it seems inevitable that things will change (or have already begun changing) somehow in Red Hook. Ikea is a very large home furnishings store from Europe with trendy styles at affordable prices. The store is huge and you have to wind your way through two floors of maze-like displays and merchandising to get through to the exit. Surprisingly, the nearest Ikea before Red Hook was either in Jersey or on Long Island. This is the first to open that is actually in New York City.

I confess that I do like some of what Ikea has to offer, but it is a little saddening to see a monstrous building like that go into a neighborhood like Red Hook. Part of the sadness of this lies in the fact that new development and most likely other large corporate stores will begin growing in the area. I want to get to know Red Hook as it is. It seems inevitable that gentrification (which, in general, I have mixed feelings about) will occur. The MTA has even adjusted the bus route to go past Ikea. I don't know all of the specifics of what has happened, is happening or what will happen, but I am sharing what understanding I have.

Perhaps the changes to Red Hook won’t be drastic. Perhaps much of the neighborhood will remain unchanged and undisturbed. Perhaps. I certainly hope that is the case. After all, I just discovered the neighborhood, and I don't just want to catch the tail-end of a good thing.