Thursday's Testimony: The Legacy of Friends (Remembering DD and Claudia Ferrer)

Today is not part of my blog posting schedule for this week, but it is being published in honor of what would be the seventy second birthday of my dearly departed friend, Donna De Solis, who passed away on June 25th, 2015. The video posted atop this entry is one I created to honor her memory (at the request of her son) and it is included within my Vimeo as well as my You Tube library.

We first met in the mid 1980's. Donna (or DD as many called her) lived in my hood was a frequent visitor to my rooftop garden and I attended her annual Christmas parties held in her home.

Saturday in the PARKS

IMAGE CREDIT

On a number of occasions when I've spent part of my Saturday in the park, be it Central Park or Riverside Park, the song, Saturday in the Park, by the band, Chicago comes to my mind, and I referenced this fact in prior posts here on Blogger.

Today, October 19, 2019, I will be spending part of my morning in Brooklyn's Prospect Park and part of my afternoon in Manhattan's Central Park; hence my title for this entry, Saturday in the PARKS.

My plan is to publish an entry re any findings in both places within the coming days, most likely on this coming Friday, October 25th.

Meanwhile in terms of reading material that might peak your interest, dear reader, please allow me  leave for today with a referral (see info directly below) to two of my articles that have recently been published by author and editor, Mike Miskin, for his on-line newsletter/magazine, IlovetheUpperWestside.com

MY ARTICE (PUBLISHED OCTOBER 18 2019)

MY ARTICLE (PUBLISHED OCOBER 11 2019)

Interesting Historical Facts re Carousels (Tuesday's Truths WK 111)

CORMORANTS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

In my Wednesdays' Wisdom segment here on Blogger for 1/9/2019 (which was two weeks ago), I discussed some facts re the bird type known as Cormorants.

One of the members of this variety is featured in the photo atop this entry where he/she is swimming in the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir within Central Park.

Part of that post I includes interesting facts about these avian beauties and I mentioned that these birds are included in volume three of my Words In Our Beak book series.*

MY BOOK SERIES

One of the matters the story re Cormorants within that volume is an aside to facts re this avian creature. It explains this bird type type is part of a carousel in the Chelsea section of NYC.

The animals a person rides upon in that particular merry-go-round are made up of animals rendered in the likeness of creatures who frequent the Hudson Valley, which includes cormorants.

The following photographs show what the cormorant (the black bird to the right in the first one and at the far left in the second one) within that carousel looks like...

THIS CAROUSEL IS REFERENCED IN VOL 3

THIS CAROUSEL IS REFERENCED IN VOL 3

... and am using today's segment of my Tuesday's Truths series as an opportunity to tell you a little bit more about it as well as other carousels and to give you a few fun facts re merry-go-rounds (the common name for this fun ride).

A 122nd Anniversary Takes Place today!

Besides this being Plush Animal Lover's Day, today marks the one hundred and twenty-second anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. According to a Wikipedia page, the statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

The image atop this post features a driftwood sculpture of her that can be found near to Long Beach's Boardwalk (on Long Island in NY).

Maybe FB was trying to tell me something? (Wednesday's Wisdom)

The image atop this entry features the statue of Henry Ward Beecher that is located in Brooklyn. I have passed the monument on countless occasions, without giving it much thought, and without my taking a picture of Beecher's statue.

However, the statue came to my mind today as I was thinking about a quotation that is attributed to Henry Ward Beecher, which is this: "Every man should be born again on the first day of January.  Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first day of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past."

In my pondering Beecher's quote, on this third day of the new year, I found myself thinking about the fact that Facebook (FB) has my birthday listed as the first of January, which it is not. I've tried to set this straight with them for years to no avail. It seems once FB has one's birthday recorded a certain way, the date cannot be changed. Moreover, two days ago, on January first, the powers that be at FB notified my FB followers (as I discussed in yesterday's blog post) to tell them to wish me a happy birthday.

Because of this I received a number of birthday wishes, which prompted me to publish a FB post alerting my followers that this was fake news.

Now, after my reflecting on Beecher's quotation, I'm taking FB's error re my day of birth, as a sign to heed the wisdom of the quote: see myself born again on the first day of January, by girding myself once more, with my face to the front, "taking no (negative) interest in the things that were and are past."

Throwback Thursday: 9-20-2017's Tandem Tale (The Seventh Ride of the 2017 Season)

The three photographs which are atop this entry feature various views (from my vantage point of being in the backseat of an automobile that was heading north up the FDR) of what was once known as The Queensboro Bridge. This bridge connects the neighborhood of Long Island City in the borough of Queens with Manhattan. Sometimes it is called The 59th Street Bridge because its Manhattan end is located between 59th and 60th Streets.

