Brooklyn Christmas

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Well, we got lucky, a big snow storm. How fun. Brooklyn is transformed during a snow storm. When I woke up on Sunday, getting to church was a mile walk away. It was about 8am and there was still a cold wind pressing against my face. I decided to walk in the street facing traffic. This made the walk a little easier. With nearly a foot on the ground, walking on the sidewalk was difficult. As I walked, I watched for the B82 which would drop me right in front of the church. The problem was whether I should risk waiting or walk to the next stop. I continued walking just in case the bus did not show up. After walking half way to the church the bus came. The driver let me off in a show drift next to the church. The church was shoveled out but very few people showed up for the early service. After church I headed to the boardwalk. Upon approaching the Grill House I saw a bunch of people gathered at the end of Stillwell. It turns out that a charity had set up a tables for poor people to come and get gifts for their children. It was still snowing and very windy. People were waiting in line in hopes of getting something for their children.

The boardwalk was mostly covered with snow. Very few people had been on the boardwalk so it was still very pristine. I walked up and down the boardwalk taking pictures. It was so beautiful. The waves from the ocean were still large and the wind was blowing the water all over the place. The fishing peer was completely covered with snow. They put up fences to stop the drifting sand, but this did not do much for the snow.

As the day progressed my godson and his family decided to go light looking around our neighborhood. The decorations were amazing. The snow added to the beauty of the decorations.

We are now headed towards Christmas day.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas.

Barre.

Brooklyn's B16

The B16 is a bus that goes throughout a small area of Brooklyn. It starts at the Verrazano Bridge and winds its way through Bay Ridge then onto Sunset Park. It then goes through the middle of Boro Park and finally to Flatbush. The ride is about 1 hour from end to end. If you start from the beginning and go to the end you will be surrounded by some of New York’s most interesting characters. Generally people riding the bus in Bay Ridge are people who work there. Since the beginning of this line is in a very wealthy area most of the people living there do not take the bus. So you see a lot of home attendants, and general labor workers on this bus going to other neighborhoods that are more affordable to live. When the bus moves into the commercial district you begin to pick up people of all nationalities. There are many Asians who go to Sunset Park, Orthodox Jews who go to Boro Park and Island Black who end up in Flatbush.

It is very interesting to be on a bus with so many different kinds of people. Buses tend to be far more interactive than the subway. I think it is because they are smaller and have far less noise. People are often very helpful to people with children and packages, knowing that the arrival at their destination depends on the joint effort of everyone. The bus also provides for a captive audience. Street preachers often find this venue welcoming. People riding the bus will engage them as well. I think riders also like the excitement of having people entertaining them. Buses also have many homeless and mentally disabled people riding. This can be a challenge for riders as well as the bus driver who will have to eject them from the bus at the end of the line.

People in NYC depend on transportation to get to work. On average people travel one hour to and from work on the trains, buses and in cars. If one sat down with a calculator that would be about 3 months of 40 hour weeks each year spent traveling. If a person works from the time they are 18 until they are 65, they would spend nearly 11.75 years traveling to and from work. For many people that is lost time. Now a monthly pass is around 80 dollars. That would be almost $1000 dollars. If you drive and you have to cross a toll bridge or if you take the train from Long Island or New Jersey the cost for your commute is much higher. The funny thing about all of this is that no one ever thinks about what impact the “commute” has on us and our family.

As I walk along the water front under the Verrazano Bridge, I note that over 200,000 cars pass over the bridge each day. They fly by me on the belt parkway, hundreds of cars, as I walk. Many people are in a hurry, going to who knows where and for what purpose. We all have an agenda that seems so important to us. Yet in the end we only get one life. We have created a world where we spend so much time and energy and money doing stuff that we are left with little time to enjoy the people that are so important to us. Most of this revolves around getting more things that is to eventually make us happier, which we know never does.

Is there a way to live a simple life where we concentrate on the people we love. We concentrate on taking time for them, just being together. In a blink people can be taken from us. Our lives are so short and to give into the insanity that “The American Dream” equals a prosperous life is absurd. I know that most us just cannot stop and get off, but you can seriously re-evaluate your life and your aspirations, and put priorities back into order.

Have a blessed Christmas .... (Picture of Harlow)

Barre