Best Hey I Know Those Dudes . . . Kind Of

Couple of Saturdays ago I was walking home down Baxter and in the distance I could see something was going on on my block but couldn't quite make it out . . . as I got closer I could tell it was motorcycles and riders, numbering quite possibly in the hundreds.  A bit closer and I recognized their colors: It was an enormous gathering of the Blue Knights.  And I know who the Blue Knights are because my grade school friend JP?  Well his dad, Officer Palles, was a Blue Knight and they took a trip to Kentucky with the club.  And JP would draw their logo during class.

I was excited to see the Knights so I ran upstairs and got my camera and took a few pictures.  They looked good in color and they looked good in black and white, so I'm giving you them in black and white.

Among the Blue Knights?  Future Cops. apparently.

The problem with this picture is you can't tell they're all wearing fluorescent green shirts.

Based on impressions, this is what I like about the Blue Knights:

• They seem like a family-oriented, family-friendly organization.
• They seem very community minded, patriotic and responsible
• They're all cops, so when they're around it feels extra safe.

Best Learning About Our Neighbors

A couple of weeks ago (or maybe longer? It can be so hard to keep track) I rode the Staten Island Ferry with a Nashvillainess named Sloan who was in town.  But something unusual happened when we got to Staten Island: Instead of catching the next ferry back to Manhattan, I decided to explore that island a little bit and learn about it.

The Manhattan Staten Island Ferry terminal is a lot easier to identify than it used to be.

Familiar voyage.

And here is a photo taken from a few hundred yards outside of my geographic comfort zone, well outside of the Staten Island Terminal.

Just about the first thing we see: This building.  Which turns out to be their Borough Hall.  

Next to it?  A netted courthouse.

In Staten Island they spell Monica funny.

This is the back of the borough hall.

Usually I agree with statues.  This time, no.

The local music scene seems lively.

Many years before I had heard that Staten Island had a lot of thrift stores.  I can now attest that there is at least one thrift store on the island.

Big issue in Staten Island child raising: Monsters.

Checked out their minor league park.

Examined their 9/11 monument.  I'll spare you the tasteless graffiti.

The question posed reverently: do these carved profiles match those SI residents lost in the disaster?

Headed back for the terminal

Ferry'd home.

Hello island that I am used to.

In conclusion: I'm glad we visited Staten Island and had a little look around.  I didn't know what I was doing or if I was looking at the right stuff, but I got a little feel for the place.  I'm going to stop worrying about them now.  Staten Island and its people seem to be doing fine.

And sorry I haven't been blogging much.  I've been flying to California and back, getting stuck in Atlanta and stuff.

Best Minor League National Pastime

At least once a year I try to get to Coney Island.  And at least once every two years I try to go to a baseball game.  Sometimes, these two occasional occurrences coincide.  Like two Wednesdays ago.  And by "two Wednesdays ago" I might even mean three.  I don't have a calendar right here.  Anything's possible.  (In fact, I might have even gone to this baseball game on a Tuesday or Thursday.)

I had to come straight from work and found everything to be bathed in a twilight glow.

I was several innings late, but Jeff met me at the gate and showed me to our fine seats.

I may have been late, but I did NOT miss the Hot Dog race.  So you could say I was right on time.

Walk it off, champ.  I'm proud of you, even if you're wearing the absolute wrongest condiment.

Hot Dogs of the people.  Don't be overwhelmed by the presence of these decorated and celebrated athletes.  Deep inside, they're no different than you or I.

Towards the end of any Cyclones game there is a time that brings the fans to their feet, their hands to the sky, their eyes turned upward, their hopes taking wing and their devotion on full display.

I'm talking about when the cheerleaders throw t-shirts into the crowd.

Wait.

Since when are there cheerleaders in baseball?

In the final inning was nearly assassinated.

The Cyclones brought a lot of heat and made absolute fools of this clown team from Connecticut that dared face off against our might might half-season single A power.

Game all done, I always enjoy the concourse lights.

Best Happy When We're Helping

Saturday morning I headed up to the Bronx, near Yankee Stadium . . .

To participate in a service project helping with a City Harvest Mobile Market distributing produce.  I think they said we had 30,000 pounds of food to distribute that day?  Something like that.  There was a really great turnout for distributors and distributees, so I'd believe it if we really did work with that much produce.

I worked with fine people like JJ and Molly at the watermelon station.

We bagged and gave out about a dozen giant boxes-worth of watermelons that morning.  

I just bagged and bagged and bagged watermelons all the live-long morning and loved it.

The other foods on hand were: Carrots by the 50 lb bag,

Potatoes!

Sweet potatoes.  Or yams?  (Or are those the same?)

Workers on hand included: Ben, back from a European summer.

Steph!  (with her hands up,)  Emily, Lauren, Taylor (working).  Not that I'm saying Steph wasn't working!

Mark.

Kim!

During the occasional watermelon lull I worked with the carrot people.  Here I am sneaking a bag off to  deliver at a Rabbit Rescue Center to continue my efforts to make up for having eaten a rabbit the other week.

WARNING!  THE FOLLOWING IMAGES MIGHT BE DISTURBING TO SENSITIVE READERS!

We get pretty used to a certain shape of carrots.  A carrot-shape stereotype forced upon us by the media and society.  Sometimes we forget how weird carrots can look.  For example:

Or:

(And take a look at the image two pictures above again if you didn't notice the two-legged carrot doing the splits)

Anyway, Saturday's service activity was just great.  I really loved getting up early and putting in a good morning's work, and it was great to be with all the volunteers working so hard.  Sometimes we just spend time with each other when we're being lazy, it's nice to see each other when we're actually putting our shoulders to the wheels and noses to grindstones.  Two days later my back is so sore from tossing around melons!  This is so great!

Additional things I saw in the Bronx Saturday:

Did the school where we worked have the best mascot? 

This poster at this restaurant says they're looking for good-looking girls to work there.  Really.

Building absolutely does not look like a New York building at all.  I bet you thought I was in Brazil again when you saw it

Nice little church and field.

One more time: Thanks to everyone that came out to the service project!  And to Abby for organizing it.  And here's a link to learn more about City Harvest, the people in charge of the market, and many other great projects throughout the city.