...where the heart is...

The other day I was walking down fourth avenue (the one in Brooklyn, by our place) thinking about how for the first week or two when we moved here, how I barely left the apartment, especially alone. I had never thought that I would be even slightly scared of a place I live in. It's not like I had been used to living in the best neighborhoods in Kansas City. Maybe I was afraid I might actually like it here. Now of course, I walk down the street like nobody's business. People recognize me, smile and nod. I am familiar.
I think walking and taking public transportation make you much more a part of your community. You begin to notice patterns, especially if you are doing things at the same time each day. I like walking into my favorite corner store on fourth, or the mexican grocery, or flowers and coffee, or our bank, or aniello's, or taco nuevo mexico, and they know us. I can weave easily through the people on the street, and I know all the characteristics of each street and sidewalk. It's a different experience than what I was used to in K.C.
In the Kansas City area (Lawrence included) it is a understanding of the landscape from the perspective of a car. I do know parts by foot, very well actually, but the majority is taken in from the driver's seat preferably. I love cruising around. Some routes are like my favorite pair of pants, that pair you never want to wash because they would have to be off of your body. I knew exactly where you could or could not take a left turn, where cars would be parked at any time of day on various streets, almost to the minute how long it should take me from point a to point b, etc. I also know my car, and how it handles every situation.
Thinking about it, people knew us in Kansas City too. It just was not necessarily at strictly neighborhood places. My neighborhood was all over that town.