Although FH and I will never be romantic partners, we still get together now and then to be activity partners. There is enough about her that I like to enjoy an occasional day trip somewhere, but not enough that I'd want to have her as a partner for either 30 minutes or the other 23 hours and 30 minutes of the day. Today was one of those days that we ended up going to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG).
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If I were going to BBG on my own, I'd have taken the train into NYC, then caught either of the #4 or #5 trains to BBG. Instead, I had to pick FH up, as she never takes the subway these days. (She was surprised that I now ride the subways, 2 years since everything shut down for the pandemic.) Driving between Forest Hills and the heart of Brooklyn takes forever, as none of the roads go from here to there without major traffic jams. For a 9 mile trip as the crow flies, Google Maps said it would take 45 minutes - an average of 12 mph! No wonder why I hate driving within NYC limits....
We got to BBG around 2 pm, and proceeded to walk around the garden. FH, as usual, wanted a photographic record of her presence at the place, asking me to take pictures of her at several places along the paths. I don't mind doing this, but it gets tiresome after a while.
The thing that I dislike about FH the most is her self centered/ethno-centeric attitude about life in general. For example, I am disgusted that the Nazis killed 11 people during the Holocaust. To me, murder is murder, no matter what the justifications are for doing so. She focuses on the 6 million Jews, and effectively says that they are more important than the other 5 million because she's Jewish. FH also focuses on my ethnic background, and not how I identify myself. This would bother me to no end if I were in a relationship with her. Yet, I can tolerate it in small doses as a friend.
Sadly, FH is not able to see things from others' point of view. When we took a break to sit down and have a soda, our conversation meandered to the Coney Island Sideshow. Her thoughts on the issue are that people with birth defects should never put themselves on public display to get by in life, such as the performers in sideshows. She would put them on the dole and keep them out of sight. I have nothing against those who would accept public assistance, but I respect the likes of those who would earn a living by showing off how they adapted to a world built for people unlike them. She couldn't understand why people would put themselves in the public eye. as if they were embarrassing themselves. As I noted that people such as Johnny Eck didn't feel this way, the lady at the next table mentioned a string of people who made their living this way, as if she was disgusted with FH's attitude. I guess that more people have my attitude towards these people than FH's attitude.
Around 4 pm, we left BBG and took the long way to Howard Beach to have dinner. Given that I remembered that there used to be quite a few restaurants along this stretch of road, we headed South. Somewhere on the left, I saw a restaurant on the left that looked like there might be a line at 5 pm. FH nixed it because she didn't want to risk waiting on line. (I remember Lenny's advertisements from 40 years ago. So the place had to be decent to survive this long. And, at 5 pm, any line would be short. But I digress.) We found an Italian joint somewhere just before Cross Bay Boulevard reached the toll bridge, and pulled in for dinner. To me, the food tasted good, save for the tomato sauce which may have simmered too long. FH, however, thought it was less than good. So it will be another of those places we never go to again.
On the way home, FH asked me to be her +1 for a wedding she was attending next month. I wasn't going to answer yes right away, as I wanted to make sure that I didn't have any conflicts with RQS. (I'll always put my relationship with RQS first, over that of my female friends.) Hopefully, I'll be able to go - even if it means I spend another day as Mario....
PS: After thinking about it, I was glad to turn down FH's "plus 1" request. I would know only her, and I would be uncomfortable at a wedding where I wouldn't know what is going on next. She was upset at me for not responding to her as soon as she told me the date was Memorial Day weekend. But then, she is a bossy type who has trouble when she can't manipulate people as she wants....
