The family was excited about catching the Memphis Grizzles at Brooklyn Nets game at the Barclays Center on February 24. The game was at 7 p.m., but they went into New York more than 10 hours earlier to explore the old neighborhood. They parked in Manhattan and stopped first at the Empire State Building and went up to the 86th and 102nd floors. This was Ronnie’s first time at the top of the Empire State Building, the site where his parents were engaged.
They then took the subway to Brooklyn, where they had lunch at Junior’s on Flatbush Ave, walked from there down to Grand Army Plaza, and explored nearby family landmarks. Later, they enjoyed paella for dinner at a Spanish restaurant on 5th Avenue in Park Slope before meeting fellow Laning fourth grader Keith Fraser, Jr. and his family at Barclays for the game. Once inside, they all rose, the “Star Spangled Banner” was sung, and Ronnie’s dad found it so beautiful to hear our National Anthem here on Flatbush Avenue, just blocks away from 267 Park Place.
The Star Spangled Banner has another deeper meaning in the Arias household and very close to the corazon. They did not know that the Empire State Building and these same family landmarks were also currently part of a display at the Smithsonian Institution concerning Manuel’s sister Clotilde.
