We’re enjoying eggnog and Christmas goodies after an evening outing to Howard Beach here in Queens. The bus dropped us off near Danny’s, a favorite Chinese restaurant that fills with Italian families. After dining on pan fried noodles and dumplings, we walked through a few blocks of the residential area, looking at the Christmas lights. Words will not describe the magnificence of the displays. My favorite was a large nativity scene. We could go every night for a week but we still wouldn’t see it all.
The streets were silent as we walked behind Crossbay Boulevard except for the lone and lonely man who climbed out of his car as we walked by. He shook our hands, told us his name, and wondered if we’d heard him on the radio. He then recited a poem that he’d written about his mother.
The scene this evening was so different than when I walked on Roosevelt to Junction Boulevard today. Laurence says, “Take your passport when you go out there.” He means that it’s like another country and you won’t be seeing tourists. The streets were not quiet. Food vendors sold tacos, empanadas, hot drinks, fried goodies, charcoaled meats …
Out there you could do all your shopping at the sidewalk vendors. Tables full of gloves, Santa hats, ear muffs, stuffed animals, perfumes, jackets, shoes, knock off sunglasses, gift bags, Tupperware and more lined one beside another with people, people everywhere. Everyone was talking in Spanish. (Wouldn’t you like to be a missionary among those humble, lovely people?) The barber shops were full! “Corte de cabello.” The hairdresser was also out on the street, braiding a girl’s hair while the mother looked on with approval.
Families are celebrating Christmas tonight. We miss our families. But we get to be here and tomorrow we’ll be with friends at Sugar Hill Mennonite Mission in Harlem.
Merry Christmas! Berniece
Ps We fondly remember the year Nathan and Tori, Jesse and Heather, and Royce and Sarah came for a week at Christmas or when the James Koehn family did. We recall the Christmas day when the living room was filled with the Akinyombos and the Benns…so many memories.
An Ordinary Life 