Raindrops on Greenwich Village

Sitting in a square where Bleecker meets Sixth Avenue, attempting to focus on a very intellectual novel, but completely distracted by the traffic and amazing people watching. Eating gelato in the summer then trading it in for coffee with a muffin in autumn & winter. Independent bookshops, artsy fartsy cinemas, a record store, dive bars, NYU students, baby strollers, bohemian chic old people and the ghost of Bob Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street” lingering along the overly gentrified sidewalks.

This is one of my favorite slices of old New York. Therefore, the Village has always been a most splendid place to go for a date with my laptop. One such day, I excitedly took the subway downtown, armed with my laptop & read to write. I felt euphoric, even though I would go to the Village on a daily basis. Something shocking caught my eye as I made my way out of the subway into Houston Street station.

Umbrellas, dancing umbrellas to be exact were dominating the scenery of the less than picturesque station. “Don’t tell me it’s raining?” I thought to myself. I looked up at the street from the station and there was torrential rain. “No, no,” I proclaimed nervously. I’m without an umbrella and my laptop (it was in a case), I can’t afford a new one. My mood went from excited to nervous. Actually, nervous/neurotic is the norm for me, but there was reason to be a bit on edge.

As I waited in the purgatory in life known as Houston Street station, I saw less dancing umbrellas. It was a sign to look up and check on the street. Everything was clear. So, I wondered around Sixth Avenue trying to find a bodega with those cheap umbrellas, which fall apart upon opening. At that point I was more concerned about my dear Mac companion.

I bought an umbrella then happily wrote and drank my coffee in one of the Village’s inviting coffee shops. Testing, my umbrella I noticed it actually opened all the way. Instead of going back to my apartment, I decided it was a fantastic day for a field trip. Feeling quite adventurous, I took the L train to Brooklyn.

Surprise, there was more rain, but it didn’t faze me. I sat by a window at Bedford Avenue & watched hipsters go by. Soon, I just wanted to go back to my apartment & relax. So, I took the subway back to Queens. As I sat on the L, I noticed “whoops, left my umbrella at the Bedford Avenue station. Naively, it didn’t faze me, until I switched to an N train and as it elevated above ground, boom “rain!”

“Yikes,” I thought to myself. I don’t want to run around with my laptop in the rain. Water & electronics don’t go together. The rain stopped somewhere in the middle of my trip in Queens. I bolted out of the station & rushed to my apartment. My laptop and outfit survived. Minutes after returning to my apartment the rain returned. I felt relived to be home with my laptop, staying dry.

Posted by alasnyc on December 20, 2012

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