Peripatetic In Park Slope
In 7th grade, my social life revolved around the mall.
For hours on weekends, we would wander, occasionally stopping into one of the two record stores, the pizza place, or a joke shop/soft porn store called Spencer's that had boob-shaped soap and edible underwear. But the stores weren't the real destination, of course; it was the mall itself - a weigh station for junior high school socialites - that kept us coming back. Show up with one friend, and be guaranteed to run into others from your direct peer group, more casual acquaintances, and crushes.
Some twenty years later, I've drifted back into this mall mentality. Since Sarah and I no longer have a proactive social life, we rely on the serendipity of Park Slope for our social interactions. And we're in luck, since no other neighborhood has such a high concentration of parks, playgrounds, roomy cafes, and socially-inclined thirtysomethings with dogs or small children who keep them close to home, but drive them outdoors at the first glimpse of sunshine.
This past Saturday, Sarah, Asher and I hit Cousin John's Bakery around 9am in what's fast becoming a weekend ritual. The sun was just coming over the buildings, and we sat on their outdoor benches, munching on muffins. Sure enough, the second couple-with-child showed up after five minutes, and all three of us made new friends.
After an hour of hanging out at the bakery, we continued up the block a bit, and ran into Fred who was watering his flowers while his 13-year-old dog Nomi dozed on the sidewalk. Fred is a reporter for New York City's NPR affiliate WNYC where Sarah got her start in media producing shows for Leonart Lopate. Fred was more than happy to be distracted from gardening duties. Asher was delighted to see Nomi, and we all decided to head to Prospect Park where we sat under a tree and talked. Asher chased other kids' balls and Nomi chased squirrels. Everyone was happy.
That afternoon, I wanted to go for a run, so we headed back up to the Park where Sarah ran into her sister Debbie and a friend. They chatted while I started my truncated version of the 3.5 mile loop. After about half a mile, I caught up with Mike and Alyssa - a couple of Upper West Side transplants with a one-year-old named Gideon. Mike and Alyssa originally entered our social sphere through Sarah's group of friends, and now live a few blocks away from us. We stuck together for about a mile, gossiping about mutual friends, jobs, and whatnot.
Sarah was waiting for me at the main Park entrance when I finished my run. Asher was devouring a banana, and we lingered for a bit while I cooled down. Seconds before we were going to head back home, Penelope and Theo showed up with their girl Beatrix, and the six of us decided to go to the playground. We've known Penelope and Theo since the kids were born - she's part of Sarah's moms group. They live about a ten minute walk from us, and run their own industrial design business.
And then we all went to Spencer's to oogle the edible underwear until the clerk kicked us out of the 18+ section.
In 7th grade, my social life revolved around the mall.
For hours on weekends, we would wander, occasionally stopping into one of the two record stores, the pizza place, or a joke shop/soft porn store called Spencer's that had boob-shaped soap and edible underwear. But the stores weren't the real destination, of course; it was the mall itself - a weigh station for junior high school socialites - that kept us coming back. Show up with one friend, and be guaranteed to run into others from your direct peer group, more casual acquaintances, and crushes.
Some twenty years later, I've drifted back into this mall mentality. Since Sarah and I no longer have a proactive social life, we rely on the serendipity of Park Slope for our social interactions. And we're in luck, since no other neighborhood has such a high concentration of parks, playgrounds, roomy cafes, and socially-inclined thirtysomethings with dogs or small children who keep them close to home, but drive them outdoors at the first glimpse of sunshine.
This past Saturday, Sarah, Asher and I hit Cousin John's Bakery around 9am in what's fast becoming a weekend ritual. The sun was just coming over the buildings, and we sat on their outdoor benches, munching on muffins. Sure enough, the second couple-with-child showed up after five minutes, and all three of us made new friends.
After an hour of hanging out at the bakery, we continued up the block a bit, and ran into Fred who was watering his flowers while his 13-year-old dog Nomi dozed on the sidewalk. Fred is a reporter for New York City's NPR affiliate WNYC where Sarah got her start in media producing shows for Leonart Lopate. Fred was more than happy to be distracted from gardening duties. Asher was delighted to see Nomi, and we all decided to head to Prospect Park where we sat under a tree and talked. Asher chased other kids' balls and Nomi chased squirrels. Everyone was happy.
That afternoon, I wanted to go for a run, so we headed back up to the Park where Sarah ran into her sister Debbie and a friend. They chatted while I started my truncated version of the 3.5 mile loop. After about half a mile, I caught up with Mike and Alyssa - a couple of Upper West Side transplants with a one-year-old named Gideon. Mike and Alyssa originally entered our social sphere through Sarah's group of friends, and now live a few blocks away from us. We stuck together for about a mile, gossiping about mutual friends, jobs, and whatnot.
Sarah was waiting for me at the main Park entrance when I finished my run. Asher was devouring a banana, and we lingered for a bit while I cooled down. Seconds before we were going to head back home, Penelope and Theo showed up with their girl Beatrix, and the six of us decided to go to the playground. We've known Penelope and Theo since the kids were born - she's part of Sarah's moms group. They live about a ten minute walk from us, and run their own industrial design business.
And then we all went to Spencer's to oogle the edible underwear until the clerk kicked us out of the 18+ section.
posted by isaacjosephson at 9:08 AM
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