The Mystery and the Beauty

“The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.” This quote from the Great Gatsby pretty much sums it up for me on my thoughts about this bridge. The Queensboro (or 59th Street) Bridge is definitely my favorite bridge in NYC. It’s beauty lies in its industrial look, this is no wimpy graceful suspension variety, it’s a hardcore steel Double-decked Cantilever bridge. It’s mystery lies in the crossing over into the metropolis that is Manhattan. Passing by windows at ten stories high, like a scene out of Bladerunner. Millions of windows, each with its own story. And of course the views of the city are amazing, take a walk across and you are sure to be impressed.

Where were you when I was stuck on a desert island?

I know people beat this kind if stuff to death, like, "where were you when?" "If you were stuck on a desert island", "what's your 5 top?" "If you could time travel", and on and on. As best as I can remember, there have been two "where were you when" moments in my life. The first being the assassination of JFK, in which I was only a couple of months old and so, I don't really remember. The second, which brings me to this photo, was when John Lennon was shot outside of The Dakota. I was driving my mother's 1977 Monte Carlo on my way to high school, thinking, if I could time travel I could go back and prevent some of these "where were you when" moments. Oh well, I guess time travel will have to be on one of my top 5 lists Incidentally, The Dakota was used as a time travel machine in the Jack Finney book

Gentlemen's Agreement

Hard to believe that a mere handshake kept the skyline of Philadelphia below the top of the statue of William Penn (at 27 tons, the largest statue upon any building in the world) for nearly 90 years. Pretty impressive, both the statue and the handshake, try doing business like that these days.

The bicycle locked-up on the sidewalk shot

Cliche? Maybe, but hardly as offensive as a sunset picture. I mean, sunset photos are meant to be pretty, but they are not very revealing about our way of life except of course, well... that the sun does set. A bicycle locked-up on the sidewalk can be pretty, dirty, and enlightening. A glimpse into the city and it's dwellers, the architecture and the mind-set. So feel free to unlock the bicycle, experience the city, and then ride off into the sunset, but please don't take a picture of it.

Take a Stroll

Walk it, bike it, drive it, or just sit there and watch it. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York City's jewels. An added bonus to visiting this jewel is the beautiful views and unique perspective of the skyline that it offers. So next time you are downtown, pull up a bench and enjoy the sites.

Around the Corner

This is probably one of the least traveled streets in the city, located just around the corner from heavily traveled sixth avenue. Situated in NYC's Village, it has that "hangin' around the corner" neighborhood feel. It also happens to be around the corner from one of my favorite coffee shops.

Vicariously

Although these days I prefer a clean restroom, I am always on the lookout for a graffiti-laden hole in the ground in which to relieve ones self of a few tasty lagers. Stopping for a quick local brew while venturing through Brooklyn Heights, I wondered what it would be like to live in this beautiful neighborhood. Well, as the mirror suggests, I will have to live here "vicariously" for now.