New York Memories

This morning while sitting ensconced in my warm, soft swivel chair, I was reading about a favorite author, Lee Child. He was telling about his career and life while writing his “Reacher” books. In one chapter he tells the readers about his apartment in Manhattan where he did some of his writing. Looking out his window, he could see the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings. He explains how the view tended to be rather non-productive, continually pulling him away from his writing.

    Reading these paragraphs made me think of my own visits to New York City. Looking back I have been there seven times. I have to say that each of the times I was there had been pleasurable and if given the chance, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

    I’ve always thought of New York as a great place to visit. Figuring out when it became a destination in my mind would be hard to narrow down. I’ve read so many books that use the city as their background and there are countless movies and TV shows that have been based there. Even though most of them were fictional, in my mind they have come to represent the town. I came to feel as if knew the place. I’ve always thought it would be great to explore and a wonderful town to photograph. All those buildings clustered together are extremely artistic, just begging to be photographed. It has an edge to it, it’s a bit risqué. There are some places that could be dangerous, crime isn’t unknown but it also has so much culture and so many sights, so many places that I’d want to see.

    My first visit was just a drive-through. In the late 70’s I had a job to drive some packages from Pittsburgh up to Hyannis Port. I brought my friend Ed along for company and we did some sight-seeing on the way up. One of the places we stopped was in York, PA where we took a tour through the Harley Davidson plant. We sat in their parking lot for an hour waiting so that we could get on the first tour of the day. After being overwhelmed by seeing so many H-D motorcycles, all brand new and un-ridden, we headed towards NYC.

    We had no plans to stop in the city, we only wanted to see if it was as big and exciting as we had heard. We arrived in the afternoon and it was amazing! Traffic was bumper to bumper and most of the cars on the streets seemed to be Yellow Cabs. Horns were honking, people were overflowing off the sidewalks, there was too much to see. We didn’t know which way to look, all the while; I had to watch the road since I was driving. The size of the town was phenomenal; it just kept on going and going.

    I’ve lived my whole life in the outskirts of northern Pittsburgh. I have always thought of Pittsburgh as a BIG city, after all, it is the second largest in the state. I was shocked at how small my city was as compared to New York. I was enamored by the wide streets and sidewalks, the heights of the buildings, the combinations of the old and the new; even the alleys and the trash in the streets grabbed my eye. It was unbelievable and I wanted to go back. It took me a few years before I did.

    When I was married, Barb and I decided on a whim, to take a trip to Washington DC and New York City. We thought we could spend a night or two in both places. Unfortunately we didn’t plan as well as we should have. We figured by using our AAA card and directory we could find a place to stay when we got there. What we didn’t take into consideration was, that these were “tourist towns”, there were no rooms to be had without reservations. After being turned away at a couple places in Washington DC, we went to the AAA office and begged for help. So, while we went sightseeing, the Automobile Club managed to find accommodations for us.

    While in New York, we did what most tourists do, visited all the regular sights. We did the Empire State Building and we sat in on the filming of the TV show, Kate and Allie, starring Jane Curtin. We went to Times Square. We meandered around the town, enjoying everything we saw.

    On this trip I found a wonderful travel bookshop. Located only a block or two from the Empire State Building, it was filled with guides to other cities and countries. In the back room was a wall of Baedeker travel guides. All those red covers with gold lettering, sitting side by side, they looked so classy and aristocratic. 

    The Baedeker Guides were first published in the 1830’s. Their distinctive red covers weren’t produced until the 1850’s. Published in Germany, they were known for their accuracy. The guides not only gave the basic information about the cities, they included history, the transportation, currency, customs and even how to tip. They included detailed maps to help the visitors find their way around the towns. The guides were a nice size, easily stored in a coat or pants pocket. In time, these volumes became time capsules into the past.

    Their red covers were eventually faded out and while the guides are still produced today, their pages and covers are glossy paper, looking much like any other guide.

    It was in this bookshop when I first thought about collecting these books. I could picture a shelf in my house with a collection like this. Sadly, I didn’t have the funds to purchase one of them and the next time I visited the city, the store had gone out of business. I have since collected a small group of Baedeker Guides and have them in a place of honor on my shelves. My collection is rather shabby looking as compared to the nice crisp and clean books I saw in that store!

    A few years later, I took a trip to the city with Tia, Barb’s aunt. She took me to see Phantom of the Opera. We flew into New York and spent some time roaming around and then after dinner, we went to see the play and then returned home. Wow, we stuffed so much into that one day. A favorite memory was the two of us sitting on a wall or bench and Tia commenting on the odd smell coming from some guys sitting near-by. I explained to her that it was marijuana. To this day I can’t imagine that she didn’t know that.

