The Trees of Brooklyn

I spent a lovely afternoon yesterday with Tim, a friend of my brother's who is a law student at ASU. Tim has been in New York the entire summer and will be leaving at the end of the week, so Ben suggested that I give him a call before he heads out. We decided to meet in Union Square early Tuesday afternoon and then head to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Prospect Park. I thought this was a perfect afternoon seeing that I am continually enchanted by Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The gardens span 52-acres in the heart of historic Brooklyn, New York and include ponds, rose gardens, a Japanese garden and pond, and much more. Tim and I walked around the entire park on this somewhat cloudy, yet beautiful day. We then headed back to Manhattan and right down to Chinatown.
Tim's parents immigrated from Hong Kong and he has spent some time in San Francisco so he had some things to show me in this mecca of Eastern culture. I drank a bubble milk tea (the highlight being the black tapioca gobbs that come up a wide straw from the bottom of the drink) and a Chinese pastry, chewy and covered with sesame seeds. We then walked through SOHO and Greenwich Village until we made it back to Union Square. Tim came with me back to the Upper East Side and then we watched a movie on HBO. Overall, it was a fantastic afternoon and I enjoyed having someone with whom to share my cultural explorations.
By chance, I recently connected with my godmother who lives in Illinois. She is currently in Manhattan with her family and this afternoon they are coming to apartment and then taking me out to dinner. I am looking forward to seeing her and her family as well as showing off my fantastic apartment. I expect it will be another great evening her on York Ave. Before they arrive I plan on heading to Rohr's and taking in more of my current novel.
Earlier this week I stopped into the bookstore right down the street and met the owner. He invited me to their book club and other special events happening in August and September. The book club is discussing As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner at the end of the month so I've decided that that will be my next book of choice, despite my general dislike of other works I've read by the author. I love the culture of New York that encourages reading in so many ways. I see many people on the subways and buses reading voraciously and I am pleased to join them whenever I get the chance.