What a beautiful Memorial Day this was! The weather was perfect, and it was truly the start of summer. Our own BBQ was not in the park - we are lucky enough to have a beautiful backyard, and on Sunday we had about 40 people over for food and laughs and a general good time. Our BBQ's are multigenerational - our friends and our children's friends. One guy said it was his 15th. He was a teenager, now he's married, a serious grad student, and waxes eloquently on the beauty of urban management. Swan Princess and Knight came (their first time) and I was thrilled to become part of the Swan sisterhood.
The Park is the backyard for so many Brooklynites! It has its own rites and traditions. First someone comes early to get the "spot." There are some favorite and choice spots this year. Usually it's grandpa. There he sits, reading his paper, guarding all the chairs, tables, coolers, cooking equipment, balloons and streamers - all the accouterments of a special family gathering. Sometimes it's the teenage son. If he's alone, he usually looks cranky - not thrilled to be up early to sit in the park. When he's there with his friends, it's a different story - 2-4 guys, hanging out, drinking sodas, laughing and making all kinds of undoubtedly tasteless jokes. Being responsible and having fun.
This year, the BBQ Plaza is really popular. All the tables were reserved. One man nearby man said he's gotten their at 7 AM, but all the spots were already taken. 5 AM next year! By Monday, all the trash cans were full with about a dozen bags around each one. It's a shame the Parks Dept,. can't do a mid-weekend pickup, but a pleasure to see that people do seem to be trying to keep the park clean. All the re3cent publicity - in the News, Post, Times, Brooklyn Paper and Channel 11 seems to have done a good job of raising consciousness of taking care of the park.
Technically, it's still spring, but it really feels like summer has arrived.
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