livin' in harlem

That's right. According to Will, I live in Harlem. He says everything north of 96th Street is Harlem. Who would have thought? I met Will at the Harlem Week Festival. After searching the Internet for something to do today, I settled on the festival, on 135th Street at Malcom X Blvd, and I invited Alison to go along. We left about 3:30, took the 1 subway down to 96th to catch the 2 up to the festival, and walked around checking out the booths and listening to the music. There were lots of booths with jewelry, a few with books, some with traditional African clothing, some with Black pride T-shirts, and lots with delicious looking food! They had fried chicken, fried shrimp, corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, collard greens, mac & cheese, red velvet cake, carrot cake, and all sorts of yummy southern cooking. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for my waist), it wasn't dinner time yet, and we weren't hungry. Of note, I probably saw at most ten other people with white skin! I felt a bit out of place, but completely safe, and I definitely enjoyed it.

After the festival, Alison and I took the 2 back to 96th Street, where we got off to look around. We walked up to 103rd, and got on the 1 to 116th. There we parted ways. I went to a Chinese restaurant for dumplings and Chinese beer for dinner. Then I rode the subway up to Target in the Bronx. That place on a Saturday evening is like Carrefour on a Sunday afternoon! (Shanghai people know what I'm talking about...) It was crazy! Nothing was in its place, and they had run out of lots of things, including Diet Coke and toasters! I had to stand in line for about 30 minutes to check out with my half-full basket. From Target, I rode the subway back up to 116th and did a bit of grocery shopping at Morton Williams. Now I'm enjoying My Fair Lady on TV. All, in all, a nice Saturday.