a little adventure last night...

as cityboy roamed the streets of WIlliamsburg and arrived at: Basik, a bar he had visited a few years earlier. How did this happen? Well, cityboy was on his way to Sweet Jane's in Ridgewood for some trivia, but by the First Avenue stop on the L, he realized that he was too tired to make it there. Nevertheless, he could not get himself to leave the L then, and so the train careened across the river and cityboy got off at the Bedford stop. But then where? His first thought was to have some coffee at the nearby Bean, but, his feet moved east, past Driggs, past Havemeyer, past Roebling and then to Lorimer. He thought he might stop in at Pete's Candy Store, but the place looked a little over crowded so he proceeded to Graham and to Basik, not that crowded and bartender Russell remembered him from his previous journeys there and was very welcoming. The next two hours were spent relaxing, watching the Met game (only one tv in this bar) and in some brief conversations. But this was different---when he left at about 9:30, cityboy felt that he had fulfilled his promise to himself to do something "interesting". Basik, when it is not too crowded is very laid back and easy to function in, and their snacks and food are good. Still, for someone who thought he was tired, a lot of walking, actually cityboy thought that, after he finished his stay at the bar, he might walk south to the J, checking out the scene on Graham Avenue, about 12 blocks. But he was too tired for that, so he settled for a few blocks north on Graham, then the easy three block walk to the Lorimer stop. An arduous return on the 1 to his apartment, but that did not prevent him from getting some solid and interrupted sleep, which was really the point of the whole "adventure".
  Earlier in the day, cityboy visited the Museum of the City of NY and specifically checked out the Stanley Kubrick photography exhibit. Among the photos, a really beautiful one of Montgomery Clift, playing with the son of actor Kevin McCarthy. Clift was incredibly sensitive---all the pictures show that. When one comes to the ticket table of the museum, the words,  "suggested admission" almost seem hidden. Another fraudulent move by a not for profit. So New York, these days, feel very sad about it.
 Tonight will visit Brooklyn and join the Crown Heights Tenants Union discussion, mostly to get the group to endorse the September 15 march. Should be interesting, will report on all tomorrow.