August in Brooklyn, Summers End

It is finally August and summer has taken it’s grip on Brooklyn. This morning (7.30am) it was close to 90 degrees with no breeze and lots of humidity. The summer locusts are making their noises.

Coney Island Philly was out early this morning. He is nearing 85 and has been a fixture of Coney Island for half a century. Philly loves to video tape the people on the boardwalk (especially pretty girls). He is almost blind now. Even with that he manages to get himself up nearly every day early and travel 40 blocks to the beach. Steve the owner of the Grill House takes special care of Philly. He helps him with all his doctors appointments and banking needs.

Religion plays a big part of summer events in Brooklyn. Often the boardwalk is filled with people sharing Christ in one form or another. Churches from around the country visit NYC bringing choirs and kids who sing or share Christ. Sometimes the Choirs are amazing. One year we had a choir come from somewhere and they were great. My memory of that was of Jeannine who stood for nearly two hours quietly enjoying the music with her foot tapping. Her face was so peaceful.

This week the Russian churches who often send people to the Brighton area of the boardwalk to share Christ, put on a special play with kids as actors. They drew quite a crowd. Since it was all in Russian I had no clue what they were talking about as they sang and chanted about the story of the cross.

Down further from this play was the Boardwalk Disco near Gregory and Paul’s. People love to dance and the huge speakers and music always draw a crowd.

The Street Feasts that surround the Catholic Churches are another powerful religious symbol in Brooklyn during the summer months. Most of them bring an array of great Italian Specialties. On my block is one of the few remaining Italian Social Clubs. Each summer they hold a feast to dedicate the Saint that watches over the club. They clean up the place weeks before the feast and then close the block so that the feast can happen uninterrupted by cars. Saturday night the priest comes from the local Catholic Church to bless the club and the statue of the patron saint. It is a full communion service in the middle of the street. The next day is the party and then they march the Saint back to church for safe keeping until next year. This is one of the few times when the wives are allowed inside of the club.

Down the block from the club is a small corner church. Yesterday I noticed two hearses outside the church. There were a steady flow of people coming in and out. This morning they were back. So I stopped and asked what had happened. A family from the church was returning from a Florida vacation and was involved in a crash which killed the wife and 4 year old child instantly. The father and son were left behind and the grandmother was in critical condition. There was an instant shock when I heard this. Memories of life passed so quickly. Christianity takes on a new meaning at that point

Life is unpredictable and short. Never let a moment go by without making the most of it.

Have a wonderful summer. Barre.