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Independence Hall; ball parks; Bookbinder's
On our first full day in Philadelphia, August 30, we walked past City Hall along Market Street to the Independence Visitors Center to get tickets for a 12 noon tour. Once the tour started the guide told us that Independence Hall was actually the Pennsylvania State House in the 18th Century. The State “loaned” it to the delegates in 1771 and 1787. We were shown the room that served as a court room in the 1700’s and then across the hall sat the room in which the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were drafted and signed. We then went upstairs to where the governor’s office was, as well as the banquet room. When the tour was over we walked along Walnut Street to Bookbinder’s and made reservations for the evening. Then it was the Market Street Subway back to the hotel to rest and plan our afternoon activities.
I had promised myself a genuine Philadelphia Cheese steak and headed over to Jake’s in Liberty Way (at 17th & Chestnut) for a taste of heaven. I must admit that they know how to make them there.
Even though the Phillies were on the road in Chicago, I wanted to visit their ballpark and get a few team items. So I hopped the Broad Street Subway at City Hall and south to the end. Pattison Avenue, the name of the station, is also the street that bisects the properties in which the Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field, the Wachovia Center (Flyers & 76’ers) and the Wachovia Spectrum (music, Arena Football’s Soul, and the American Hockey League’s Phantoms play. The Veterans Stadium (the Vet) was on Pattison Avenue just east of Citizens Bank Park. There are plaques honoring the nation’s veterans, as well as a pair of statues of football and baseball players doing their stuff. I walked to the Phillies’ Team Store in Citizen’s Bank Park and ended up with a DVD about baseball in the Vet, a coffee cup for my neighbors, and a Phillies lapel pin for me. I then hopped the subway back to the hotel. Later we got dressed up a bit to head to Bookbinder’s, and headed along Market Street again to the restaurant. I enjoyed a red snapper soup and a fried seafood platter, and washed it down with a local Philly brew. I thought that the food and service was A-1, and recommend it to all. After all, presidents, celebrities and sports heroes have been going there since the 19th century. One of its former waiters in Jack Klugman, a Philly native who became one of the 12 Angry Men (and as of today, the only survivor of the cast) and one half of The Odd Couple. It’s at 125 Walnut Street for those who live in or are planning to visit Philly. Then it was back to the subway for a short ride back to the hotel.
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1.9.08 19:20
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arts & sciences; the riverfront
August 31 was our last full day in Philly. Since it was a Sunday, I went to church at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter & Paul, which was about a block from our hotel. Then I met Ellen and Eileen at the Academy of Natural Sciences so that we could take in the butterfly exhibit and the other more permanent displays. The first stop was the Dinosaur Hall on the first floor with the fossil skeletons of several species of dinosaurs, marine lizards, and flying lizards. The other floors have dioramas of the various wildlife of North America, Africa, and Asia. The top floor has an exhibit of some of the extinct birds from around the world, such as moa, great auks, Labrador Ducks, and passenger pigeons. The temporary exhibits included a room with live butterflies and moths, and a hall dedicated to genetics, a science started in the 19th century by an Austrian priest named Gregor Mendel. After that we walked up the Ben Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see their exhibits. It’s the same museum whose steps Sylvester Stallone runs up in the “Rocky” films, but his statue is on the western side of the museum; we came in through the eastern side. The Museum has a large section of Impressionists works, including Renoir, Cezanne, Pissaro, Couture, and a few van Goghs. Several of Mary Cassatt’s works are also on display, as she was a Philadelphia native. The second floor has a series of tapestries of the life of Constantine the Great, and a large collection of arms & armor from the Dark Ages through the 19th century. My favorites are the antiques firearms, especially the Wheelock firearms. This exhibit is as impressive as its counterpart in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The second floor also has a large collection of Medieval European art, much of which is religious in theme. Another floor has the American artists, and its featured star is Philly native Thomas Eakins whose works include Between the Rounds – at a boxing match, rowers on the Schuylkill River, and Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic) – a work not for the squeamish. The American Wing also featured works by Winslow Homer. After this we went back to the hotel to rest and then head towards City Center to enjoy a dinner at the City Tavern, located around the corner from Bookbinder’s. The City tavern dates from the 18th Century and featured several recipes from that time. After dinner we walked to the Delaware River to take a few pictures and admire the waterfront. Then we walked back to Market Street to get the subway back to the hotel. Since all good things must end, on Monday we checked out and hit the highway back home. We all had a great time there and hope to visit Philadelphia again.  
