July 30, 2021

For the first half of July, I stayed in a friend's place in Santa Monica. A 3 min walk from his front door and you arrive in a lovely park. This park is always buzzing with people. In addition to the million dog walkers, there are so many other activities: You can play a wide variety of sports, like tennis, volleyball, baseball, basketball, workout stations, as well as the large lawn areas offer themselves to temporary soccer fields, ballet, and martial arts grounds. Then there are the regular patrons who are just out to get your daily step-count in. Some run around, others carry weights or make lunges. It really is a marvelous place.

Noteworthy mentions I have seen lately:

What appeared to be a gentleman in his 70s who pushed his (presumed) mother around in a wheelchair. On my second round around the park (I usually walk three to four rounds), I saw her parked on one of the lawns, where she sat with a small flat beach bat, and he would throw balls for her to hit. I think she hit one in three balls, which was still quite an accomplishment. And I applaud them for spending time together and for him to help her stay in shape and have an enjoyable time.

Two young boys, perhaps eight years old, surrounded by a few five-year-old ballerinas. These two boys each had a Mario and Luigi electronic toy car. These caught my eyes as they are totally old-school and reminded me of my childhood with my brothers playing a great Mario cart all the time. So, not only was it a road down memory lane, but it was also just wonderful to see the boys and girls mingled – and to see that the young girls were just as interested in the cars.

On Wednesday, July 7th, Denmark got beaten by England in the Euro Cup semi-finals (soccer!). After a long, excruciating afternoon in a pub surrounded by both Danish and English soccer fans, I needed a walk in the park. Still proudly wearing my Denmark shirt (as despite the defeat, I think Denmark owned that game…), I, of course, came across two Brits still wearing their England shirts. Ay. As I am certain, most English fans realized that they did not deserve the win; it was an awkward exchange as they slightly smirked, slightly tipped their hat in my direction… and I reciprocated the gesture. Upon encountering them a second time, we politely ignored each other…

So, this is why I so enjoy going to the park. Usually, I would go for very long walks down to the beach and just enjoy the sand, water, and quiet -and some people watching! But lately, the park has sparked a different interest for this introverted anthropologist. After 1.5 years in lockdown, mostly isolated in the desert with people above the age of 75. Seeing other people, active people, children, dogs, and owners is just what I needed right now!

When I began this blog entry about people-watching in the park and ideally from the boardwalk between Venice and Santa Monica Pier, I did not anticipate leaving LA and going to Brooklyn. So, now, halfway through my write-up, I want to continue my people-watching descriptions. However, what follows will instead be from an exciting day I had going into Manhattan on a Friday afternoon/evening.

I took the metro from Brooklyn to West 4th street, next to Washington Square Park. It was perfect – so my first trip back to Manhattan in a long while started with an ideal location for people-watching. Just outside the park, there was a mitzvah tank. A fun fact from Wikipedia: "A Mitzvah tank is a vehicle used by the Orthodox Jewish practitioners of Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidism as a portable "educational and outreach center" and "mini-synagogue" (or "minagogue") to reach out to non-observant and alienated Jews. Mitzvah tanks have been commonplace on the streets of New York City since 1974." In the land of food trucks, pet groomers on wheels, then why not this as well!

As I walked into the park, there were about 20 tables where all but one was occupied with people playing chess! After the Queen's Gambit mini-series, I bet chess has gotten a bit of a revival. If only I could play chess, I would have perhaps dared sit at one of the tables and played a round of chess - even if I would lose - it would just be an exciting experience. But I better not waste somebody's time! Anyhow, I continued further into the park. Most of the benches, at least the ones in the shade, were all occupied. It is a very popular park. It was nicely spread out, and I guess, an excellent alternative to Central Park – not least about 50 blocks further south. People were selling random things. One guy was selling a handbag that was shaped like a hen/chicken – like literally! I didn't dare take a picture, but I sure wonder who would buy it - is there a market for such handbags in NY? This also seemed to be an open and tolerant place (maybe that is NY in general?), but there was space for all kinds of people, and quite many LGBTQ people, particularly gay guys and men in women's clothing. Generally, I find that Brooklyn and NY are very supportive of human rights. I see BLM and rainbow-colored flags and signs everywhere, which is lovely to see.

Furthermore, north of the central square stands a large arch that reads: "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God." — Washington. Well, Amen to that. Additionally, by the arch, classical music was blasting out. As I was heading back eastward and was ready to exit the park, I walked by the northern benches in the park, where mainly old folks sat, presumably people-watching while getting some fresh air. A young fella walked into the park just as I was leaving, with a sign reading: "offering bad portraits for 3 dollars and a bad dance for $1." I wasn't quite in the mood to carry around for the rest of the day a bad portrait of me. But if I see him again – I definitely will! I think I will have to come back to this park.

