Field Notebook

            As I was getting off the train on Crescent St, I noticed that not much has changed since I moved from that area. From the train station, you can see down Euclid Street where Blessed Sacrament is located. I had never noticed how the sign of the church is located a bit far from where the church actually is. The dark maroon colored sign with gold and black lettering looked very small from where I was standing. On the other side of the platform you can see the remains of what used to be a factory. Although I had lived in that area most of my life, I didn’t know what that factory produced. All I knew was that it was very blue and very big. Now there isn’t much left of it and I wondered why it hadn’t gone under reconstruction or any type of clean up. From up there you could still see debris from the fire. Pieces of glass were scattered about and everything seemed to be covered in a coat of black dust. As I went down the stairs of the train station I could hear the train screech as it turned the sharp corner towards Cypress Hills. Once on Fulton Street I could smell pizza coming from Mike’s Pizzeria, which used to be my favorite place to eat pizza. By glancing inside, I noticed that it had been renovated. The once green tables covered in scratches, were now red and shiny. After I crossed the street and walked down a block I clenched up my nose from force of habit while passing the smelly fish market. Fulton Street seemed to be louder than usual today. Many cars were passing by playing loud Spanish music and their windows low. Which seemed to go with all the bold posters advertising local Spanish bands at local clubs and restaurants, many of which were of old parties, before I passed hemlock and my old dentist. The place looked run down with the same red paint, and creepy looking Mickey Mouse in graffiti along the wall. Across the street I went into “Rodriguez Grocery” on the corner of Lincoln where Ramon used to work.  Sure enough he was there and recognized me. He looked a bit old and his grey hairs were starting to show. We had a quick conversation on how I was doing and how my parents where. Stepping out and turning left onto Lincoln I was on my old block. It was surprising to see that there was no one on the streets. All of the house looked deserted and abandoned even my own. The 2 in the 214 only had one screw and the rest looked rusted. While walking down the street I felt as if tumbleweed would pass in front of me at any moment from how deserted everything looked. The streets that were once clean and filled with kids, was now full of leaves, garbage and I even saw a Hawaiian punch bottled filled with what looked like urine. The houses that were once brightly colored now looked sad and grey.