Alon Z / Art / The Cigars truck

There's a house in the heart of Williamsburg surrounded by all the hipsters, bars, trendy coffee shops and vintage stores. Though this house attracts none of the audience mentioned above. It is an Italian man club that has been around since the old days of the neighborhood, pre-gentrification and hype. The members of the club live peacefully in the nearby streets, though you can tell that there might be some tension between them and the newcomers on certain topics. I pass by this house on the way to the train and often like to take a quick unnoticed look inside to observe the interior. It's not that you'd see anything unusual there, at most it would be someone smoking a cigar or talking loudly on a landline. During Christmas there's a line outside with kids waiting to get a gift from Santa and in the summer they put together a street fair where they erect an obelisk-like looking object in the middle of the street to acknowledge an historic saint figure.

This year I walked through the fair one evening with mixed feelings. At the entrance I was greeted by a group of young police officers fresh from the academy smoking cigars, followed by a group of loud teenagers enjoying one of their first sugary alcoholic beverages out of a colorful long plastic tube. Everybody seems to be enjoying themselves on the surface. I was wondering if I'd find something to eat or drink, though nothing stimulated my appetite, more so, it felt sad being surrounded with unhealthy choices so I went home, passing by the cigar truck on the way out. maybe it's just me that doesn't know how to have fun I guess.