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4.9.08 17:20
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Greenwich Village; baseball; lots more
Since the last time it’s generally been the same old stuff during the week: go to work, come home, and hit the Internet somewhere (usually home or the firehouse). The only break came on Monday nights when my fire company met on the 8th, and the entire department on the 15th. On the 16th, I went to the firehouse to use the computer (I got bumped off the one at home) so I headed to the firehouse to use the one in the officers’ room. While there we got a call for a motor vehicle accident in a residential area. Since there was a driving course conducted earlier in the evening, the firehouse was full, and I knew that some of the superstars would ask me to remain behind. Perhaps it was good that I did, since I found out from the driver of the heavy rescue truck that most of the crew members had been drinking. Since the last entry I created a web page on Homestead about our trip to Philadelphia. The URL is http://www.philadelphia2008.homestead.com. Please check it out and remember to sign the guestbook. Over the past Sunday (September 14) we went in to Manhattan to visit Greenwich Village and have dinner at John’s Pizzeria on Bleecker Street. We then walked down Bleecker to Rocco’s Bakery where we got Italian pastries (Ellen and Eileen) and gelato (me). Then it was time to walk it all off, and we headed to Washington Square to do some people watching and checking out the New York University buildings, and then walking back to the West 4th Street Station to get the subway to head to Penn Station and then home. Today we went bowling at the East Islip Lanes, as the 2008-2009 season of the St. Mary’s League began this evening. I managed to get a total of 319 in 3 games for an average of 106. While it’s not pro-bowling play, we all had fun. On the baseball front, we are all pulling for the New York Mets to make it into the post season this time. Right now the Mets are trailing the Atlanta Braves 3-2; while the Philadelphia Phillies are tied with the Florida Marlins 2-2 (go Marlins). The Yankees are pretty much out of the post season picture this year, barring a complete collapse by both the Rays and the Red Sox. So on September 21, 2008 the last game at the original/refurbished Yankee Stadium will be played. As with the first game way back in 1923, lets’ have a Yankees win tomorrow – for the Babe, Lou, Joe D, the Mick and all of the other greats who played there. On the financial front, I am not optimistic about the shape of our economy. There are going to be too many white collar jobs lost, and the manufacturing sector is practically dead, so that cannot pick up the slack. I think that since the 1980’s most of us have really lived above our means and got stuck in the never ending games of catch up and keeping up with the Joneses – or Smiths or whoever else. Therefore many individuals and the country are up shit’s creek with a rotten paddle. As for the political front, I am not too impressed with either major party’s slate, and whoever wins, will inherit such a mess that I almost feel sorry for them.  
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20.9.08 21:31
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Brooklyn: Memory Lane and the History trail
This entry is about Brooklyn, since history was made there 51 years ago, and I did some exploring there three days ago.
It was on September 24, 1957 that the last game was played at Ebbets Field. The Brooklyn Dodgers had a few more games to play, but they were on the road. The next season would open in Los Angeles. Professional baseball would not return to Brooklyn until 2001, when the Brooklyn Cyclones took the field.
Baseball fans still miss Ebbets Field. While it was not Yankee Stadium (in a class by itself) there were numerous memorable moments that took place at the park. While the Yankees are only moving across the street, the Dodgers moved across the continent. However, next April the Mets will start playing in Citifield, and it is designed to look like Ebbets Field, complete with the rotunda (but with more modern amenities).
Ellen’s mother’s family is Brooklyn Irish in origin, and several relatives still live there. One happens to be the family historian, and since some of the ancestors lived in Red Hook 100 years ago, we decided to check out the old neighborhood.