    My daughter Chelsey and I took two trips to New York City, one in 2009 and the other in 2011. During one of the trips we had an unfortunate incident with a pigeon that I will never forget! Some say that having “this” happen to you is good luck but neither of us thought we were very lucky when it happened! We took a walk down to Canal Street so Chelsey could find a “knock-off” purse. We visited a couple storefronts and were escorted behind the displays to see their “goods”. I felt as if I was seeing the underworld of the city.  

    We called the 2011 trip our Diabetes Tour. Chelsey had recently been diagnosed as being a diabetic. So, the two diabetics of the family headed into the city to visit, among other things, The Donut Factory and a macaroon store. Sweets and diabetics are sadly, often drawn together! 

    During the day we compared our sugar readings and were usually with-in a few numbers of each other! We walked a lot that day, visiting tourist spots such as Times Square and the Grand Central Station. We did a couple geocaches and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked through the famous New York Library and we found a weird little store that sold odd things such as medical instruments and old doctor’s charts and displays, things you’d never imagine seeing in a store, let alone want to buy! There might have even been a skull or two in it. You never know what you might find when you’re roaming around this city.

    After Chelsey and Jaime were married, we went to a wedding reception held in Queens. While this wasn’t in Manhattan, it is still a part of New York City. We drove in following Jaime and Chelsey’s car on a rainy evening. It was spectacular driving across the huge bridges and seeing all the views of the city across the water. I didn’t take any pictures of the city; it was a night for celebration, not sightseeing. We spent a wonderful evening with Chelsey and her new relatives, another trip to New York I’ll never forget!

    My last trip was after my grandson Mateo’s second birthday, in 2021. On a Monday morning, Ann Marie and I drove to a parking lot across the river from the city and then took a bus through the tunnels and into town. This visit was recently after the Covid Pandemic and the majority of the people we saw were wearing masks. The streets weren’t as crowded as I remembered, the sidewalks seemed almost empty. The town definitely wasn’t closed but it sure differed from my other trips. This was Ann Marie’s first time in the city so we (I) had lots of things on our to-do list.

    We checked off a few of them, we visited Times Square and took the elevator up to the observation deck on the Empire State Building. We had to stop at the library; it is something we both deemed important. We squeezed in a visit to a book store and had lunch and a beer in an Irish pub. By then the walking was starting to get to us and we took a cab back to the bus station and then left the city behind. I discovered that my tolerance for long distance walking just wasn’t the same as my last visit.

    I know the city has returned to its previous fever pitch and I’d like to be able to experience it at least one more time. If I had the chance, and I still might, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back. Much as I hate to admit it, my days of continuous walking are in my past, maybe I’ll do some research on how Uber works. The idea for a visit is lodged in my head once again; perhaps with some more planning I might be able to do it. I’m going to have to pull a couple of those travel guides off my shelves…

Decisions, Decisions

 Watching the steam coming off my freshly brewed coffee and looking at the yellow and brown leaves outside of the window makes me want to stay right where I am. I have no gumption this morning to get up and do my morning dishes. I don’t want to collect the trash from my wastepaper baskets. I don’t want to go to the store to get needed items. Today, I am quite happy to sit here and watch the rain bounce off the leaves. The coffee smells too good to leave it before it cools.

    There are lots of chores I could do with Thanksgiving just a day or two away. But the view through the window keeps calling me back. It has been lightly raining for most of the night. The sounds of it helped me achieve another good night’s sleep. It would’ve been better if the windows had been open but those days have passed, the furnace is on now. As my father used to say, “We aren’t paying to heat Glenshaw!” It also might have been better if there had been a thunder storm, but I’m happy this morning, beggars can’t be choosers. Some say that the excessive amounts of negative ions caused by rain and storms help us to relax and to sleep better. I’ve always belived that, rain always helps me sleep.

    For the time being, the smell of the coffee and the relaxing view of the dancing leaves is enough to keep me relaxed. Occasionally a dark leaf will fall making me think that a bird has flown by. But the birds are elsewhere this morning. The rain is keeping them hidden from me, but they’ll be back once the bird feeders are hung up. That’s another chore for another day.

    The puddles in the yard reflect the tree limbs above them, these perfect images are disturbed as the rings from the rain drops distort the picture. Most of my views are straight out the window, 20 feet off the ground. The puddles are mostly unseen.

    The rain helps quiet the sounds of the morning. It blocks engine noises and horns. The morning trash pick-ups at the business’s below my home aren’t quite as noticeable, if heard at all. The sky is dark; there was no colorful brightening along the horizon this morning. The leaves continue doing their dance and I take another sip of my coffee and contemplate. Should I pick up a book and get lost in it or strike another chore off my list?

