So, blogs are my new thing. (And you're reading about it on a blog - how meta!) As I sit and kill time on endless copycat Rockland nights or lonely, lazy Saturdays, I find myself reading. And reading. And reading some more. Brokelyn. Brooklyn Based. L Magazine. Somewhere in my travels, I came across the listing for Score!, a giant free swap -- of clothing, books, music and more -- at Brooklyn Yard, in Carroll Gardens right on the Gowanus. And so today, I packed up my mother and sister, and we met up with Aubrey for a glorious day of outer-borough hipsterdom.
I didn't really know what to expect, but I knew to be super excited. I couldn't have had any idea, though, just how cool it would be. Rack after rack of corduroy jeans and track jackets and funky T-shirts. A DJ playing a reggae version of "Tainted Love" just a few feet from the canal. Absolutely delicious Mexican food cooked and served out 'neath a corrugated tin roof. Hipster parents holding hands with their hipster babies, all under the watchful eye of the Williamsburg Saving Bank.
I got myself a track jacket, a really excellently scruffed-up dockworker coat, some gloriously weird T-shirts -- but the tangible souvenirs weren't the important part. Today was a really fantastic lesson in why Brooklyn works. The swap was all about recognizing all we have to give to each other. Looking at what we have to get from each other is the wrong approach. As fun as it was to swap up someone's forgotten goodies, it was even cooler to see the hipster woman in the bright orange coat, screamingly green skirt and tortoise-shell glasses paw the Halloween costume we had donated, even better to watch the arty lesbian give Reading Lolita in Tehran a good shake and stick it in her purse.
The way I see it, Brooklyn has finally stopped longing to be Manhattan. Even Bushwick is getting gentrified. Families are making the choice to raise their families in Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights, not the Lower East Side and the Village. There's just something organic about the whole borough. And it's not just because it gets how cool it is that Park Slope hipsters can walk their dogs two blocks away from the "urban" kids playing basketball in the public park.
But maybe Brooklyn never even had any Gotham lust. Maybe the quiet pride you see in so many of its denizens translates to the borough itself. Maybe Kings County gets that it's gritty and arty and dirty and fascinating and subtle and layered, and it likes it. And how lucky we all are for that.
3 comments:
sounds wonderful! jealous : )
Brooklyn never ceases to amaze me. I'm glad that you had the chance to explore the various facets of this ever-changing borough.
Sheepshead Bay is now a different community from where I grew-up. Today, I can walk down Avenue U and order authentic Chinese food. The shops display succulent roast pig, soy sauce chicken and roast duck. The next block has a market where you can choose from a a variety of fresh fish, meats and imported ingredients. My girls love the Chinese bakery. Their favorite pastries include the red bean paste buns and egg custard tarts. There are also Vietnamese, Russian, Turkish and Japanese restaurants all within walking distance.
The people are diverse. You see many immigrants from China and Russia. My father, feels at home.
Another distinct feature, are the large discount shops. I didn't know you could still buy a shirt for less than $5.00.
Taking my girls to see Grandma in Brooklyn is a treat. I'm glad you had fun!!
As always, you have the more epic blog post on our lil excursion. But yeah, Brooklyn is wonderful and very Philly-esque. I approve. Well done, sir. :)
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