My Brooklyn

Laurie Dinerstein-Kurs

Brooklyn—just saying Brooklyn brings a smile to my face and a twinkle in my eye. Though I have not physically lived there for many years, I have never really left. All my favorite memories are there, my best childhood friend is there, my daughter and her family moved there, and my son presently attends Brooklyn Law School.

Memories of eating my way down the avenue: one great deli after the other, egg creams, Charlotte Russe, hot dogs, pizza, candy, sodas, and ice cream, all dispensed at a window, allowing the walk to be uninterrupted.

The pride of belonging to your neighborhood—YEAH Flatbush! The availability and convenience of taking busses and trains everywhere. Having the Grand Army Plaza Library just a bus ride away always made me grateful for living in Brooklyn. The museums, the parks, the beaches, the restaurants—everything you could possibly want and only minutes from "The City."

I miss the noise, the horns, the chaotic rush everyone seems to be in, the ethnic varieties, the plethora of people—old, young, handicapped, rich, poor and everything in between. I miss standing on a corner when a bus goes by and trying to recoup from the fumes. The yellow cab that would stop when I put out my hand . . . such power . . . and I was only 14.

The school spirit, the neighborhood pride and the devotion to Brooklyn was always felt. To this day when I hear that Midwood High School has AGAIN produced a few Westinghouse Science Fair Winners . . . I smile as if I should take some credit . . . after all, I am an alumna of that distinguished institute of learning.

The richness of the diversity of Brooklyn always made me appreciate differences. By taking public transportation I was presented with the privilege of being in close contact with so many various ethnic groups, and it made a great impression on me.

My heart and spirit remains in Brooklyn. Most people can't believe that I am serious when I state then when we retire in a few years, it is to Brooklyn that I want to retire—not to Florida, not to Colorado, and not to Arizona. Just Brooklyn. Don't tell me about pollution or crime—I'll tell you about a thriving, fast paced, culturally gifted, easily accessible, diverse "everything is there" place, and the place is called BROOKLYN.

I have since returned to my old house and knocked on the door. I left my phone number with the present owners and asked that should they ever want to sell—call me—I will most happily buy back "my" house. I hope they remember to call!

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