    Maybe I’ll just refresh my cup and think about it for awhile!

Then and Now

 One of the constants of our world is change. Whether it is the price of eggs or the hardly discernible changes in the depth of the Grand Canyon, hardly anything stays the same. The height of the trees in our yards and the richness of the paint on our houses, over time it all changes, often in ways we don’t notice.

    When seeing things day after day we tend to overlook the changes if we notice them at all. They become the “new” normal. This is the way they have always looked, or so we think!

    Photography shows us the changes. Pictures show us the ways things used to be, they are a great memory aid! Looking at pictures from the past show us the changes in clothing styles, the cars that used to be driving down our streets and the buildings that used to sit in the empty lot at the end of the block.

    Looking through a pile of old pictures takes us back in time. We remember the events we were at, the family gatherings, both the good ones and the sad ones. Seeing the people that have passed on keeps them present in our minds. Hopefully the dates and details were written on the backsides!

    When I became involved in black and white film photography, I was rather anal about saving my negatives and the proof sheets. During the past year I have been digitally copying these negatives and saving them to a hard drive. I have been reliving the adventures and trips I had taken 30 or 40 years ago. I have been recently attempting to retake some of the pictures I had taken back in the 80’s and 90’s, to show the differences. Some of the reshoots have been taken with a digital camera and some of them, with a film camera. Of course, I enjoyed taking the film shots more than the digital, even though there was a little more time and effort involved with them.

    Here are a few of the pictures from the 80's, the older picture first and then the current shot afterward. Hopefully you will recognize some of the places I visited around the Pittsburgh area! Sadly, not all of the negatives were dated…

East Ohio Street on the North Side, June 1988 & September 2025 

!0^th Street and Exchange Way, January 1984 & July 2025

Liberty Ave. September 1988 and October 2025

 

Rt. 28 bridges from Sharpsburg 1984 & September 2025

16^th Street Bridge & Progress St. 1986 & September 2025 (digital)

Under the Veterans Bridge 1984 & September 2025 (digital)

Chestnut Street, North Side August 1986 & July 2025 

Gas station on Mt. Royal Blvd. April 1986 & September 2025 (digital)

    As you can see, change happens. Sometimes it is for the better and other times... well, you know. All I can say is, remember to date your pictures so you’ll be able to tell when and where they were taken. Our memories aren’t as good as we’d like to think they are! It’s amazing how much can change in 30 or 40 years, memories included!

Imagination

There is a smell to fog that I like. It’s damp and I can’t help but think that it smells fertile. Perhaps it is the water, water that helps things grow, helps keep us fed, and encourages the grass and trees to grow. The fertility of fog works with my imagination also. I can’t help but imagine on foggy mornings. I drive and walk on familiar streets but they all look different, they transform into places I’ve never been to before and the buildings into places I’ve never seen. Reality fades and I wonder what could I be missing.

    Some say that a writer shouldn’t start a story with “the weather.” Yet I find that almost everything I do has been determined by the weather. Should I wear a jacket or take an umbrella? Do I need anything more than a t-shirt?

    Sunny during the afternoon, I might be raking the leaves, trimming the hedges or cutting the grass. Raining outside, I might decide to settle in with a good book. Clear at night and I could be watching the stars or waiting for a satellite to pass overhead. Foggy in the morning, chances are that I’ll be out looking for pictures. Weather determines quite a lot!

    Waking up this morning and looking out of my bedroom window, all I could see was white. Even the trees closest to the house were nothing more than slightly darker shapes in the clouds. I was expecting it, when I went to bed I could see the fog gathering in the valley below the house. I set my camera gear in the hallway.

    I washed up and brushed my teeth and quickly got dressed. I was behind the wheel of the car by 6:30 and driving through the mists.

    The fog dissipated a bit as I drove down into the valley. Crossing the 62^nd Street Bridge (The One-minute Bridge) I was once again driving through a white out. Nearing Pittsburgh, driving through Lawrenceville it started to clear up a little more. The day was brightening and I was able to see a bit further now.

    In the Strip District, the city stood out in the morning sunshine, no signs of fog lingered near-by. I parked and took my camera gear up to the railroad tracks. It was a little after 7 and the Amtrak Pennsylvanian would be leaving the station at 7:30. I originally thought it would be nice to get a picture of it coming through the fog but that was not to be this morning. Still, since I was here, I may as well take another picture of it leaving the city.

    I started setting up, choosing my position, f stop and exposure. I heard a short blast of the train whistle and could see the light of the engine getting brighter. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was only 7:15, it was leaving early?

