Today I joined my daughter, her friend Hannah and Hannah's mother for an excursion in Manhattan. We met up at the Chelsea Flea Market and then had Korean food. It was lovely weather--the perfect temperature and no wind. Hannah's mom and I talked about life in Minneapolis, moving to Brooklyn and those times in our lives when we've done a big purge of stuff. She tells me that things in the Twin Cities have really declined--so many places have closed, neighborhoods have lost their cohesion, there are murders and car-jackings, a big gang war, lots of unhoused campers. Uptown is apparently almost empty with most of the stores and restaurants closed down, the movie theater closed, Calhoun Square an empty shell. We really were lucky to have lived there when it was lively and fun. I'm sad to hear about the decline and the cost of living sky-rocketing at the same time.