Karol believes that I live in “fake Brooklyn,” but it wasn’t always so in my family.
My mom grew up in Coney Island and she and her friends were regulars at Carolina’s, an Italian restaurant on Mermaid Avenue. Carolina’s was a neighborhood institution; it opened in the 1920’s (I think). That circle of friends stayed amazingly close, so when BoU and I were kids, we went there for reunion dinners all the time.
On a recent trip back to Coney Island, I found that the old place had closed this year and been replaced with a Chinese Buffet. I have nothing against the buffet, of course, but I am sad to find that an old haunt has disappeared.
No joke here, so please forgive just a bit of sentimental nostalgia. Since I plan to start posting again (a lot of Flickr stuff, probably), I will revert to my typical cynicism shortly.