Morphing into a Brooklynite

Pretty soon I'll just be a normal Brooklynite.  I'm already calculating whether to wait for transit or just say, "Forget about it - I'm walking!".  Today I walked 1.8 miles, climbed seven flights of stairs and rode on three different subway lines to get from my house to Lincoln Center. 

It's really hot and humid here.  After all it's a wet heat.  That's opposed to the 'dry heat' of the desert.  I had to laugh.  Today, the temp was 81 at 7pm.  A balmy evening in Arizona.  However, in Brooklyn the wet heat factor kicked in, and the 'real feel' temp was 86 with about 70% humidity - certainly edging out of balmy.  For those of you who don't know, 'dry heat' refers to the real feel of the temperature in the desert.  With 10% (or less) humidity a temperature of 108 has a 'real feel' of 100. 

I'm still sweating buckets here.  And believe me, after so much time in dryer air, I don't 'glow'; I sweat.  The highest summer heat hasn't even arrived yet!  Forget makeup.  One of my smartest buys was the dozen paper fans I bought from Oriental Trading Company.  It's really helpful all the buses and subway cars are heavily air conditioned.  It's just walking to them or waiting for them that's so hot.  I was in a subway car yesterday so frigid it was deja vu - back to a Houston shopping mall.  The sanctuary of the church I'm attending is NOT air conditioned.  In 1890, that technology didn't exist.  With the interior space of the sanctuary domed, I'm not even sure how you could retro fit it.  So, church is starting a hour earlier tomorrow to compensate for the summer heat.

I still talk to too many people.  The neighborhood is just full of people I want to get to know.  I was chitchatting with our concierge weekend relief person, and it turns out her young son is in the Air Force.  He's stationed at Corpus Christi.  Being a New Yorker, he doesn't have a driver's license.  He was complaining to his mother that he was the only person walking on the streets.  We both agreed he's going to have to cave and get not only a license but also a car. 

There's also a guy who wears a different hat every time I see him.  He parks a vintage black Cadillac on our block, and whenever I see him, he's always standing beside it.  First, we inclined heads.  Now, we're speaking.  I'm just hoping he's not the neighborhood drug dealer.  He's always sort of hanging around.  However, I've never seen him doing any 'business', so I'm probably just being paranoid.  More likely, he's an Uber driver.  Uber drivers are like bees that swarm around the streets.  Mostly, they drive black SUV's.

Today, I also saw our neighborhood homeless person.  He's a tall skinny guy with a beard halfway down his chest who is creating his own home in a 'nook' next to a building.  Last week he found a wooden kitchen chair painted turquoise in the trash.  Yesterday, when I went over to the grocery store (with my rolling cart), I noticed he had found a rectangular shaped sofa which he turned on its side bottom facing out, cushions facing in.  It's kind of a fenced off pod room.  Sadly, today he had a skillet and was beating on an cast iron fence as he walked down the street.  I'm guessing he's one of the mentally ill who's supposed to 'self medicate'.  What a sick joke.   

We also watched the Macy's Fireworks show live.  No, I didn't go down to the Brooklyn Bridge Park with the crowds.  We just went to our rooftop.  There were fireworks in every direction - mostly illegal ones, but we got to see enough of the Macy's show that I was completely satisfied.  There were about a dozen people on the roof, and everybody agreed this beat fighting the massive crowds on the East River waterfront. 

If you're into fireworks, well, here are my pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8nqugPZ3YWBGZYpA7 

Walking down the sidewalks here is always a treat. Today, I actually saw an Indian couple who were close to our age.  Mostly, there are young families, couples, and young singles.  We sort of stick out anywhere we go in the neighborhood.  I also saw a woman in a full burka walk by a woman in skin tight shorts with black spiked Mohawk hair and tattoo sleeves on both arms.  What a contrast!  If you just listen, you can hear several languages in a three block walk.

This week we hopped on a bus and went to a true Salvation Army Store.  It was in a warehouse (no a/c & hotter than blazes), but I was able to buy some extra glasses and a couple of coffee mugs without having to take out a loan.  Compared to my Sun City thrift stores, this place was really meager.  I was fortunate, they had everything I wanted. 

It's actually more fun to troll the stoops on trash day as you walk by, but there's no telling what you'll find.  Sarah found a tambourine for Cedric, and this week I found a Lonely Planet Guide for Budapest.  Who knows, maybe we'll catch a flight and head over one of these days.  We'll just jump on the B65 bus, get off in about 3 stops at Nostrand, walk one block to the Eastbound LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) and exit Jamaica to catch the air train to JFK airport - a piece of cake.