A Buckeye in Brooklyn

January 14, 2009

I have arrived in my wonderful Park Slope neighborhood and am happy as can be...even though my arrival coincided with a dramatic plummet in temperature! It’s c-c-cold and windy, but I still walked and walked and walked my first day, getting the lay of the land and finding my pharmacy, my grocery stores, my UPS store, my yoga class options (wow--when someone told me “just turn left” when I inquired about yoga in Park Slope, they weren’t kidding!), where to buy my paper, my coffee beans, my Indian food, and my chocolate. Taking care of priorities.

Walking near the Gowanus Canel, I hit a stretch that was pretty desolate and bleak (the day was gray and bitter). I crossed a street and came across about twenty caskets all lined up on an icy sidewalk. That’s an image! (I had inadvertently stumbled upon the Brooklyn Casket Company).

Later, on Baltic, I had a nice “New York moment” with two strangers. A little backstory: I constantly angst about my hair. Specifically, whether to grow it out or keep it short. I have always fantasized about having long, lovely hair that I could put up or tie back and style in a variety of ways...but the reality is that I have fine, thin hair and the longer it is, the more stringy and limp it looks. I recently abandoned yet another attempt to grow it long, (and, of course, then immediately regretted cutting it...sigh...same old story). So, I’m strolling along on Baltic and I end up walking alongside two young men who are laughing and joking and having a great time. As I pass them, one says, “Short hair. Nice. That takes confidence.” I glanced back over my shoulder and smiled. He said, “For real. It looks good on you, lady.” I laughed and said, “Thanks. You made my day.”

He had no idea.