Greenpoint Photos du Jour: Zeitgeist

Today’s “day starter” was probably a more than ample indication that I kicked off this beautiful day in a rotten mood. For those of you who are not “in the loop” I will use this post as my personal wailing wall:

• Friday morning Chez Shitty had neither heat nor hot water.
• Friday night Chez Shitty had heat and hot water.
• Saturday night Chez Shitty had ample heat and NO hot water.
• Sunday morning Chez Shitty was sweltering but no hot water was to be had from our taps.

After some investigation on the Mister’s and my part we deduced that only one of the three plumbing stacks in our building were, in fact, providing hot water. Or to put it another way: only one third of our building had hot water. Yet we were the first and to my knowledge, ONLY, people to complain about this. Go figure.

I consider myself to be a pretty simple person. I don’t ask for much. Life promises very little other than paying taxes and dying. I endeavor to use the time I have to enjoying myself, getting to know people and helping make my neighborhood a better place for those who are here presently and those will (inevitably) come.

The previous are difficult to do when one’s hair looks reminiscent of Don King in his prime and one’s skin is itching for lack of proper hygiene. A number of people (the Mister included) romanticize foreign locales or “the good old days”. I am not one of these people. I do not want to live in a world without:

• Penicillin
• Woman having the right to vote
• Legalized birth control
• Indoor plumbing/sanitation

And the all too relevant subcategory under “Indoor plumbing/sanitation”: HOT WATER. Does this make me arrogant American? I think not. I believe the latter most three points to be a human right (as a majority of humans populating planet earth are women). The first is a given— or if it isn’t— it should be.

Then again, I think feminine hygiene products (and birth control, for that matter) should be free. This may strike some as socialism but I see it as common sense. Viagra and its numerous brethren are covered by many health care plans in New York State but birth control and maxi pads aren’t. And now, thanks to certain politicians those who may have to seek the recourse of abortion, can’t .*

A friend of mine was once told (by a female practitioner, no less):

If you want to play, you gotta pay.

What is wrong with this picture? As I made it clear at the beginning of this post, dear readers, I am NOT in a good mood. But I digress.

This morning I was faced with two options:

1. Stay home and fume over having no hot water.
2. Go for a walk and fume over having no hot water.

I chose the latter. Follow are highlights from my jaunt with commentary. Enjoy!

MANHATTAN AVENUE

Anyone who has ever has to stand in line at Rite Aid (which is where this missive hails from) will understand the author’s state of mind. It’s almost as bad as our Post Office. ALMOST.

NORMAN AVENUE

A stuffed dog. On a leash. 100% Greenpoint.

GRAHAM AVENUE

A flickr contact of mine, Jon Feinstein (a very talented photographer), documented something identical to this in Williamsburg. He tagged his photograph as being “antisemitism”. I’m not certain if that is what is going on here.

But this annotation certainly suggests antisemitism on someone’s part. Which party, I do not know.

And last, but hardly least, what is probably the best piece of street seating I have ever beheld!

FRANKLIN STREET

EAT SHIT!

Clearly I was not the only person who was in a shitty mood today.

Miss Heather

*Those of you who take issue with “House Vote 884” AKA: The “Stupak” Amendment, click here for a list of who was naughty and nice.