In the hood
Things I like about my neighborhood
* Meeting Cranky and Toddler J every Saturday morning to buy our groceries at the greenmarket in the park.
* When we walk out in search of food on a Saturday evening, we hear church bells wherever we go — not too loud, but just loud enough.
* The Italian bartender (the one who croons Beatles tunes while he’s stacking the glasses, not the one who turns on George Winston) at our favorite Italian restaurant two blocks away has named his dogs John Lennon and Syd Barrett.
* Our block has been turned into a Halloween wonderland. The Russian woman who lives on the second floor stops to introduce herself and her daughter to AJ and I. They have bought a pumpkin for the stoop. “Wil you carve one too?” she asks AJ. He looks at me and nods.
Hooray hooray hooray!