Gowanus Dredgers knows how to put the fun in superfund site, with a Boathouse jam tonight and self-guided paddles this weekend. Photo: Celeste LeCompte /@celerae
How goes it, everybody? Is it just me, or does everything feel a little better when it’s not distressingly hot every minute of every day? Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that the Democratic Convention was a success, Steve Bannon got arrested, New York’s dedication to masks and social distancing is still paying off in a big way, and I’ve found a way to eat mint chocolate chip ice cream at least once a day for the past week (highly recommend, obviously).
Earlier this week, I traded in the rusted, hubcap-missing, comfy as all get-out 2004 Cadillac Deville I inherited from my late father a decade ago for a more reliable (and age-appropriate) Outback, and it was a lot for me to process, tbh. Like so many, I find I’m a bit more sensitive these days, and as I was clearing my dad’s old golf balls and opera CDs out of the trunk at the dealership and saying goodbye to the tremendous bench seats (seriously, why aren’t these produced anymore? You haven’t lived til you’ve tooled around on what is essentially a leather couch on wheels), I was overcome by that gut punchy feeling of nostalgia for people, places, and feelings you once loved and can’t ever get back again. I think that’s partly why things feel so hard right now, even as it seems like there *could* be a light at the end of the tunnel of COVID as well as the disastrous Trump presidency. If we’re lucky enough to see both of these global scourges eradicated in 2021, it’s still hard to wrap one’s head around the enormity of what has already been lost, and how to conceive of a future without it. I had a teary moment as I drove home in my new whip, even as I marveled at my new-found ability to listen to music that I actually choose, not to mention the concept of a working gas gauge indicating when I should fill up instead of the Byzantine system I’ve been using for 5 years involving the trip odometer and way too much math. But, I have to say, after piloting myself up to Acadia for a quick camping trip that would have never been a possibility with the Caddy, I’m beginning to see some potential for great things to come in this new vehicle and fresh, uncharted phase of my life. Similarly, the thought that the hardship we’ve collectively endured of late will eventually give way to something positive that we don’t even know we want or need yet is the thing that keeps me going some days. Let’s hope for it, and in the meantime keep on trucking forward, finding little things to surprise or satisfy or delight along the way.
This week, I’ve got my eye on Maison Yaki’s collab with pasta and pizza purveyor Tripoli Events, which you can reserve for pick up here, as well as the latest Friends and Family Meal at Winner, which is fish & chips and other British grub from guest chef Will Burgess. Alternatively, you can do what I did the other night and take down about 25 oysters and half a bottle of vinho verde before the aforementioned obligatory mint chocolate chip ice cream—I promise that is a dinner that never disappoints. If I were in Brooklyn this weekend, I’d definitely consider watching one of my fave summer blockbusters, Jurassic Park, at the sidewalk screening at Syndicated on Saturday night. I’d also check out the weekend of programming available from Gowanus Dredgers, which includes an acoustic Boathouse Jam this evening and canoeing voyages both tomorrow and Sunday. Maybe this is the week to get out of town and head to the newly reopened Dia:Beacon for your long-awaited museum fix, or you could stay local to ring the bells by artist Davina Semo that were installed in Brooklyn Bridge Park, or stay home and learn about art crime with Atlas Obscura’s streaming class entitled The Forged and the Filched, Mysteries of the Art World on Wednesday evening. Headed to the Rockaways this weekend? Relax with a seaside, socially distant musical performance and soundbath by Aeon Ensemble happening twice tomorrow. Or, if you want to get sweaty, try out the BYKlyn YARD, a spin class in BYKlyn’s new outdoor cycling studio.
As for me, I’m hoping to join one of the Center for Fiction’s new fall reading groups (Moby Dick and The Master and Margarita are both of particular interest to me), and I’m also going to immerse myself in our guide to voting and volunteering in this make it or break it election to make absolutely sure I’ve got all my ducks in a row. Whatever you do in the week ahead, I hope that at some point you find something that will make you forget, even if just for a minute, about the strange, restrictive, antisocial life we lead now and allow you to focus on the hope of a better future ahead. Stay safe and sane, everyone, and happy weekend!
