Actually, tons of sleep. My cousin got married this weekend on Nantucket, and now I'm back in Brooklyn. As tree-lined as my street may be, as quaint as the local market looks on Saturday mornings, "brownstone Brooklyn" is the city, so yes, I'm back in the city. Having spent the last four (no, 22) years almost entirely in cities (New York, Chicago, Paris) I'm not used to sleeping in a silent room. Having not long ago started working 9-5, I'm not quite used to the new sleeping schedule. So this weekend, I slept a ton, ate a ton, and saw a ton of people I rarely see, including a Canadian cousin of my mom's who's apparently read this blog!
But a couple things, before I forget, as I may well forget things, as I'm not used to getting this much sleep:
1) Not long ago, as Sam reminded me, there was an article in the NYT about "old" vs. "new" Nantucket, the idea being that the island is becoming yet another playground for the nouveau riche. Which of course leads to the question of what's wrong with flashy rich people, since the tasteful ones in Izod are the true American class snobs...or are they? Discuss. But from what I could tell, everything was tasteful as could be. The only problem, if this is indeed a problem, is that bucolic New England has become associated in popular consciousness with Bucolic New England, Inc., aka the J.Crew catalog, or similar. I couldn't help but thinking (and remarking) "this is so J.Crew" all weekend long. Authenticity as a concept has been commercialized, to the extent that the real-deal islanders will themselves wear Ralph Lauren and other brands inspired by--and profitting from--the image of real-deal islanders. It's a strange cycle, but a very American one.
2) There's a town in Connecticut we passed on our way to and from Nantucket called "Mashantucket." I had no idea my friend Masha had a ntucket named after her. A quick Google search reveals that the town is not, as I'd hoped, a cross between Brighton Beach and Nantucket, some kind of sedate, picturesque resort town for Russian-Americans, but is in fact home to a Native American-run casino.
3) There will be pictures. My mother is going to email them to me, since my camera's battery charger either doesn't like the sockets in my apartment or simply doesn't work.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
No sleep till Brooklyn
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7 comments:
"As tree-lined as my street may be, as quaint as the local market looks on Saturday mornings, "brownstone Brooklyn" is the city"
No it's not.
Technically, it is.
Very random that I saw your blog--I live on Nantucket and was quoted in that NYTimes article as saying something like "One Ralph Lauren on Main St isn't the end of the world but it would be a shame if all of Nantucket became an open air mall." I'm sponsoring an article for our town meeting to limit chain stores. Any feedback on whether that's a good idea? I loved your comments on the irony of brands. Hope you had fun on the island and that you'll be back to shop at my bookstore (Bookworks) or brewery (Cisco Brewers), both independent local businesses. : ) And by the way, from where I sit Brooklyn is definitely close enough to count as city.
"Technically, it is."
Technically, it is also Long Island.
So I guess that makes the South Bronx a part of suburban Westchester?
"So I guess that makes the South Bronx a part of suburban Westchester?"
Give gentrification some time.
On a more literal and boring level, Brooklyn is technically part of the city. Brooklyn is also technically part of Long Island. But the South Bronx is not technically part of Westchester.
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Brooklyn is lovely, dark and deep. But if you look west, you can see the city.
And Phoebe had miles to go before she could sleep.
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