June 21, 2008

Crossing Delancey

Crossing Delancey
What a bizarre adventure.  After having a hair-cut in China town, trying to comb my hair into my way instead of the hair stylist’s old-time fashion, and having a late-late brunch of Vietnam style pork chop rice. Today’s major priority seems to be finished already. A lovely Sunday afternoon with milder temp and irresistible sunshine, I should take a walk in this lovely afternoon with my goggle on. I thought.

It’s quite been a while since last time I visited the Lower East Side during the annual Pickle Festival. I decided to step into the historical ethnic district again. I don’t know the reason why I fallen in love with the multi-culture mixed community as the Lower east side, partially it’s also the place where I met Cathy, my ex-girl. It seems there is always something there worth recalling. Walking across Christie, Allen, and Orchard street, I can’t help noticing this neighborhood a humble, mess and shabby neighborhood stands up low-rise buildings, bargain district signs everywhere, open-air laundry hung on the windowsills and lots Puerto-Ricans are sitting on plastic-made chairs for an afternoon chat with Latin ethnic music. The surrounding somehow makes me think about walking through an anonymous urban ghetto in Caribbean country. It’s the new look of this newfound land of immigrants. For decades, the Lower East Side changes little, however, the major residents were replaced from German, Russian, Jewish, Italian and now it is mainly occupied by the Caribbean Latino and Fu-Ken Chinese.
The Lower east side was most New Yorker or American’s root …Like the famous New Yorker celebrity, Woody Allen, said that  “Everyone should have been running blood of the Lower East Side.” Never to doubt his comment by this, it’s the nation, which is consist of immigrants, and most of their life start on Lower East Side. Once they have been through struggles to get to survive in this new pigeon- nest area, they would try to seek other places like village or upper side of the city to get a better life. Their notorious tenement apartment would be occupied by a new wave of immigrants with their American Dreams. As being the major harbors in the past centuries, New York was the major entrance of millions of immigrants from their homeland. And a shabby humble Lower East Side could provide them a close connection with their roots thought it could be a little bitter beyond their American Dream compared to their original living styles at the first place. However, the spirit of every immigrant works hard trying to improve this little miniature community a better or superior one than his homeland makes this neighborhood vividly, therefore, Lower East Side has lots culture textures over years and lots American would consider it their “Root of New Life “.
 
A pair of Hasidic Jewish couple jump out of their minivan … I was so stunning by their dressing though I have seen them hundred times, but I am still always astonished by their religious costumes, appearances, isolated social-life and mysterious language .The man dresses in long coat with Kipot and curly sideburn on his head and the women was also wearing hat or luxurious wig with simple-cut elegant overcoat. I am always wandering what kind of belief can make them dress as their ancestors without change for centuries. Following their steps, with no many surprises, they lead forward into a furniture shop.  Jews know how to make money and enjoy family life (it includes food, home decoration and parenting). They just don’t spent money on our fashion, karaoke, sport, beer, pop dance, adult entertainment and some other secular stuff.

Walking through the Guss’ Pickle, there are people lining up for their famous sour or half-sour pickles as usual. I love pickles while having a heavy dinner with protein like a huge corn-beef sandwich; however, it would never become an idea for me to have it as a side dish for daily life. After taking few pictures of this historical street spot, I decided to walk southern-bound for another adventure because I might need a bit of refreshment out of the boring week schedule. It’s like to explore a whole new country to me. The Hebrew signs along the street indicate it was used to be a major Jewish community here for noted by their cheap fabric merchant business, ethnic food stores and the children’s furniture shops. The primary ghetto within America, however, obviously it’s changing its look by more and more Chinese signs occupies along the street sides. The whole ghetto is fading out unfortunately .The Kosher bakery and Rumania –Jewish restaurant with singular window layout provides lots Jewish their basic essential of life selling dry nuts, yarmulkes and kosher bialys. I persuaded myself to imagine the life was here decades before. The Essex street reminds me of the movie I saw just two days ago, “Crossing Delancey ”, which was the movie that I recommend it to a friend of mine for our common interested-experience of the movie “ Kissing Jessica Stein “, and I had brought it home for my second view because I would like to see all the exotic culture content that I have never been experienced in real life.
What a coincidence to me while seeing the poster of the pickle guy Sam (Peter Riegert) whom Izzy (Amy Irving) can’t not help to falling in love in the end but avoid her grandmother’s fix up at the first place, which was hanging up the storefront of the shop Pickle Guy. Gosh …I can not believe the scenes pop up in front of me after seeing that movie two days before by accidentally ! The pickle man poster just standing up in front the pickle guy shop at the conjunction of the Essex street and Delcancey . It looks like a fun road trip to a movie fan.