This Particular Friday's "FANTASTICK" Fact: "Deep in December it's nice to remember The fire of September that made you mellow."

Before the official onset of summer 2017, which was Wednesday, June 21, 2017, I told myself that I would make sure that I went to the beach once a week. There are many beaches near Manhattan and all of them are normally accessible by public transportation.

However, this summer getting to any beach via public transportation was impossible due to major construction on all railroad and subway stations. I wrote about the scenario in a previous post here on Blogger which you may refer to by clicking here.

I had also hoped to work around that transportation problem by tandem cycling to The Rockaways (a beach off the Atlantic Ocean) in the borough of Queens, but our plans were cancelled due to heavy rain.

And now September is here and I have not been to the beach. This fact brings the Dr. Seuss quote seen in the image atop this entry to my mind.

I do realize that one can still go to the beach in the fall. In fact, in bygone years, I cycled with my captain to the beach at Coney Island (in Brooklyn) during the month of October.

In Remembrance of Clara May Fitchie Melahn (Born 7-23-1900 Died 7-19-1987)

I am my maternal grandparents first grandchild, and was born on their wedding anniversary. In the image atop this entry, my grandmother can be seen holding me. You might recognize the picture as I have featured it in at least one of my prior entries here on Blogger.

She died on this day of July 19th in 1987; and, her parting words to me were ones that urged me to get back to my writing.

Happy Anniversary To The Statute of Liberty! (She arrived in NYC 1885)

"On this day (June the seventeenth) in 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of America, arrives in New York Harbor after being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in more than 200 cases," proclaims a page in a web-site titled THIS DAY IN HISTORY. The Statue of Liberty is often called Lady Liberty.

A number of years ago, I came upon a driftwood sculpture (at Long Beach), that was rendered in her likeness by an anonymous artist. This work of art is featured in  the image atop this entry.

Over my years of living in Manhattan, I have seen The Statue of Liberty countless times. Most of my vantage points have been from my this borough, as I have lived here for over thirty-five years.

However, I've seen her several times when I've been on from various boat trips. I've also seen her from other places. The photographs directly below show how looks from a vantage point of Red Hook (in Brooklyn) as well as from a vantage point on Governors Island (respectively).

Moreover, in my home, I have a figurine depicting Lady Liberty. She can be seen in the next image.

I got her at More & More Antiques (M&M), a shop located on NYC's Upper Westside.

AND, Still More Stuff RE Wednesday's Wisdom! (Facts about "Mary had a little lamb...")

Earlier today in an announcement (here on Blogger) re Wednesday's Wisdom, I explained that today, May the 24th, is the start of Fleet Week in NYC.

In the aforementioned entry, I included images of figurines related to sailors. It has now been brought to my attention by another figurine (the lamb featured in the image atop this entry), that in addition to 2017's Fleet Week beginning on May 24th, another event occurred in years long gone by. In 1830, on May the 24th, the nursery rhyme, Mary Had a Little Lamb, was first published by the Boston publishing firm Marsh, Capen & Lyon, as an original poem by Sarah Josepha Hale; and this poem was inspired by an actual incident!

Which Bridge is which? (Wednesday's Wisdom)

The three bridges in the photograph atop this entry are, The Brooklyn Bridge, The Manhattan Bridge and The Williamsburg Bridge as they appear (respectively) when one looks north up the East River in Manhattan. In this picture Brooklyn is on the right-hand side; Manhattan's on the left.

It's easy to remember the order of these bridges when facing this direction if you think of the automobile known as The BMW.

I'm sharing this fun fact today, May 24th, because on this very day, in the year of 1883 (or 134 years ago), The Brooklyn Bridge opened! Happy Birthday, dear Brooklyn Bridge, Happy Birthday to you!

Honoring the Onset of Fleet Week (Wednesday's Wisdom)

The image atop this entry is from a tweet that I noticed in my Twitter feed. As you can see it pays homage to the fact that Fleet Week kicks off in NYC today, Wednesday May 24th, 2017.

According to a web-page (silive) "the Parade of Ships moving up the Narrows and into New York Harbor beginning at about 8:15 (in the morning.)"

A Wiki page explains that "The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It has long been considered to be the maritime "gateway" to New York City and historically has been one of the most important entrances into the harbors of the Port of New York and New Jersey." 

