A Swan Grows in Brooklyn

A weary SWANFATHER enjoying the scenery outside the YELLOW HOOK GRILLE.

Today I found myself making a VERY RARE trip into Brooklyn, New York. For those of you who know me pretty well, you know all too well how much I dislike going to Brooklyn, for any reason. After graduating from college, my first job was as a Social Worker, investigating child abuse cases for The City of New York. I worked the "after-hours" shift, which meant that on any given day I would find myself in any of the five boroughs, investigating charges of abuse. Now as a transplanted Clevelander, getting around NYC armed with a street map and a crusty Plymouth Reliant K car was always an adventure. As it turned out, many of my cases were in Brooklyn and Queens. And can I just say that the most headaches I ever had were in these two boroughs. Over time I found myself hating everything about each borough, to the point where I said to myself that if god could help it, I'd never set foot in those boroughs again. That was back in 1990. 17 years later, aside from a few forays here and there, I've pretty much kept to my word.

Today, however, was a different story. A good friend and employee of the bar recently lost his mom to cancer and today was the wake. So in support of a good friend, I set aside my idiosyncrasies and I made my way to Staten Island, NY; by way of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. As it turned out, it was an eye-opening day.

First stop on my tour of Brooklyn was to the childhood home of THE DON. As many times as I've been invited over to the family home over the years, I've never made the trip until now. It was interesting to see where the Long clan grew up. A beautiful home filled with family memories, just as I'd imagined it to be.

From there, FIREMARSHALL ED (my chauffeur for the day) and I then stopped off at the YELLOW HOOK GRILLE for a spot of lunch before making our way over to Staten Island for the wake. The GRILLE was formerly a famous local pizzeria that had been in existence for like, forever. The new owners took over the place, gave it new life and now it stands out as a beautiful, laid back restaurant with plenty of indoor/outdoor seating. A very comfortable place to eat and enjoy the scenery. I could have chilled out there for hours.

After making our way to the wake and paying our respects, we made our way back into Brooklyn. As we made the trek across the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, FIREMARSHALL ED pointed out various local landmarks that made Brooklyn famous. I felt like a giddy tourist all over again. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that I wasn't feeling nauseous yet. I usually joke that whenever I make my way into Brooklyn that I feel light-headed and my palms start to sweat. We made one more stop; to LONG'S LIQUORS to say hello to the DON's dad and uncle. I've always liked seeing the two guys as our conversations are always lively and fun. And today was much of the same. Good stuff.

All in all, it was a good afternoon, in spite of the sad occasion. I got to support a good friend, face my demons (Brooklyn) and enjoy some time away from Murray Hill for a change. A good day indeed.

nuff said