TICK-TICK FOLLOWED BY THAT BUMP - I miss Brooklyn so much. I lived on the border of...

Aug
14th

Thu

I miss Brooklyn so much. I lived on the border of Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy (but of course told everybody I lived in Bed-Stuy), at the corner of Franklin and Madison. The sandwich guy at my bodega always knew what I wanted, and I knew the B25 and B26 bus routes like clockwork. I shopped at the dingy-ass Key Foods and an even dingier produce/weird Chinese condiments store a couple of blocks down. I bought white tees from one of those closet-like spaces in between buildings on Fulton St. I loved window shopping in Downtown Brooklyn, and at the Jimmy Jazz next to the A stop at Nostrand, and was constantly amazed at the creativity and colorways of the latest urbanwear. I bought a pair or two of sneakers from one of those places that shrinkwraps the display models. I paid my rent one month from a crazy eBay come-up on some Burton coats from some store that didn’t know what they had on their hands. I snuck in sushi and Snapple dinners and racked up rewards points on my MovieWatcher card at the Court St. Regal theatre. I wasted hours on Saturdays in the Barnes & Noble next door reading magazines that I’d never subscribe to. I walked aimlessly in the surrounding neighborhoods — Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carrol Gardens — and marveled at the cake it must take to reside there, thinking the whole while how I could pull it off. I mostly stayed away from Park Slope. I rode my bike a lot. I’d sometimes get up early on a Sunday to go get the Times and eat breakfast at the Greek diner near my old store in Fort Greene. I worked out at the Bed-Stuy YMCA for a few months, mainly before the renovation. When it was nice out, I took the A to Nostrand instead of the C to Franklin, just so I could walk by the playground on Bedford between Jefferson and Hancock, and see the West Indian cats playing soccer and kids riding bikes and teenagers playing ball. I knew all the best restaurants in Clinton Hill, and had eaten at about 3 of them. I ordered from Fulton Thai instead of Myrtle Thai, despite the latter being about 10 blocks and 5 minutes closer, and I tipped the delivery guy accordingly. I went to a festival in Fort Greene Park, and bought apple juice and cookies from the green market there on Saturday mornings. I met a few girls for a few drinks in a few Fort Greene bars. I saw Junior Reid kill it at Tompkins Park. Again, when it was nice out, and I ran the store in Fort Greene, I walked home down Fulton. I was friendly with the husband and wife who ran the laundromat. I always stopped and checked out the community gardens on all the side streets. I kept up with local real estate. I had a library card. I miss Brooklyn so much.

The Exchange.009 | No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn

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