A Spirit Grows in Brooklyn

I had such a good day. The weather finally broke and I awoke to cool, dry breezes and a lovely summer day. I took my coffee in my son's and daughter-in-law's beautiful courtyard garden behind their brownstone.  I called my Mom as is our usual Sunday morning routine. At 11:00 I walked the half  block to the nearest subway station (they're lucky that way...or smart to have chosen this location) out to the Century 21 store deeper into Brooklyn. I took the subway to 86th Street. As I emerged from the underground, I took the wrong turn towards 3rd Ave when I should have turned towards 5th (what else is new?), but quickly noticed my mistake. I shopped for a while, spent $61 dollars. I got four articles. At the bottom of my receipt is printed the following, "You saved $421.61."  Don't you just LOVE it? Then I wanted to head towards my "hangout" at Court and Montague so I entered the subway in the direction of Manhattan. The only glitch of the day occurred when the "voice of the subway" announced that the R line is under construction and would not stop at the Court Street station so I had to go as far as Canal Street into Manhattan, get out of the car and cross the platform back into Brooklyn for the Court Street stop. (I'm getting good at this.. OK, maybe not. But at least I don't panic anymore). By this time it was 3:00 so I went to Connecticut Muffin and got a Chicken Curry sandwich, crossed the street and ate half of it with my Starbucks iced coffee (purchased with my discount). I'll have the other half for dinner. I lingered there and read a while. When I left Starbucks, I ventured further down Montague and came upon a wondrous sight. I discovered what perhaps half of Brooklyn already knows; one of the features of Brooklyn Heights is "The Promenade," a walkway along the river that offers one of the best views of Manhattan I have ever seen. To my left was the Statue of Liberty, as close to her as I have ever been. Directly front and center, the island of Manhattan and off to the right, the incredible Brooklyn Bridge. I sat on a bench and soaked up the sun and the view. I came "home" and between the two of us, Time-Warner cable's robot telephone voice and I managed to get my son's cable picture back up on screen (it had been out for 24 hours. By the way, have I mentioned? They're not here. They are on vacation somewhere else.!). The cable is back. WhooWoo!! Today, I LOVED New York.