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Back from NYC
Mar. 25th, 2013 02:25 pmThe trip was fun, in general. I got really frustrated at the lack of accessibility from basic things, like bathrooms and doors to buildings. My mother's having mobility issues and it was pretty ghastly to see what she has contend with every day. The upshot is that she may end up moving out here, so we'll see how that goes.
On the brighter side, we had a fine time out and about on our own. Our last afternoon in NYC, Jana and I went over to check out Alabaster Books, one of the surviving antiquarian bookstores in the Village. I got a signed Easton Press edition of Ursula Le Guin's Four Ways to Forgiveness, while she acquired something of Francine Proust's. The nice man at the desk sent us down the block to Paradis Sandwich, which was delicious (goat cheese and avocado sandwiches = my kind of place). We then headed down to Bluestockings Books for tea, vegan cookies (what they had in stock) and books by Hanna Blank, Sarah Schulman and Nora Olsen. We were fairly wiped out by then (Thursday afternoon was spent trekking around Brooklyn trying to find a new toaster over for my mom) so we headed back to the hotel for a brief rest.
Then we headed back to scenic Bay Ridge for dinner with my mom. The meal was subpar, but we were able to talk about her getting in-home assistance and about the possibility of her moving to Minnesota. We'll see how things go from here but it's good to get the planning off the ground.
And on a different note, I went to elementary and high school in Bay Ridge and it was never what one would call "gay friendly" back then, to say the least. This time around, we ate dinner at a local restaurant with my mom, while a large family at the next table ate dinner in a large party that included their (very) out son. No one treated him or us as anything out of the ordinary, and it went a long way toward making me feel better about an neighborhood I didn't love as a teen. :-)
On the brighter side, we had a fine time out and about on our own. Our last afternoon in NYC, Jana and I went over to check out Alabaster Books, one of the surviving antiquarian bookstores in the Village. I got a signed Easton Press edition of Ursula Le Guin's Four Ways to Forgiveness, while she acquired something of Francine Proust's. The nice man at the desk sent us down the block to Paradis Sandwich, which was delicious (goat cheese and avocado sandwiches = my kind of place). We then headed down to Bluestockings Books for tea, vegan cookies (what they had in stock) and books by Hanna Blank, Sarah Schulman and Nora Olsen. We were fairly wiped out by then (Thursday afternoon was spent trekking around Brooklyn trying to find a new toaster over for my mom) so we headed back to the hotel for a brief rest.
Then we headed back to scenic Bay Ridge for dinner with my mom. The meal was subpar, but we were able to talk about her getting in-home assistance and about the possibility of her moving to Minnesota. We'll see how things go from here but it's good to get the planning off the ground.
And on a different note, I went to elementary and high school in Bay Ridge and it was never what one would call "gay friendly" back then, to say the least. This time around, we ate dinner at a local restaurant with my mom, while a large family at the next table ate dinner in a large party that included their (very) out son. No one treated him or us as anything out of the ordinary, and it went a long way toward making me feel better about an neighborhood I didn't love as a teen. :-)