A Walk in Avtar’s Brooklyn
Growing up in southern California, I thought of New York City as an exotic locale of black and white film, bluesy jazz music, glamorous theater and sophisticated books.
I’ve visited many times and always have found something new to love.
On our most recent trip, we caught up with our niece Avtar and she took us for a walk through her Brooklyn neighborhood.
Come with us!
Why yes, trees still grow in Brooklyn. They grace the city steets and make the shops feel cooler and more friendly on a summer day.
Brooklyn boasts a multitude of cultures and ethnicities. The Russian Orthodox Church vies with a new condo building to oversee a green park.
Food ranges from Mexican–there were no Mexican restaurants in New York City when we moved upstate in 1978–
to vegetarian.
Decades ago, manufacturing filled Brooklyn and a smokestack still indicates the need for power.
Immigrants could stand on the shores–connected to Manhattan’s sparkling lights by the Brooklyn Bridge–and dream of the same fabulous images I saw from California.
The buildings are not so high here, three or four-stories more the norm, but fire escapes are still necessary.
Buildings include a touch of the whimsical.
Who would look for a baboon in Brooklyn?
Or seek encouragement from an auto shop?
It’s all there in Brooklyn–if you have the eyes to see it on a summer’s day!
