I have a *personal essay* up at Mr. Beller's Neighborhood.
Twice weekly, we ride the ferry across the East River from the India Avenue landing in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn to 34th Street on the Island of Manhattan. Two hours later, we make the return trip. Each time we come aboard, the pilot, the bill of his cap pulled low on his brow, greets us with a taciturn nod. In turn, we reward his sullen acknowledgement with just the same gesture. No more, no less. The crossing, including a brief stop at Hunter’s Point in Queens, is short, but for those seven minutes on the river’s steel-gray waters—a trip that spans three boroughs—we are among the river folk...<read more>
