Brooklyn. House Party. Ask A Random Stranger

Now I'm sure that you've heard about Brooklyn. From all over. Well, now I'm gonna big-up Brooklyn. And not just cuz I'm a longtime resident, either. It's cuz Brooklyn kicks ass. Here's a few reasons....

I was out at the housewarming of a good friend of mine: Jongre. Great apartment in Fort Greene. Also saw a couple of iVillagers who I haven't seen in quite a while. It was mellow and cool and there were some really good conversations, too. And Jongre has just graduated from Culinary Institute of America, so there was a LOT of talk about food (and wine. And port). I forgot to bring Jon my housewarming gift: two bottles of Aroa Tempranillo. But anyways, Jongre's apartment kicks ass. It's really two aparments connected together by a kitchen. Jongre and his roommate have their own separate living rooms, bathrooms and bedrooms. And the block is quiet and right off of Dekalb Avenue, two blocks above all the bars and restaurants that Fort Greene is now becoming known for. I haven't been to any of the places in years, but I suspect I'll be hanging in the Fort of Greene in the weeks to come, so expect some reviews to be coming out of here soonish.

The highlight of the night was--well, the 1st highlight of the night--was talking to a girl from Bay Ridge. She woke up my Brooklyn accent and we stood there comparing notes about "da neighbuhhood." The classic moment was when she was talking about a guy from Bay Ridge talking about seeing Brokeback Mountain: "I'd maybe see dat movie, but my grandfather would never see dat movie." I guess you hadda be dere (and by dere I mean from da neighbuhhood).

So the celebration of all that is Jongre and his new digs ended by about 1. I was riding with Jack, Rich, Adam and Chris, so we were all trying to figure out what we were up to. We were about to rock, paper scissors to see if we were all goin home when I decided we should all hit Smith Street and see what was up. Richie was headed upstate to take flying lessons (go, Richie!) and Jack had to get up for schul, so they were out, which left Adam, Chris and I. We stumbled towards Smith Street--well, okay, I stumbled out that way; I've been drinking a lot lately--and walked into Zombie Hut, simply cuz I was with two guys who started the night by being late to the party because they met some girls at a bar who asked them out to dinner. So, Zombie Hut was likely to have women in it, so in we went. And, viola!, there were women. I grabbed a rum drink and sat down next to couple of folks. One of these folks was a gorgeous, ringletted reddish-brown haired woman named Lisa. Of course, I didn't know that yet, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'm quite the eavesdropper, both by practice and just because I have good hearing. Seems that Lisa was talking to her friends about something that happened to her recently that was fairly dramatic. A song came on that she started to dance in her seat to, so I said, "you should dance."

"I'm a terrible dancer," she says. I tell you this: she could not be a terrible dancer. And even if she was, it wouldn't matter. Gorgeous. Stunning. And a great little outfit, too.

"Well," I said, knowing I had two Texans with me, "you can always do the two step." Adam stood right up and took the lead, showing her how. That took a couple of seconds and I suddenly found myself showing Lisa how easy it is to dance.

"It's all about letting the man lead," I said. So, hands clasped, I gave her a bit of a lead and did a couple of steps. Finishing with a spin, I said, "don't worry, you'll be fine." She gave me a big smile and said, "metaphorically speaking?" "Yeah, really." I was talking about dancing, but it turns out she had just dumped her boyfriend for lying to her and cheating on her--and dude, whoever you are, you are a complete and total nimrod!--and she was feeling a bit down.

So, we sit down and Lisa tells her story, with her friends (who are looking to buy something, somewhere in Brooklyn) giving me the impartial story. Seems that she is thinking she was dumped, but it sounded to me like she did the dumping: "So, you've just lied to my face and I think that this is over." Lisa said that, so it sounds to me like she did the dumping. But hey, I'm okay with her wanting to get some sympathy and support from her friends after a breakup.

Anyways, this was one instance when the invisible-to-me neon sign over my head that reads "INFORMATION" didn't bother me. Ask a random stranger in a bar was good to me. But, somehow, stupidly, I didn't get her number or anything like that. Damn! Maybe I should go to the craigslist "missed connections" area..... Ha! But that was the second highlight of the night (but is the highlight of the night for me).

Lisa & her friends left, our drinks were empty and we were about to get Adam & Chris to the train, when we past a bar I'd never been to. It was thumping and packed, so in we went. Well, we actually followed Ant'ny into the place. Ant'ny is Brooklyn down to his track suit. He popped out of a livery cab and literally bumped into Adam, so they started talking and we followed him into a bar that I can't remeber the name of (you'll have to forgive me, I was hammered). It was loud, and filled with smoke. Everyone was smoking. I wasn't even upset. It was like a trip back in time.

We followed Ant'ny towards the back and looked for spots to throw our jackets on. Easy enough. $4 Brooklyn pints were on tap and on order. And this is when we met Airy.

Airy is a wispy little blonde who reminds me of Wynona Rider. Not really cuz of her looks; it's because of her personality. She's animated, quirky and just, well, pretty damn cool. She was waiting for a bathroom to open up and Adam said something to her. Somehow, we decided she was on the Olympic bathroom team, so we were timing her. Or something like that. I was watching at this time, throwing out the occassional comment. Anyway, Airy disappeared, but waved us over a few minutes later. So off we went. This is where we met Lynn, Airy's roommate. She's taller, darker and smokes a hell of a lot more than Airy. So, there we all are, talking, when the phrase I've heard way too much of lately rang out: "LAST CALL!"

Now, the details of what happened next are lost to me, but we were suddenly out on Smith Street and walking into a bodega to get more beer. We went back to Lynn & Airy's place, which was a great little spot, too. Not as big as jongre's, but it had a nice back deck and a great black and white cat. I miss cats, I just have to say. I can't wait to get some more cats. Now back to the story, which is basically we drank beer until like 5:30 in the morning and talking about where we had come from (Airy: Mississippi; Lynn: L.A.; Chris & Adam: Texas; me: NYC) and what places in the US we've been to/through. All in all, it was a great hang and I'm sure I'll be talking to Lynn & Airy again.

But stuff like this is why I love Brooklyn. Sure, you can get conversations, advice, drinks and good hangs in the city, but they are much less frequent. Here in Brooklyn, I continually (and consistently) find myself doing stuff like this. So, BIG-UP Brooklyn!