January 5, 2014

January 5, 2014

I read on Facebook that it was going to snow in NYC and I never ever been in the snow before.   I booked a red-eye on JetBlue to make sure that I arrive at the height of the snow storm.  Luckily I had no trouble with the flight into JFK.  The great thing is when I went to the taxi stand, that was the moment where I experienced my first time under a snow flake.  Except it wasn't one flake but a super lot.

   I had the taxi driver take me to the Jefferson Station in Bushwick, Brooklyn.  i wanted to go somewhere that was totally industrial, yet in the snow.  It took awhile and cost around $70 to get there, but once there after I paid the driver, I jumped out of the taxi, and experienced my first time walking in the snow.  It was odd because due to the heavy snow, I couldn't see where the curb off the street was.  I kept stepping on a pile of snow where it seemed that there was no ground underneath the white stuff.  I imagine to find an international market that was open that early in the morning. I bought an apple muffin and a large cup of hot coffee.

 I sat as close as I can to the door, so when it opens I can feel the freezing temperature  come in.  Strange enough when I am in Los Angeles, and its cold, I really feel it.  Here when it is around 17 degrees, the cold almost becomes abstract.  I hung out there with my large coffee being kind of scared because I thought there was a good change I would die on this trip.

   Around 10:am I got up and headed towards back to the Jefferson St station.  It was really difficult for me to walk on the snow for some reason.  Plus the fact that I never experienced the sensation of the snow hitting my face.  I really didn't like that feeling.  I made it to the station, and I was extra careful not to go face down the stairs.  My sixth sense told me that the stairs could be slippery.  I bought a MTA card and used it with no problem.  The L Line took me to Union Square Manhattan.  That is where I got off and I walked down Broadway to the Strand Bookstore.

 I went in, and I was so thankful to be in a warm store.  Almost too warm, but nevertheless I felt that since I made it here, there is a good chance I won't die on this trip.  I looked around for a book to read on my way back home later that day.  I found a hardcopy of "The Boy Detective: A New York Childhood" by Roger Rosenblatt.  I never heard of this book, but it seems to be about a writer who pretended to be a boy detective among other things, and  it covers two subject matters of my interest.  Childhood and detective fiction.  Also, even though it was a hardcover book, the size was perfect for a plane trip.

  I bought it, refused the bag, and stuff it into my coat pocket.  I found a taxi around the Strand area and went back to JFK.  Luckily there was no cancellation of the plane trip going back to Los Angeles.