My Adventures into the Wilds of Brooklyn

So, let me tell you about my little spree I went on last night.

My sister had been in the hospital for close to a week, unable to walk, inflammation on her vertebrae, etc., etc.  She finally was discharged and is back home by Friday.  But, I’m worried about her overdoing it, at home by herself.  I know that her husband will be back at work on Monday and her children will have departed (they were visiting) the same day she returned home from the hospital.

So, I thought, despite the fact that I haven’t visited her apartment for ages because she has cats, and I’m highly allergic, I think I have to make an effort to get over there and see how I can assist her.

So, I make my plans to go on Tuesday, after all, I don’t have chorus rehearsal yet (I haven’t heard from them, so we probably won’t resume for another week).  So, while I’m sitting at the office I receive a cheery e-mail from the chorus reminding us that we have a rehearsal that night.  CRAP!!!  I totally neglected to check to see when we would resume.  Oh, well, my sister is more important.  I send out my absence regrets with apologies.  Then a chorus mate has the temerity to ask, “What’s so important that you have to miss the first chorus rehearsal?”  Geeeez!!!!  I relay a brief explanation to her about my sister, and she totally understands (and agrees).  Thank you very much!

So, during the day I’m Googling what the best way to arrive at Carnarsie is.  I find that there is an express bus that goes pretty close to her, culminating in a 12 minute walk to finalize the trip.  Hmmmm??  I had no idea there was one.  My sister seems to live in a secluded section of Brooklyn with very little subway service close by other than the L train.  But, I’ve never taken an express bus.  And, additionally, I know that I can’t use my unlimited MTA card because that’s only for the regular buses or trains.  Ultimately, I decide to take the W train up to 14^th Street and then the dreaded L train all the way over to Carnarsie.  Then the B42 for the final leg of the trip. 

I run down both subway escalators and manage to just jump on the W train seconds before the doors close.  Whew!!!  That’s a blessing.  Especially since there were so many slow-moving people in front of me.  I guess they are not going to anything exciting because they walk like they have lard in their pants.  I even considered stepping up and sliding down the middle chrome-top section of the escalator, but knew I’d never make it without injuring myself badly.  Hence, my sister would then need to take care of me.  Once I arrive at 14^th Street, I have to navigate the platform endlessly to find the very hidden staircase to the L train.  Why is it so obscure????  Once again, the train arrives moments after my feet hit the L platform.  I scurry up the platform toward the front of the train and get a reasonable standing spot.  Then soon after I get a seat.  Yay!!!  This is going much better than I thought.  [smile]

So, let me step back a moment so that I can explain what my plan was to overcome any possibility of having the cats affect me.  I thought it would be a good plan to bring my construction mask with me.  Of course‼  It’s a heavy construction mask; not one of those flimsy thin ones.  Then, of course, a dose of my strong antihistamines.  I thought it would also be good to enclose any clothes that I was wearing and all my belongings in a large recycling bag..  It is my experience wherever I go where there are pets that the pets take an immediate liking to me, or perhaps just a strong dose of .curiosity such as, “who is this person who is totally ignoring me?”  Hence, they always sidle up to me, jump on my lap, sit on the seat that I’m at, rub their fur all over my legs (or my arms, if I’m sitting).  So, if I have all my stuff in a bag,, I won’t come away with all sorts of cat hair when I leave.  I also brought a bag with a jacket that my sister left at my apartment about one year ago.  So, I have my purse (totally filled with “stuff”), a shoulder bag (filled with more stuff — Kindle, cell phone, and totally unnecessary stuff), and my sister’s bag with her jacket.

So, onward with my story.  As I said before, I haven’t been to my sister’s apartment in many, many years.  The last time I was there, I remember that there was a huge parking lot just before you arrived at her building.  So, this was an easy marker to identify her building.  Her apartment is just alongside the Belt Parkway.  My sister did remind me, “remember, my building is the building before the last building.”  She also gave me the key code to punch in at the front entrance door of the building in order to get into the lobby.  Or, she said I could go through the back, which is not locked.  Except, the door has no doorknob.  You have to pull on the window grating to get the door open. 

Right then and there, I decided that I would opt for the front entryway.  Opening a door using the window grating didn’t sound like an attractive option to me.  Besides, that back door would be alongside the huge (and dark) parking lot.  And, thinking of safety precautions, I felt that the front door was the safer way to go.

So, as I indicated earlier in this totally boring (TO YOU) but amusing (TO ME) dialog, my subway trip was a breeze.  Got there smoothly and quickly.  Jumped on the B42 bus, which took us all the way to the last stop.  At this point I asked the driver if I could ride with him around the loop that he takes to the first stop of the return trip.  He found this request quite amusing.  Not sure why.  But, anyway, I stayed with him.  Then got off on the side of my sister’s apartment complex.

