Those Were The Times

TW mention of a fire and losing beloved pets.

"Don't you remember? We bought this in New York City at the Bryant Park Christmas Market", I said picking up a NY Yankees Christmas ornament up from some rubble off of my kitchen table, as I sifted through things that had not burned in my apartment fire. It had been bad, but, it could have been worse. There were things to salvage, but, things that had been lost. The worst thing was losing 2 of my three kitties, my best friends on four legs. I rubbed at my aquamarine eyes, trying to keep a tear from falling.

"We bought that at Bryant Park? I thought it was the Union Square Market", My boyfriend questioned.

"That was the cool tin ornament we bought".

"Oh. That's right".

"That was a fun trip", I said.

"It was. Those were the times".

"We need to plan another trip when all of this is taken care of", I said. I had to cancel a trip to NYC to see my favorite house/latin/hip hop DJ spin on a rooftop in sunset park. I had been so excited to go dance, and also see some art where a favorite artist of mine was a resident. That had all been cancelled, and I was only reimbursed for train ticket, not Air B and B. At least I had received a raise at work recently. The raise had helped with buying things for the new apartment and made it stink less that I had lost 200 on Air B and B.

I had to reminisce about trips past, as salvaging things from the wreckage of our apartment fire was wearing on me. Not only had I lost my two beloved cats in the fire, as well as family heirlooms like my grandmother's journal, a needle point picture of my grandma and Grandpa's old house, and an article that had been framed and talked about my dad and grandad's basketball legacy in the town I had grown up in and things I had collected on various NYC trips like books from the Strand, and other vacations. Fires are things you think happen to other people. You hear about them on the news. I never thought it would happen to us. Even though we already had an apartment we had been moving into, that apartment didn't feel like home. I had lost furniture, and other things. I only had one kitty left and she was depressed. If it weren't for family and friends I would have been even worse for the ware than I already was. My Mom had let me burry my kitties at her home overlooking a creek and gave me money to rebuild and replenish all that had been lost. She helped me to buy a new cell phone as that had been lost as well. My sisters helped me with a TV wich I really needed to be able to sleep.

After salvaging things on the day, I took off from work, and showering, my partner Brian and I cleaned ourselves up, and went to TJ Maxx to replace things with a gift card and money from A raffle that the punk/metal community had put on.

"I think this would be nice for hot beverages", Brian said.

"They look like the mugs I bought from that street fair in Astoria".

"Should we get them?"

"We should. Those New York City trips are fond memories. We lost so many things that represent good memories".

"We did and it stinks", Brian said. His blue eyes looked a little misty. We checked out at TJ Maxx and grabbed a meal at Panera. We had been eating out a lot, since we did not have pots and pans or dishes.

The weekend came. It meant time to unwind a bit, and recharge. We took a friend who had helped us with some things out to breakfast at our favorite soul food restaurant to say thank you. We also took a trip to the suburbs to check a friend's storage unit. She had so many awesome clothing pieces for fall and winter. I had been really worried about fall as it would be upon us in no time.

After the fire, I found myself feeling profound loss over my beautiful and loving kitties, but also sad about things I had lost to the fire. It would hit out of the blue and just sit in my heart, along with the anxiety that came with settling into a new apartment that I was feeling extreme renters remorse over. My old apartment had been sold to Marriot Company. I had taken the new apartment when I had seen it fully furnished. A lot of things were hidden by furniture. Upon move in, my shower handle fell off, my towel rack came free of the wall, and there was exposed wire in the living room. I was less than thrilled, and it was making me anxious. I was paying way too much for what I was getting.

Brian and I decided to end our weekend with wings at the local watering hole where our friend and favorite bartender had a 50/50 raffle going for us to help with the things we had lost. Our group of friends were already there. We were met with hugs, and people being fun and silly witch made me smile. There was good conversation to keep my mind off of things. My friends always could make me smile and laugh. They were like family, and I could count on them for anything. I was met with some matching coffee mugs, as I had a love of coffee. One of my friends paid our food and drink tab. It was a good thing that it was not a hefty tab. It felt so good to know I wasn't alone and was cared for. It felt like one of those time where I would look back and say something like "Ah those were the times".