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BrooklynBorn
Brooklyn, NYC
This blog started in my head when talking with a friend who moved here. She said, "it's the greatest block ever...even though it's in B'klyn & a little sketchy!" When she gave me the address I knew it was the greatest block, because it had been mine. I grew up in a lovely Prospect Heights brownstone on that glorious black, white, latino family friendly block. There were young folks acting the fool, grown folks working hard and old folks admonishing us all. For a variety of reasons I moved as did most of the people we knew. Of the people who have filled the void, many are creative, expressive and looking to depict their newly found "greatest" blocks. That's great. But I've noticed some people new to Brooklyn tend to speak of it as if it barely existed before they arrived. Brooklyn as Tabula Rasa. My blog satisfies my need to hear and air feelings of B'klyn from the people whose life experience was born here. Also I hope to provide balance to some of the revisionist historical musings I've seen about how Brooklyn and her residents used to be. If we can all live as best possible while appreciating the past and neighbors we've inherited that would be great too.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Raccoon!! + Soledad O'Brien!! = Breaking News

Raccoon in Brooklyn!
The Raccoon! Not quite the eye of the tiger. (video below)

BREAKING NEWS! - So I interrupt my program of fall foliage, to announce I have captured on film the elusive Downtown Brooklyn Raccoon. In a blog posting (I never wrote) I encountered The Raccoon weeks ago on the night before the gov'ment wiped out my WaMu shares. I never posted this because in addition to being somewhat drunk I didn't have a clear photo... (It was raining that night and I had the sting of financial ruin in my eyes...)

But tonight the Clinton Hill Raccoon is captured! on film at least.

I was originally intending on writing about the discussion/forum on Black Men that was organized by two time congress-hopeful Kevin Powell and moderated by CNN's Soledad O'Brien, but after leaving the event I wandered down to the Lafayette Av/Fulton St triangle and encountered the great furry beastie.

Raccoon in Brooklyn!
(outside of Lafayette Presbyterian Church)

The Raccoon was chillin, hard. Strolling across streets, through crosswalks, it made a pit-stop at Moe's and looked more comfortable on Lafayette than most 1st year Pratt students. Now for all you suburban folks, country heads and new-comers, I know you can throw a rock in the woods and hit a family of raccoons, but I'm impressed by the fact that at 9pm on crowded streets this raccoon was holding sway.

I marveled at it's marbled majesty and the amount of luck it took for the fat fuzzy creature (who didn't seem interested in sprinting) to navigate city streets. That is until I saw it wait for the light at South Elliot. (see below)

Raccoon Crossing (Brooklyn Style)
(triangle of Lafayette Av & South Elliot, Fulton St.)

In minor seriousness the fuzzy dude (or dudette) seems very much at home. Really as you can see in some pics it waddled right past me and others with little concern or aggression toward us. So I hope nobody fucks with it. (As long as it's not rabid or ripping the throats out of small pets and children with it's unnaturally dexterous clawed thumb) If it does turn out to be a rabid threat, screw 311 let's get this guy.

Here's The video (very blairwitch at the start) it's best part is during the encounter at Moe's:

11 comments:

Lisanne McT said...

Heh heh heh, that raccoon was meandering Lafayette like he OWNED the block..great stuff Brooklyn Born!

Carly said...

Your raccoon is really putting in the mileage apparently, because on an early morning run the other day, I encountered said raccoon near my apt. in Cobble Hill. He followed me, and I dove down an alleyway to lose him. I had been wondering what became of him (so far from all things leafy & green) and now I know: he had ventured off to more exciting lands - a.k.a. Clinton Hill.

brooklynborn said...

Carly, i think it's undeniable, this raccoon knows the value of cardio.

Thx for your comments!

mmb said...

LEAFY AND GREEN?!!

raccoon's natural diet is trash dude

L Martin Johnson Pratt said...

Please i had to miss the summit held by Kevin Powell can you please post your experience. Was it crowded? I went to a event last year and it was packed. Did it start on time? Did everyone that was advertised show up for the panel? Were any real life solutions talked about?

EiNY said...

I think I saw that raccoon in Prospect Heights a couple of weeks ago. He was ambling from garden to garden on Park Place between Vanderbilt and Flatbush Avenues and didn't seem to care at all that he was being followed.

Perley J. Thibodeau said...

I feed the Raccoons in Central Park Zeti, Macaronni and Chesse, Tilapia and I cook Pasta Vasool.
You should do the same as our Raccoons are professional models and don't pose for tourist's pictures for nothing!

brooklynborn said...

@ l martin johnson pratt

Here's my account of the Kevin Powell hosted event:

http://umbrooklynborn.blogspot.com/2008/11/black-man-town-hall-real-talk.html

Anonymous said...

This is SuperRedux,BB. My logins to sh*t so forgive the anonymous post-City folk always amaze me. A canine-sized raccoon ventures towards you in the middle of the night and u call it over to offer it chips. And your hand apparently.
Secondly, all I think of during your vid is those Geico commercials of that English fellow stalking the gecko. I was waiting for it to offer car insurance to every person that passed it. But offer that gay guy at the bar medical insurance before mutilating his hand with the Lays bag in a deathgrip.
Good stuff, BB. Ques-Would this go on the plus side of the gentrification argument, neg side? The racc, that is, not the chip offering gay guy.

Sarah Feinman said...

hi solar dad. my mom and u used to be good friends. Her name is Lauren Feinman. Im her daighter sarah

BrooklynBorn said...

Hi Sarah, I'm not Soledad. I'm sorry for the confusion, if you check out the blog page you see I was writing about an event Soledad O'Brien attended. If you are looking for her, you can probably call CNN in New York and leave a message for her.

Take care.

(umBrooklynBorn) Blog

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