Coincidences Abound

Susan and I were terribly lost in Brooklyn tonight, trying to get to a house party. Driving around, I started to recognize some landmarks from my childhood in Carroll Gardens. Susan asked if a particular building was my old elementary school, and while I laughed it off at first, it indeed turned out to be P.S. 29. I remembered there being a candy store across the street which I used to frequent, but now it seemed to be nothing but brownstones across from the school. At some point I must have slipped between two dimensions, differentiated only by the existence (or non-existence) of a candy store across from P.S. 29. I know candy stores close, but I don't think they turn into brownstones.

On the verge of giving up on the party, we decided to drive by my old place, 363 Degraw St. We double parked, and I soaked up the memories, then took notice of a couple dealing with the trash across the street. Look, I thought, there are hipsters on Degraw Street now. Then I realized it was Kevin Maher, comedian extraordinaire and fellow college and comedy troupe alum. He lived across from my boyhood home. Marvelous! He was also being forced out of the apartment by the landlord, who wanted to move in himself. Not so marvelous.

Kevin gave us driving directions. The moral of this story is, when lost, head home. It doesn't matter which one.