A few years ago, they put two park benches in front of my building. I cringed. I was worried about who would sit there. How they would look? What would it do to the character of my building?
I thought back to my Sheepshead Days when I was about five. I remember people sitting on their stoops or benches in front of their homes. You’d see old men without shirts and their wives in their housedresses. And the shmatas on their heads were not a pretty sight. I remember the comments my mom would make as we walked by.
I always swore I’d never do that. Once I did. I played ultimate Frisbee in Marine Park with a group of guys on a reunion day. Many of us hadn’t seen each other in years. After our game, we went back to someone’s house and sat on the stoop. We had a beer and some chips. We listened to music. Likely we were listening to the Ramones.
Then we walked over to Buckley’s on Avenue S for dinner. It was fun. Of course, we were and still are much younger than the type of stoop sitters I mentioned.
Over the last few years, I walked by the bench of my building. Often sitting on one was an older man with a book. He seemed so peaceful. He was nose deep in his reading. Next to him was his bottle of water and a Smartphone. Many times while walking to and from the subway I saw him. To tell you the truth, it was nice.
These days with the parks closed and people social distancing I don’t see anyone on the benches. However, as the weather’s been changing the benches outside of Yellowstone Municipal Park have been filling up. People are sitting there like the old days. Some are wearing PPE. Some are not. People are sitting on their building’s benches or their stoops.
It is nice to see people able to get on with their lives. It is nice to see people getting the chance to enjoy the small things like sitting on their stoop with a book or Kindle.
Other posts can be viewed at:
“Pandemic Watch: What does a four-year-old think about our situation?”
“Pandemic Watch: Will my nephew ever know how good it was?”
“Pandemic Watch: What will happen when I get released on parole?”
“Pandemic Watch: We live in interesting times,”
https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/pandemic-watch-we-live-in-interesting-times
“Pandemic Watch: Dressing during the Covid-19 pandemic,”
“Pandemic Watch: Yes, it is Monday,”
https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/11/pandemic-watch-yes-it-is-monday
“How skills I learned as a teen in the scouts help during the Covid-19 pandemic, “
“How the Covid-19 pandemic causes us to rethink old habits,”
“Traveling on public transit and being outside during the Covid-19 pandemic,” https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/traveling-on-public-transit-and-being-outside-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
“Grocery shopping during Covid-19. Or anytime,” https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/28/grocery-shopping-during-covid-19-or-anytime
“I want to help restaurants during the pandemic. But…,”
“Masks and gloves,” https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/03/30/608
“Trashy Parks,”
https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/01/07/trashy-parks
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