Watching curiously of my action of picture-taking, a blonde hair lady talks to me … She said  “it’s the Movie “ …“ Crossing Delancey “ We said it almost the same time and smiled to each other for a while! It looks like we have something in common . Yet to wait for her further introduction, I can’t help to express how exciting that I bump into this movie scene by accident and the memory of that movie is as fresh as new hair-cut.” I just saw the movie days ago and love this neighborhood “, I said. It’s obviously that she must have some connection with this neighborhood because I was kind following the pair of mother and daughter steps from the Orchard street and overhearing the daughter trying to tell her mother any change of this neighborhood especially those Kosher-Jewish things. I thought it’s a great way to know about its history by following insiders’ steps then. I guess they are either tourist or Jewish-interested people. They might the Jews. At the moment, her daughter was inside of the store and the lovely lady trying to telling me more about this place where she grow up till 1956 … Just like I imagined.our conversation was going well after we discussed the detail that Sammie try to put on fruity perfume on his hand for an impressive date with Izzy. Sammie have learned this trick from his father because he would take very serious of dating Lzzy and he doesn’t want Izzy to think that she is just with a pair of sour pickle-picking hands.  She seems like to talk much more to a stranger like me than I expected. And I love to be a good listener under this situation. I guess partially because we have the same wavelength at the first place “ Crossing Delancey “ and she also told me that she loves Guss pickle better than here ..unlike her daughter . Living in Bronx after 1956 , her son still live in the Grand Street with his Korean wife . “Are you a Korean “? She asked me. Of course not …I don’t blame her to looking forward to another Korean face so passion because of her interracial family panel. I try not to think about the difficulties to get over through before a Rabbi marrying to a Non-Jewish Asian .  I am the one who she can have a short talk during his home-returning trip except her daughter . I believe there is only a few people nearby ( Mostly Fu-Ken Chinese ) has something in common with these lady. Like an old friend of her or a young grandson, she told me a lot of her life stories from her homeland --Poland through crossing-oceans ship to this dream land settle down in Bronx finally. Those wonderful years etc…it’s must been a unwilling struggle for her to move out of Lower East Side to Bronx…and it would be a precious opportunity to visit her childhood again .Her daughter seems a good girl for taking her mother out of senior citizen center during the weekend having their home-returning trip.

“Are you living in this neighborhood?”  “How long have you been in this country?”” my daughter is living in 71street East.” Where I live seems to be an issue at the moment .I can’t not help thinking the fix-up thing that Izzy ‘s grandmother does for her in that movie … If every Jewish Mother does the same thing …I am wandering …I kind of serious hope it’s true to a traditional Jewish family value. After all these questions pop up to me, I had to change our subject to if she can speak Yiddish. ? Suddenly there was little things running in her eyes while I was asking…Gosh.it must remind another life story again … I better stop the further home-related issues … … Finally, her daughter came out of the tiny, humble pickle shop with a bag of pickles on her hands …she told me   “her favorite pickle is Guss’s …only her daughter like this “Pickle Guy’s” again. She’s cheerfully introduces  me to her daughter “ This young man happen to see the movie …””..Oh yeah “ She seems excited too. She must like that movie too and probably come here for the cute Pickle guy like Sammie in that movie . . I was kind of telling the daughter the old story about how I got excited while I saw the Sammie’s poster in front of this shop and … Finally, we end up our conversation by  “Have a nice day “…of course.her daughter is a bit outgrow me. And the content of the movie is a kind of embarrassing subject to talk further for Jews. At the moment, I was thinking a working lady living in Upper East Side companying her mother during this lovely Sunday … it is probably another Izzy in a real life. I guess…

Although we were in the same direction toward third Ave …I tried to maintain a certain distance after the daughter-mother. Spying on their steps, physical intimacy, trying to imagine their conversation while picking oranges at the street vendor and seeing them walking into a Vietnamese restaurant .My weird thinking pops up again ….a nice daughter would like to lead her mother to the old place, shopping grocery, smelling the air of the old neighborhood and end up with a delicious meal in Chinatown; However, I am still wandering if they accidentally order the pork chop rice as I ate before. Will their Messiah forget them … ?

The coincidence seems never stop again …later on. I was astonished that I log on the New York Times web in the NYU’s computer lab in late evening …the front page shocked me that Sign of “Guss’ Pickle” is on the cover page of the digital version of New York Times around 21:00. The whole article “Fading into History “ belongs to the regional section in the Sunday edition, Oct 20,2002. I couldn’t believe my eye …the whole article was quoted by an old lady for her memory of the Lower East Side …
I was accidentally walked into the Jewish ghetto today without reading any Sunday newspaper in advance …However, all of these coincidences by walking the same route of the paper quoted as that old lady Linda … taking the same picture of the Guss Pickle’s sign and meeting the similar characters (mother and daughter set) like the movie “Crossing Delancey “ in a real life … I am confused …if the old lady speaking Yiddish who I met today was the real Linda on the paper and what kind of possibility could it happen that I just seen the scenes two day ago and the real ones confront with me accidentally .

If there is someone who set me up in those awesome situation or am I having a day dream by those continuous coincidences.   …

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