last night at 5....

on my way to Stand and Kayla's house, I am standing on the corner of Bergen Street and Flatbush avenue. The latter street separates Park Slope from Prospect Heights, and was, for most of the seventies, eighties and early nineties, a dividing line between gentrifying and non-gentrifying communities that I very rarely, if at all, crossed. I looked at the small buildings that still exist on the Parlk Slope side of Flatbush and wondered what the rent must have been in those apartments about 35 years ago (early eighties) I think many people would have been frightened to live there. And now....What is it like to look at a street and try to pour the history of the last 46 years into it?  You just stand there, unable to move---a comfort zone created for you because the street and that world has so completely gentrified and become "safer"---while you try to imagine yourself there at different points in time. Stood on Bergen and Flatbush for what seemed like a long time, before proceeding to the Thanksgiving celebration at Stan and Kayla's house.
The celebration: ate too much, lots of converesations---good dialogue with Kayla,who works for the city in the housing department. She cannot imagine a time when in the city's future when the real estate lobby will not be prominent---I could not disagree with her, I could not make her understand (maybe I just stopped the argument when I should have continued) that this could mean the wholesale displacement of communities of color from their neighborhoods (Flatbush, Kensington, the Bronx) within, say a twenty year period. Is that what it means? Is she wrong, can something actually be done to stop this? Am I fighting hard enough to make this happens? Questions abound.
Not sure when I will next be in Brooklyn. Probably one day this weekend---after tonight's play, plans are a little sketchy for the remaining weekend days. More exploration...
Wednesday evening, stopped off at Wallace's for the usual Frank and Beer, not too much happening there, returned home, decided to see a movie at any cost for the rest of the evening (could not stay home) Too tired for a subway trip---ended up at 9 o'clock seeing the only movie in the neighborhood that began at that time---The Handmaiden. This is a Japanese film, beautifully photographed---some soft core porn scenes, basically held my interest---ultimately kind of slight but very skillful. Still have not seen the Merrily film, backed off seeing it yesterday morning, though I was free, (Did not feel like dealing with the memories that the film will bring up)  will try to catch it over the weekend.
Seeing "The Band's Visit" tonight, got my tickets way in advance (only way to buy the $25.00 tickets) now a little sorry I did, there is a free showing of a movie about James Baldwin at the amphitheater screen in the Bunin that I would like to see.
Well, enough of this, will probably report tomorrow on the evening's events.