Following my very enlightening and wonderful walk through the park, I moseyed my way down towards the Hudson River to go for a nice walk before going to the Whitney Museum. The Hudson River Park near Greenwich Village has so much to offer. Besides the many benches, small piers full of activities (like workout stations), and not least public toilets, it is an excellent place for people-watching. One of the first people I saw was this fascinating guy, wearing ONLY Gucci while walking his VERY fancy all-gold BMX bike (which I am sure has seen no dirt hills!). So many people were out for walks and not least runs - many of which were topless (only the men!) - whether they have a dad or hunk bod… there were also many people out sunbathing on the small patches of grass - men in shorts and women in bikinis, and a few couples making out on blankets. Many people walked their dogs. One dog, in particular, was so excited about water splashing. Maybe it was the area I walked in – but I barely saw any homeless people or people who seemed to struggle with mental health issues. Of course, I saw a few, but nothing compared to the streets of LA!

I walked over to the Whitney, where I entered at 8:30 pm – it was a wonderful evening out. The museum had terrific exhibitions. I started on the 8th floor and made my way downward. It was great just to be out and about -it was kind of nice to just be out and among people – somewhat forgetting about the pandemic, despite everybody wearing masks. I particularly enjoyed the photographs by Dawoud Bey. Stunning portraits. As with all contemporary art, there are also things that I just don't understand – I suppose – different strokes for different folks. Either way, I would definitely go back!

Just across from the Whitney Museum, I missed what appeared to be an amusing, engaging, and interactive drag queen show in a storefront! I will have to check those out at some later date. That is the splendid thing about walking around – you learn about things you had no idea was going on. As I left the museum to go to the metro some blocks away, I thoroughly enjoyed the nightlife scene that was about to commence. It was a little before 10 pm, so the night was still young, but once again, it made me so happy to just be out and about in something that resembled normalcy. As I got to the metro, a woman was singing (check her out: https://youtu.be/hjQxH4I0JSY ). In the 10 minutes I was there waiting for my train, I heard great music. She was hoping to earn enough money to create her first music video. At first, I handed her just a dollar. But after having heard more of her music, I dug out another fiver. I hope she gets published real soon and that Jimmy Fallon stops by and hears her! Either way, she was terrific, and it was a great tiny concert which, judging by how many people gave her money, many people really enjoyed it.

As I got on the metro, I was happy to sit down – a final people-watching session before heading home to sleep! Unlike my metro trip to Manhattan many hours earlier, which was rather eventless (besides all the men who do not know how to wear a mask!), going home was more exciting. One example: A very tall guy – he was part of a larger group – my guess is that they were probably around 18-20 years old. This young chap was holding on to the iron bars when suddenly, he felt an urge to apply lip gloss. Now, he pressed the tube a little too hard, and too much came out, which prompted him to share with two girlfriends standing next to him. I watched it all as I couldn't help to do so, as they were literally right in front of me. That got him to somewhat apologize to me, that I had to witness all of that. I smiled the best I could with my mask on my face, indifferent to his lipgloss disaster, but worried about him holding on to the bar (Covid hallooo) and then touching his lips and the other girls' lips!!! Sigh... I hope they were all vaccinated!

Otherwise, it was a fantastic day out. A few odd things happened – like – stepping in something gross down by the waterfront. For dinner, I got two pizza slices and a coke to go, and I had made it halfway back down to the river where I planned to sit on a bench and eat while watching more people when quite suddenly, a crazy rain storm happened. It lasted for perhaps 20 minutes – by then, I had made my way down to my desired destination. Except, rather than sitting on a bench, I sat on a rock under a branch on one of the many lawns!! While eating my pizza, I got tomato sauce on my dress. When I got to the Whitney, I wanted to take some hand sanitizer; however, instead (still not sure how!) I dunked my hand into a pile of gel-like sanitizer – ew… I went to the bathroom and washed it off. Now, being in the bathroom, I decided, maybe I should redo my hair. It had been a long day outside and not least in the rain. As I was redoing my ponytail, my hair tie snapped. Of course, that same morning, I had cleaned out my handbag and removed six hair ties! I thought I had put one back in there, but I couldn't find it (I did find it after I got home!). So, now I was destined to walk around the Whitney with my hair down – uncombed, moist, and yes, just not looking very good! Thank goodness I had gotten my first real haircut after more than two years just a few weeks prior. Overall, it was a strange and wonderful day. As I walked out of the metro station in Brooklyn, I looked up and noticed that it was a full moon. Now, that may explain something… Either way, I look forward to more people-watching one of these days, perhaps in Central Park.