Next. . . to find the building.  The entire apartment complex is under construction.  It’s night time and very dark.  There are not very many lamp posts to light the way.  In other words, it’s extremely dark.  There is scaffolding everywhere.  And small pass-through areas through all the construction.  Everything is totally dark and secluded.  Not a soul around.  I hear someone walking behind me and I go into high alert.  But then a car comes driving toward me on the sidewalk (yes, on the sidewalk) and there’s no space for me to walk on it too.  So I have to step to the side to let the car pass by.  It’s a police car.  The person behind me passes me.  Good.  Now, to find the building.  I’m looking all over for the remembered parking lot.  But, I can’t see it.  I do see a very large complex that looks like an indoor skating rink.  Hmmm??  I don’t remember ever seeing that.  I wonder if it has always been there.  The sidewalk is totally secluded, except for the parked cars alongside it.  And then the Belt Parkway.  So, I really do not want to walk out to the sidewalk.  It looks too dark and isolated.  Not that there are any more people around where I am.  The entire area is isolated.

I walk a little further and decide that perhaps the building to the left of that skating-rink-like complex is my sister’s building.  But, of course, I can’t see the building number because it’s obliterated by all the scaffolding.  Hmmm??  Not good.  I go up to the front entrance and key in the code my sister gave me.  The door pops open.  Yay!  It must be the correct building.  So, I make a left and go all the way down the hall to my sister’s door.  I look at the door to see if their last name is listed on the name plate section.  It is not.  It is blank.  This has got to be it.  I remove the recycling bag (a 30 gallon bag) and take off my jacket and scarf and shove it into the bag, then in goes my shoulder bag, and the bag holding my sister’s jacket.  Out comes my construction mask and on it goes.  I also take out my eyeglasses (I’m going to need them inside and don’t want to start opening the bag inside the apartment).  I prop the eyeglasses on the top of my head and put on the mask.  I use the knocker and knock on the door (there’s no bell).  In a short while a tall man answers the door.  Not my sister, nor my brother-in-law.  I thought he might be visiting my sister.  I say, “Janice?”  He says “no.”  He reminds me of an actor who usually plays a detective role.  Can’t think of a name.  But maybe like a Lawrence Fishburn.  I spout the address and the fact that I can’t see any of the numbers due to all the scaffolding.  He says, “no, that’s the next building.”  Here I am in this getup, with my mask on, and the 30 gallon bag in my arms with all its innards falling to each side and my arm in the middle.  He doesn’t have any reaction whatsoever to my getup.  Not even a blink.  I apologize and leave.

 

I still do not want to walk out to the sidewalk (for the same reason as before).  So, since the guy said it was at the next building, I walk to the next building.  I never removed my mask, nor put my jacket back on.  So, I’m walking around with the mask and no jacket, carrying this 30 gallon bag of “stuff.”  I go to the front entryway, key in the code, and the door pops open.  So much for security.  All the buildings use the same code.  There is a young guy inside the lobby of this building.  As the door pops open, he also comes to the door and says, “I opened it for you.”  I thank him and wonder, does he want a tip?  Once again, I walk to the left and down the very long hallway to my sister’s door.  I go through the same process of using the knocker.  But, this time, there is no answer.  The young guy is still in the front lobby and is talking.  But, I can’t make out what he is saying, nor if he is talking to me, or perhaps on a cell phone.  I did say, “what?” one time, but he didn’t respond.  So, I assume he is talking to someone else. 

 At this point, I decide that it might be a good idea to get my cell phone out and call my sister and ask where the building is.  I do this, after untying the knot in the recycling bag and fishing into my bags to get it.  Of course, I am not getting a signal.  I decide not to return the cell phone to the bag, but now hang it around my wrist in the hopes that I will get a signal once I’m outside.  I do not.

 At this point, I realize that I’m going to have to actually walk out to the ignored sidewalk and figure out which building is the building before last.  This time I pull the mask to the side and I actually put my jacket back on.  After all, it’s winter.  I go to yet another building.  I don’t see any parking lot around.  I don’t know where it is.  I go to the front and key in the code.  Once again (the third time), the door pops open.  Turn to the left and down the hall I go.  Off comes the jacket, stuff it back in the recycling bag, on goes the mask.  This door has a bell.  I ring it, with some trepidation.  Alas, my sister answers it.

I’ve arrived‼‼‼

 

As I anticipated, the cats are all around me.  They are so curious as to who I am and want to come close sniffing.  My sister took precautions and separated a sheet that I should place on a chair that the cats had not been on.  But, every time I got up, I would also remove the sheet.  It was necessities to be remembered at every action.

 

So, I prepared dinner for my sister.  Then my brother-in-law arrived.  I prepared dinner for him.  There were such huge amounts of fresh vegetables.  OMG!!!  My niece bought food enough for an army.  I cooked some of the vegetables for a later use and washed about a half bunch of bok choy (there were still 1 huge head and a half).  What was my niece thinking???? 

 

So, it came time to go rather soon.  I had a heated discussion with my sister about Uber v. public transportation home.  Of course, there was minimal discussion as her cab company required cash and they didn't have it.  Nor did I.  And, besides, I thought it was such a waste of cash.  So, I won the discussion.  I asked my brother-in-law to walk me to the bus stop and I made my way home to Astoria.  The trip was not as long as I had anticipated.

 

I'm still in one piece.  Hopefully, I didn't cause my sister to do more work as a result of my arriving.  LOL