The aforementioned Wiki page also proclaims "in 1964 the Narrows was spanned by the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, and still the longest suspension bridge in the United States (by length of the main span). "

I have been across The Verrazano–Narrows Bridge as a passenger in a car. However, in the years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, I crossed it as a tandem cyclist.

The occasion for all of those cycling experiences is due to my participation in an annual event known as The Five Boro Bike Tour (TFBBT). During the last year of my participating in the tour, I took the following picture of The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

You may recognize this image (which was taken on the Staten Island side of the bridge), dear reader, as I included in in a prior entry here on Blogger. I have another photo of the bridge (which was taken by an unknown cyclist at a rest-stop in 2011's TFBBT).

Finding a Place for WIOB-Volume One

As I mentioned earlier this morning, here on Blogger, today would be my dad's 82nd birthday, (had he not died at age 69 in 1995). He is very much on my mind on this rainy Saturday. The picture atop this entry is one O have featured in other posts on this blog. It is an image of a birthday card my father sent me after I had moved into the apartment (1992) where I am currently living. Finding a place to live in NYC had been a real struggle for me, and the drawing on the card of finding a space is  quite meaningful. The card has been put into a picture frame and hangs in a prominent spot in my home.

And now, I'm in need of another type of space; a place that will agree to sell, Words In Our Beak Volume One, (WIOBV-1) the book I wrote with Cam.

This past Thursday, in a post here on Blogger, I discussed the fact that by chance, while I was tandem cycling in Brooklyn, I came upon Unameable Books.

I now have the guidelines as to how to query them re their being willing to place (WIOBV-1) in their store.

Moreover, as of last evening, I found another book store on The Upper Eastside of NYC, who may consider placing my book in their shop. The place is called The Corner Bookstore.

Thursday's Testimony: Completed Ride Two (Since Being Back in the Saddle)

As I mentioned last week in an entry here on Blogger, the month of May, is National Bike Month. I also discussed the fact that on Tuesday, May 2nd, I went tandem cycling with my captain, ZW, for the first time since I had an accident (not related to bike riding) in May of 2016. And I spoke about the aforementioned bike ride, recalling that ZW and I cycled up the portion of the greenway which runs parallel to the Hudson River and made our way to The Little Red Lighthouse. 

Last evening and into the night, I returned to the saddle for the second time since my accident; and instead of heading north on the greenway, which had become our routine, we cycled through the West Village heading towards the East Village; and then cycled through Soho; as well as the Lower Eastside, before cycling up the ramp of The Manhattan Bridge; in order to head to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. 

It is a route we've done on a number of occasions, including times when we met up with a group of cyclists to cycle through The Lights (Christmas) in the Heights during the cold winter months. We have also taken this route to witness a ceremony of Mayor Bloomberg lighting the menorah; and we've done the course with reasons in mind that were the same as our motivation for last night: to enjoy cycling a loop in Prospect Park, while being serenaded by an array of birds.

After we completed our Tour de Prospect Park last night, ZW parked her tandem, against a lamp post (as seen in the photo atop this entry); and we enjoyed a picnic of May Day Pesto atop a baguette, while a statue stood behind us who seemed to be interested in the tangerines we were having with our meal. 

The statue I am referring to is statue erected in the likeness of James S. T. Stranahan, and it can be seen in the following picture.

"The winter that wasn't . . . " (at least in NYC)

One day the temperatures are in the mid-seventies, the next day they are only in the mid-forties; and it's only mid-March in New York City, where I live and have a terrace garden. From what I understand, these "mood swing" temperatures are occurring in many parts of the world.

The Lighting of the Actinida Kolomikta and Actimidia (Kiwi Vines) Soirée: Alternative to Crowded Tree and Menorah Lighting Celebrations

Happy December! There are so many celebrations this month, in New York City: many tree and menorah lighting events mark the onset of Advent, Chanukah, and Christmas.

This past Friday, November 26th, 2010, the Friday after Thanksgiving, (which I referred to as Blue Friday in a previous post), the South Street Seaport had a ceremony for the lighting of their Christmas Tree beginning at 6:00 PM. 

The sportscaster, Jill Martin, played hostess to the festivities, which included a marching band from Brooklyn, characters from the Big Apple Circus, and jolly old Saint Nick. I'm told that Saint Nick posed for photos at no charge while performers who included Darlene Love and The Big Apple Chorus sang traditional holiday songs; and they were even joined by Rudolph (with his nose oh-so-bright) as well as Frosty The Snowman.