A speeding car & ten inches of water

The big puddle surprised about one in every six drivers. I saw one hubcap came off – that will be a second surprise for that driver. Chances are he or she won’t remember this water on Ft. Hamilton Parkway. The rain is still coming down!

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Two of a kind

Did they discover they had the sleeve thing in common before or after meeting each other?

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The real father of baseball

Henry Chadwick, 1824-1908, Green-Wood Cemetery

Henry Chadwick was born in Britain and grew up playing cricket, but he is remembered for his contribution to baseball. Chadwick moved to Brooklyn as a child and became a sportswriter; when the game of baseball was organized in the 1860’s, Chadwick devised the box scoring system in order to better report on the game. Later, he wrote the first guides to baseball.

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Resting place of an American original

Near the highest point in Brooklyn, in Green-Wood Cemetery, is the grave of Leonard Bernstein. Though originally from Massachusetts, he is closely associated with New York City because of his affiliation with the NY Philharmonic and as writer of the music for West Side Story. Still a beloved figure, Lenny’s grave marker is covered with stones, coins, and chestnuts from the cemetery.

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Vegas Auto Spa

Just like its namesake, this Las Vegas, a spa for the autos, has fallen on hard times. The car wash around the corner remains open, though. The location, sandwiched between the cemetery and the highway, seems suited for more practical businesses. For the sparkly storefronts (for car parts, sleaze, and everything in between) you have to go downhill, to Third Ave.

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Piece of a flag

On the ground at Green-Wood Cemetery.

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Driving in the rain

Green-Wood is on the right; the bus is front is heading for the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot off Fifth Avenue. It’s a great night to be inside, even if inside is the front seat of a car.

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Ghostly tree

On Fort Hamilton Parkway, amidst the grays, greens, and browns of the landscape, this tree is an albino. It looks extra ghostly because it’s just outside Green-Wood Cemetery. Paper birches are not seen often in NYC.

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Trashcan at Green-Wood

I’m coming to appreciate Green-Wood Cemetery as an urban oasis; it’s quiet and serene. You can take a walk there, as I did the other day, and not pass another person other than the guard at the gate.

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Rough terrain at Green-Wood

This corner of Green-Wood Cemetery, where 20th Street meets Seventh Avenue, undulates every which way. The hill rises steeply from the street; all in all, it’s an unkind environment for headstones.

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