    As the train neared me, I could see that it wasn’t the engine I was expecting. I saw that there were two engines and a lot more cars behind it than normal. This wasn’t the train I had been waiting for! I later found out it was the Amtrak Floridian which normally stops in Pittsburgh around 5AM. It must’ve been running late today. I watched it as it continued on its way to Florida.

    I walked down the road beside the tracks, trying to see into the station’s train shed, attempting to see if the Pennsylvanian was still at the station. I could just see it; “my train” was still sitting there. I heard another toot and the light brightened; it was leaving the station. Looking at my watch, it was 7:30, right on time. This time it was the engine I was expecting. The Pennsylvanian was starting its trip to Harrisburg and New York City.

    After it passed, I walked back to the car. The Strip District was getting ready for another Saturday morning. Retailers were setting up their tables to display their wares. Trucks were unloading produce and merchandise to be sold to the weekend visitors. I returned home, curious to see how my pictures looked. As I drove back into the suburbs, the fog thickened again.

    I stopped and took a couple final pictures and then headed up the hill to my home. My coffee machine was patiently waiting for me to fill it with coffee grinds and water and then, I could return from my imaginary world, back to reality and get on with the rest of the day.

Walkin in the Woods

Last Tuesday held the promise of rain and the breezes were chilly. They gave me an idea of what would be soon coming. The furnace has already been turned on and I was wearing my winter flannels.

    Not one to let the possibility of rain keep me at home, I went out to take a walk. Naturally, there were a couple geocaches involved.

    In a small nature park near the Hampton Township Library, I found the first cache. It was a simple walk along a flat though bumpy path. Not a hundred yards from the car, I startled a flock of at least 15 turkeys. They hustled up the hillside and into the woods above. It’s always nice to seeing wildlife!

    There are times when geocaches hidden in the woods can be extremely difficult to find. This was not the case with this cache; it was about as easy as it comes! I had to climb a small hillside. The arrow on the GPS was pointing right at a large log. As I neared it I could see the cache lying beside it. I guess an animal had dragged it from its hiding spot inside the log. I signed it and then re-hid the cache, putting some sticks and bark on top of it to prevent it being exposed again.

    There was a second cache a few miles away. I was thinking about it as I returned to the car. I had tried to find this particular cache at least 4 times in the past 2-3 years, possibly even more. I knew this cache was going to be MUCH tougher to find than the last. The owner had even given me a couple hints, but it has remained unfound.

    After working my way to where it is hidden, I spent about a half hour walking around. The cache is hidden in an evergreen tree, about 6-9 feet high. I circled trees head bent back searching for anything that looked out of place. It is in the woods, so there are lots of small trees there. I had no clue as to what it looked like or what size it was. The listing on it for difficulty is 5 out of 5; it certainly lives up to its rating!

    Finally, I gave up. I know it’s there; I just couldn’t find it. I’ll be back again and then I WILL FIND IT!

    Only a few drops of rain had fallen, and the woods looked nice and inviting so I decided to walk a bit further. Not far away, in the Crouse Run Nature Reserve, across the stream was where a roadhouse called Bongiovanni's Gardens used to stand. The Rachel Carson Trail isn't far away from its ruins. Supposedly, Rachel Carson used to study the plants in this valley.  Most of the high weeds around what remains of the tavern were beaten down and I could see the ruins from the path I was on. Moving through the weeds I spooked a buck. It jumped up and turned around to glare at me. Getting closer, he decided that I wasn’t worth the trouble and he turned and leapt away, but not before I was able to snap a picture of him!

    Bongiovanni’s Gardens was located on the Butler Short Line and many of their customers used the electrified trolley to get to the roadhouse. The street cars allowed people from the city to come out to a country setting for picnics and outings at the tavern. Many popular artists such as Frank Sinatra and Sophie Tucker performed there. It was said to have the largest dance floor in the area. It apparently opened around the start of prohibition. The building was destroyed by a fire sometime in the latter half of the 1900’s.

    Not much remains today except some portions of sidewalk and a couple sets of steps. The cement foundation remains along with the pillars which used to hold up the floor.

    A near-by wall which helps hold up the hillside has become an easel for aspiring local artists. Surprisingly, there isn’t much trash in the ruins.

    While I was walking through the ruins, I once again scared the buck. He took off as soon as he heard me.

    After taking a few more pictures I returned across the stream to my car and headed home for lunch. My geocaching average was 50%, one found and one still lost, but it was a great day to take a walk in the woods. The best thing was, I didn’t bring any ticks home with me!

A final note, I'm sorry about the links spread out through this post. I made the mistake of clicking on an "Automatically add links in post" button. I didn't pick them and I don't want them! I can't find a way to remove them, They didn't bother to put a "Remove links" button. I HATE AI telling what I need!