Summer in New York City deepened into the fierce heat of August. Martha exited the subway near Brooklyn's Prospect Park and could smell the leaves and hear the twitching of irritable insects. Under a wide straw hat in a long linen dress, she walked in wide lazy steps towards the meadow with a wicker basket hooked over her arm.
Perhaps this is how an August day was spent in 1911, she thought. An escape from the tall apartments of the City, rowing on the lake and a picnic even with sweat soaking through undergarments. Perhaps this was what luxury meant to those without the means to travel far or a way to move up in the world.
She spread a muted Indian bedspread under a tree, sat and drank a few swigs from her thermos of iced tea.
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As always, you manage to capture small moments perfectly! I love 'the twitching of irritable insects' - puts me right in the moment. And I really like the notion of what luxury might mean to those without means. Great stuff!
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