How can I top the last post? I feel like going to Montauk with Mori and Fumiko was so great and so photographic that I am not sure I have the chops to follow it up. Rather than tell a moving story, I will start with a funny picture.

Mori was walking by some random church in Soho and said “can we go inside? I’ve never seen the inside of a church.” It was always surprising, realizing that the things that we take for granted here can be so new for people from another place. I’m not only talking about churches, I’m talking about chicken on the bone, a toilet in the same room as the bathtub, jaywalking, or self-service gas. It was always kind of eye opening to explain something that I had never even thought about to Mori and Fumiko. Credit for this picture really goes to Sabrina, who explained and demonstrated how to properly kneel in church.

Soon after the church, we sent Sabrina back to school and embarked on our last week of adventuring in New York. First on the list was walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, something everyone should do at least once.

Remember the fishing picture that gave me good feelings in the last post? This picture gives me good feelings too. It’s posed and silly, but it’s happy.

So is this one.

Later that day, in a vain attempt to find an obscure brand of skate clothing, we ended up in deepest Brooklyn. We didn’t find the clothes, Mori was disappointed, but I found this shop. I imagine the type of people who might like this shop, and my sister springs to mind.

Spiritual Persona Love, Problems, and Oldies Music. How can you go wrong?

I realize now that I am posting a lot of posed pictures here. I guess that’s ok, how often am I going to get the chance to take these pictures? Probably not very often.

That’s right, the Museum of Natural History. We hit all the big spots in our second week, and it was just so fun.

The dioramas at the museum would make a really cool series of photos. I actually think some photographer did that already, but it was a good idea.

As I was planning Mori’s visit out, as this was his and Fumiko’s first time to America, I wanted to make sure I showed them as much as I could. I decided that seeing New York City and Montauk was not really giving the whole picture. I decided that we’d head upstate for the weekend, get on an interstate and drive for a while, and get a taste of something a bit more rural. We headed up to Saratoga, because somehow I can’t seem to stay away from Saratoga. In Saratoga it was a busy weekend of apple picking, barbeque, drinking, and getting bleary eyed breakfast. It was quick, but exactly as I had hoped.

Saratoga Apple: We got cider, apples, and cider donuts. Mission accomplished.

Another thing about Saratoga that was good to experience - it’s so cold! As night fell, the temperature approached freezing and the three of us realized we were completely under dressed for the arctic winds of the capitol region. Luckily we had Brendon and Kristen, who were very giving of their warm house, and Kristin’s warm hats.

Fumiko told Mori that he looked like Ghengis Kahn with that hat.

There wasn’t much more - we had another morning in Saratoga, and then on Sunday, back to the city for a last bit of skateboarding, packing, and then back on the plane to Japan. I don’t know when I’ll see those kids again, and that is kind of hard to think about. We had such a great time, laughing together every day, doing amazing things and - for Mori and I - realizing that we weren’t just friends due to circumstance in Japan, but that we really are great friends, two people who get along great and always have an amazing time. It was go good to see him, and the next time, I’ll see him in Japan. Those pictures will be up here too - give me a year or so.

Couple more pictures to tie it all up:

Essential Americana: Interstate rest stops.

And what would a Ben in ______ blog be without pictures of Mori skateboarding? It would be less than it could be, so I think it’s fitting to end with one of the last pictures I’ve taken of the boy on his board. It was honestly comforting and familiar to hear Japanese spoken around me all the time, and to see Mori in my viewfinder. I miss it, him, and Japan now, but now that all the nostalgia adventures are out of the way, it’s time for me to move on and make the most of my life in Brooklyn, because there are so many adventures to be had here, and now I’m ready to have them.

So, I have fallen behind in a big way. I am over a month behind, and so drastic measures are being taken. I will be on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule until I am caught up, probably in a few weeks. These pictures are seriously so old that I can barely remember taking them. This is just shameful.

First things first. Our darling Maudie has gone off to the far side of the country for college, and so now I have no one to fight with anymore. I mean, I fight with Neko, but she doesn’t punch me with the bone-shattering force that Maud musters. We miss you, Maud. Forget that silly college stuff and come home.

Light on the building near my office - it’s like this every day in the early morning.

So, Fred got a new car. It is fast, makes a really great sound, and it terrifies me to drive it. Seriously. I have taken this car to JFK a couple times, to New Jersey once, and for 90 percent of the time I am sitting behind the wheel, I am sweating, hands clenched on the wheel, jaw tight, terrified of making a mistake and either a) taking off at over 100 miles an hour or b) stalling. The other ten percent of the time, I am grinning like a maniac, so it pays off.

The other thing that happened recently is that Brendon Boyle got married. I the words of legendary art professor Paul Sattler, “what’s the deal with that?” Some friends decided we would have a bachelor party/weekend, but by the time it all came together, it was three of us driving up from Brooklyn for a decidedly un-ridiculous weekend of hanging out, watching movies, going to bars, and smoking cigars. It was a blast for the four of us, but Kristen (the bride in question) described our awesome party as “the most boring bachelor party ever.” I disagree, but the purpose of this blog is to expose the private conversations of all my friends to the leering internet, so there you have it. The wedding will be up here three posts from today, so next week. Again, apologies for the delay. In the meantime, enjoy male tomfoolery.

Out of the three of us, Matt (in the middle) is the only one who can hit a golf ball with any consistency. I don’t mean hit well, I just mean the club connecting with the ball in the swing. It may look easy, but there are a lot of other things for the club to hit as it travels towards the ball (the ground, the bushes, the wall, your friends, nothing at all, etc.).

We were up in Saratoga, because that is where Brendon lives, and so we did our drinking on Caroline Street, of course. It hasn’t changed one bit, it’s like every college kid that left has been replaced by an eerily similar new student, and everyone else is the same. Caroline street is fantastically colorful though, isn’t it? Look at that tree!

Desperate Annie’s - back room: Matt destroys everyone at pool over and over, and then always loses in the end by messing up the eight ball.

After I got home I was looking at the pictures I took, and the thing I liked best about them is that it’s so clear that everyone is having a great time.

Saratoga, after a night out, probably around 4am. A place and time that I know very well. It’s nice going back to those things you remember after having been away for such a long time. When you’re working on settling into a new life, it’s like a vacation, going someplace that you know inside and out. For the two days that I was in Saratoga with the boys, I felt like we owned the town, and that was a good feeling.

See you Thursday.