My Dog Day Afternoon (and Week) in Brooklyn with Bruno

 

Yep, it's DUMBO.  Do you know what that stands for?

Tell you later.

From time to time I travel from Philly to Brooklyn to be with my son Brian's dog Bruno when Brian leaves on business travel, and I had such an early summer sojourn just last week.

On the train to NYC once again I saw the words "Trenton Makes, the World Takes" on the side of that bridge we all pass in Trenton.

Umm ... somebody got paid for writing this? And probably got paid again when it was erected on the side of the bridge? I wish I had known when I was younger that there was a career path in writing shitty slogans for New Jersey towns.

Arriving in New York, I always forget how incredibly big and brassy everything is up here only 90 miles away from Philly. Brooklyn is Philadelphia on Steroids and Manhattan is Brooklyn on Steroids with a superiority complex so massive that even Martha Stewart might blush.

And then some. A lot more some.

Bruno

I collected Bruno as soon as I hit Brooklyn and took him out for the first of many walks. There are many nice residential neighborhoods around where he lives and he also likes going to nearby Fort Greene Park.

Walking through the park we were frequently greeted by a very strong smell of dope. (We called it "dope" back in the day although the operative term in this day and age is "weed.")

Bruno would eagerly sniff away. He often got so intense about it I think for the moment he forgot all about dog butt smell.

One morning Bruno asked me to put on the Grateful Dead. He especially liked "Sugar Magnolia." Well, most of us have to go through that phase sooner or later.

Bruno attracts a lot of attention on the streets of Brooklyn and when people ask me about him, I often tell them that Bruno is my son's dog. "Oh, he's your grand dog," some people say.

"No, I don't have any grandchildren and I don't have a grand dog!" I reply, probably a bit too brusquely. "I prefer to think of Bruno as my third son - Brian, Brandon, and Bruno." And Bruno is probably the nicest to me of the bunch.

I had breakfast with Bruno one morning in the above breakfast room in the dog friendly nearby Ace Hotel where I ordered Bruno a breakfast special of scrambled eggs, bacon, and roast potatoes. Okay, I don't eat bacon for humane reasons, but Bruno is a dedicated carnivore.

Yep, he wolfed it down. What ya gonna do?

The Met (Not the Hated Mets, the Met)

A few random objects d'art from an afternoon visit:

Yep, it's Alexander Hamilton. Right here in the room where it happened.

An interesting piece of Native American Art. I don't think I've ever seen fish so happy, especially after being caught.

Don't know if this was intended or not, but these adoring Magi seem to be a lot less focused on the little baby than they're supposed to be.

Brooklyn Street Names

If I were someone who had achieved success as a merchant or some such thing in early America and my name were Schermerhorn, I think I would have changed it to something like "Horn." Nevertheless Mr. Schermerhorn chose not to do so.

So, today if Shaboozey were to marry into the Schermerhorn family his name would be:

           SHABOOZEY SHERMERHORN

Try saying that fast five times!

Whenever Bruno and I walk past Dean Street, I go into my impression of James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, to which Bruno says "You're out of your depth here; if you gotta do James Dean, stick to James Dean in Giant!

He's right, of course.

And I have to wonder about the social life of the guy who named this street way back in the day.

And Other Assorted Street Signs

Well, it's nice to matter to somebody so okay, JC, I'll hang with you. But the minute you start proselytizing, you need to hit the road, Jack!

Or Jesus, as the case may be.

Shit! I really wanted to play on that sliding board!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly, all right!

An Open Mic or Two

I did a few Open Mics at the EastVille Comedy Club while I was up in Brooklyn. I don't want to say I didn't do well but one night even the crickets got up and left the building.

Before I headed back to Philly, there was one more point to ponder ....

"So, Bruno, what does DUMBO stand for?"

"Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass"

"Knew you'd nail it!"

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