NYMysteries.com

 NY Mysteries July 31, 2020

The Irish Hunger Memorial at Vesey Street and  North End Avenue is a few blocks north of the Battery and flanking the Hudson. It’s a large structure incorporating an Irish cottage and stones from every Irish county. It commemorates the over one million who starved to death between the years 1845-1852, courtesy of the English. My friend and I walked south on the Hudson. We’re both used to watching the river activity :the different kinds of boats and the ferries which are once again plying their trade to New Jersey and Staten Island. So it was great fun to look inward at the beautiful gardens and to discover The Irish Hunger Memorial. It’s a beautiful, mysterious structure not without controversy, something dear to the Irish.

he Irish Hunger Memorial
The Irish Hunger Memorial

NYMYSTERIES.COM

 NY Mysteries July 25, 2020

The High Line from Gansevoort to 34 Street. On a blisteringly hot Sunday a friend and I walked on the High Line for the first time in four months. She arranged the by-appointment- only-visit. Promptly at 12:30 we climbed the Gansevoort stairs and wended our way through overgrown foliage. The usual rules applied: masks and six feet of separation. It’s still fun to peer into people’s apartments or should I say condos. And to watch the flotilla of boats on the Hudson. At 34th Street we were instructed to leave. 

The High Line at 18th Street
A stroll on the High Line
The High Line
The High Line elevator facing the west side

NEW YORK MYSTERIES

 

PIER 62 CAROUSEL
PIER 62 CAROUSEL
PIER 62 CAROUSEL
PIER 62 CAROUSEL
FRYING PAN AT PIER 66A

I asked Micah Busey for his Terrence McNally tiny prayer. It was the first one and here it is.

March 24th Tiny Prayer (for Terrence McNally, Tony-winning playwright, who died of complications of coronavirus):

Thank you for giving unapologetically vibrant voice to queer love that will live forever, outlasting viruses that might kill bodies, but never Truth.

Amen

Today a friend and I walked north from 14 Street to 34 Street and then we walked south in the Hudson River Park. What a marvel. The Hudson is to your left.  Luscious bushes and trees are to your right blocking you from the west side traffic. In the middle is the Pier 62 Carousel. Is NYC a carousel rich town? There’s one in Central Park and one at the Battery.  There are wooden benches reminiscent of fifties movies, Stone seats, mounted chairs. The bikers, bless them, stayed in their lanes and we pedestrians in ours. I couldn’t resist Frying Pan painted large on the side of a retired lightship. 

  NY Mysteries July 11, 2020

Black women will celebrate Black Joy at Caveat on July 14. The women range in age from twenty through seventy. Get tickets at www.generationwomen.us.

A ray of hope over the lake the last week of June. This rainbow also feels like a serendipitous tribute to the close of Pride month. Photo: Faith Gay This wonderful photo and descrption are from Francesca Zambello’s recent Glimmerglass blog.

The Rev. Micah Busey and I have been walking and talking in Washington Square Park. He’s written tiny prayers. They’re gentle, guilt free and popular in the Judson community. Micah’s first tiny prayer was written in March at the beginning of the coronavirus. Terrance McNally, the playwright, had died because of the virus and Micah honored him with the first tiny prayer.

This is a recent Tiny Prayer (for those who just want a hug):

May you reach out to someone today, through a screen or maybe a simple shift of your eyes over the brim of your mask, and invent a new sign of affection, and for just a moment, instead of focusing on the current scarcity of our most common modes of physical contact, may you focus on the abundance of creativity this time requires, have fun with the challenge, and become an inventor of new language, new customs, and newly deepened connection.

Amen

The virus has given birth to a number of blogs and webinars. Glimmerglass’s director, Francesca Zambello, writes glowing descriptions of town and country life. The photos of her recipes are scrumptious.Her tribute to Harriet Tubman is very moving.  In a recent entry she announced Glimmerglass Glimpses which is Thursdays at 5:30 pm on www.glimmerglass.org. On Wednesday afternoon Jim Zogby discusses current affairs with an emphasis on Israel.  The  14th Street Y offers exercise classes. Sisters in Crime has had several informative meetings. Currently, I’m signed up for Thrillerfest.

NY Mysteries July 3, 2020

Venturing Out

On the eve of July 4, a friend and I took the 6 to Brooklyn Bridge, walked around Battery Park and took the Staten Island Ferry. Battery Park is quiet and a pleasure to walk through. 

 Castle Clinton is still there. Inspire of its grand name, it was a fort that never saw action. We went by the Seaglass carousel, housed under a silver covered slanted top. The park includes Hope Garden – a memorial to AIDS victims, the East Coast Memorial which consists of eight pylons that honor servicemen who lost their lives in World War ll. There’s  Marisol’s Merchant Marine Memorial and the ferry that’ll take you to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, not to mention Staten Island. 

Merchant Marine Memorial
Seaglass Carousel
Seaglass Carousel
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