My plan is to wander and take photos. I'd like to see the sunrise at Coney Island or from Battery Park, but I do not think that I will do that today. I need to figure out the subway system schedule at sunrise.
I hear the Brooklyn pulse. I'm wondering if this is the fans in the heating and cooling systems in the vicinity. Tis not a romantic notion, but a practical one.
As I was waking, I dreamed about my last job. The dream was disjointed, but vaguely accurate as the remaining writer took the office of one laid off. The walls were gone and grass was scattered on the floor. For some reason, all of the writers were back and we were laughing and making snide comments.
Time to close and prepare for my wanderings.
Evening.
I have often thought about living a truly spartan lifestyle of one fork, one spoon, one plate, etc. and I am pretty close to that here. I finished my tomato, onion, garlic sauce with scrambled eggs and boiled potatoes. I like the combination better than I expected, but that could be due to the liberal salt. I eat, wash the dishes that I used, repeat.
I called B&H Photo today, but they were closed due to the Jewish Sabbath so I rode to Manhattan anyway with the vague thought that I would see a Finnish movie at the IFC Movie Theater at 1:20. It was only 9:30 so I had plenty of time to kill so I got off at 4th Street because famous people live in that area.
My plan was to walk north to Central Park, sit and rest, and return for the Finnish movie. Due to serendipity, the subway exit was just below the IFC Movie Theater. Lucky.
Halfway to Central Park, I stopped at a park near Herald Square to rest my legs. I logged several miles at that point and I wanted a break. I watched some homeless people loudly opine on anything and nothing juxtaposed against an Asian television crew. The anchor froze, but vamped in the brisk breeze. Her hair didn't move.
After rest, I walked northward to Central Park and I started to see people in costume, police barriers lined 6th Avenue. A parade! I pulled my camera from concealment and snapped photos for the next two hours. The International Immigration Association was sponsoring the parade for various cultures that are well represented in the New York City fabric.
The parade started at noontime so the participants warmed up gleefully to loud drumming and dance routines. Children played happily. Each culture had colors beyond belief and during the parade I stood near a British (I think) couple who marveled as I did at the parade.
The Chinese are making great inroads into Brooklyn and I marvelled that the Chinese contingent in the parade proudly bore American and Chinese flags. What a strange political combination to see symbols of democracy and communism converge in the streets of New York.
Mid-parade, I tired. I was hungry and my back was sore from standing. The Chinese section of the parade was nothing compared to the flamboyant and provocative Albanian and Bolivian contingent. I looked at my clock and decided to go to the Finnish movie. I took one last look and snickered to myself to think of what the Finns might do in their time during the International Immigration parade. I thought the Chinese were dull. The Finns would be a sleeping aid.
I took the subway to the movie, bought my ticket, and wandered into the theater. There were two others there. And then another and a fifth person and maybe a sixth. The movie was spare and depressing as the plot was revealed in quiet, clear scenes one after another. A socially misfit, loyal Finnish security guard was manipulated by an attractive woman who was the companion of an evil businessman. True love was portrayed in gut wrenching scenes only detected, perhaps, by Finns and American Finns like myself. I liked the movie.
Afterwards, I returned to Brooklyn, downloaded my photos, hijacked some Internet time, and did the honorable thing by buying Internet time at a local Internet cafe. I caught up with Internet-related stuff which was comforting and I chatted with Naomi. I couldn't upload my photos because I don't have a USB memory stick and I learned that I can securely browse in the cafe when the owner will reboot the machine that I am using.
I enjoyed the Internet cafe. There were maybe 30 to 40 teenage kids in there mostly huddled behind the glowing screens of the computers, playing online games. Next to me, some kids were attracted to the boy for some reason and one thing led to the other before they started making noise. The owner immediately stopped them by fair discipline. This warmed my heart, too, because there is a baby boom in Brooklyn. There's a great energy here.
Wouldn't that be crazy if Johnny's dream comes true that I'll fall in love, find a job, and raise a family in Brooklyn?
After I left the cafe, I returned to the apartment where I prepared food, said hi to the Chinese neighbors while I watered my meager garden and I noticed that something rooted around the garden and disturbed the seeds.
While I cooked food, I noticed eyes growing from the potatoes so I wonder if I should plant a potato patch next week.
My plan for tomorrow is to wake before sunrise and take the subway to Coney Island. Brooklyn bound and doing well.
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