During this holiday week, The Common is presenting highlights from the past year. Today’s highlights come from “Essays.”
James Boo takes us on a visit to the Park Slope Coop, while Deborah Thompson trades one piece of history for another in a thrift store.
Photo from Flickr Creative Commons
LILY LLOYD BURKHALTER
By this point, Albert was holding my shoulders in a tight grip. Neither of us spoke. In the museum’s subdued light, time sputtered to a halt—as it must have for the boy years ago, facing down the snake or the village elder, depending on what one believes.
HISHAM BUSTANI
Without the above diverse groups, there would have been no Amman. This mosaic of people, languages, traditions, and tastes created Amman, transforming it in four decades from a khirbeh to a city. All cities are birthed, shaped, and formed by migrants.
ALA JANBEK
After a year and a half in the neighborhood, I no longer wonder if I should buy a snack from the red shop or the blue one; instead, I buy from Abu Hussein, who throws in a date and a walnut for free (because you can’t eat a date by itself).
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