The areas changed a lot since the 1960’s when I was in high school at St. Francis Prep in Brooklyn. Most of my classmates were residents of that borough, with perhaps 40% from Queens (like me). At that time the track team practiced in McCarren Park, a short walk from our digs on North 6th Street, or else at a small stadium in Red Hook – located at Bay & Hicks Streets. I had been “drafted” onto the track team in November of freshman year, and the coach said that I would be heading to Red Hook to practice. When I asked one of my classmates about Red Hook and what it’s like, he said that a couple of killings a night are routine. That did not sit well with me, coming from the relatively quiet confines of Queens. However, we did not start practicing there until the spring, when the outdoor track season began – and only on weekends. For my first weekend practice, I hopped onto the G subway line at Roosevelt Avenue and took it to the last stop – Smith & 9th Streets. When I got down to the street level I asked where Red Hook Park was – at Bay & Hicks Streets. A shopkeeper said to walk along 9th Street to Hicks Street and then go around 2 blocks past the projects. That I did and met up with my teammates at the stadium. I did notice that the area was quite run down and a bit seedy, but I obviously made it out of there alive.
If we fast forward to 1977, I remember driving on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway to head home to Flushing and noticed that several of the town houses near the toll plaza of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel looked quite spiffy. I then learned that the area was getting gentrified. So Red Hook was starting to get better, along with South Brooklyn (which had been re-named Cobble Hill). However, other that driving along the expressway, I would not return to the area until this past Sunday.
On Sunday Ellen and I dropped Eileen off at her grandparents’ apartment and then we hopped the subway to get to Brooklyn and meet her cousin at the Carroll Street station. Once we arrived there her cousin picked us up and we drove to the corner of Pioneer and Richards Streets to check out #80 Pioneer. It turns out that 90 years ago their grandmother ran a store there on the ground floor and lived upstairs. Right now the building is vacant but for $800,000 it can be yours. Now that is gentrification!! We then walked down Pioneer to the waterfront and got a glimpse of the cruise ship Caribbean Princess which was in port. This ship is huge, but we were hoping to see the Queen Mary II, which is even larger. That ship was not in port that day, so perhaps we can see it another time. The cousin pointed out several old buildings that used to be schools or social clubs, and are now homes or serve other functions. One thing was constant, the houses were quite nice looking today. There were several churches in the area, and the one that attracted our attention was the Visitation Church. Besides the church building, there was also the school, rectory and convent. At present, only the church and rectory are used for their original purposes. We then headed down to the foot of Van Brunt Street where a Fairway Supermarket is located, as well as some art galleries. Since there used to be railroad tracks here from when it was a real industrial area, there happened to be some tracks still in place with three 1940’s vintage trolley cars stored there. Right now the cars are in poor shape, but hopefully they will be restored soon. After admiring a few more blocks in the area, we decided to have an early dinner at the Brooklyn Ice Company, which is at 321 Van Brunt Street. It reminded us of a typical corner bar, with wooden paneling and tables. This pub has a great selection of domestic and imported beers of any establishment of its size. We all enjoyed burgers, and I also ordered a bottle of Lone Star (which I had not enjoyed since the days of the Lone Star Café in the Village. Since they also had British beers, I also ordered a London pale ale. After that my cousin in law drove us back to the Carroll Street station and we took the subway back to Flushing. This time we took the G line back, and it passes through Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Williamsburg and Greenpoint before it enters Queens. Judging from the people who boarded and got off the train this past Sunday, we can definitely conclude that these neighborhoods have improved drastically since my days at St. Francis in the 1960’s and my working days at the Lincoln Savings Bank in the 1970’s.
I remembered to bring a camera and took several pictures of the houses, churches, ships and streetcars. Once the roll is finished, I will post the pictures on the Internet. 
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24.9.08 18:37
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University Service Day; end of the line; new/changed web-pages
On Saturday Ellen, Eileen and I participated in our second University Service Day with the St. John’s Alumni. This year we were sent to the United Hindu Cultural Council Senior Center in the South Ozone Park section of Queens, not far from Kennedy Airport. We were supposed to entertain a group of senior citizens there, but somehow a mis-communication occurred and that did not happen. However, since we were all there they asked if we could help in cleaning and tidying up the hall and grounds, which we did. Several of the alumni painted the walls of the main meeting room (I helped with by painting the trim). Ellen and Eileen used Fantastic to clean tables, chairs and the front of the bar so that there was no more grime or dirt. I spent most of my time trimming a hedge and pulling up weeds. After about 2 hours we all started to head home.
Today I watched the Mets get eliminated from post season by losing to the Florida Marlins 4-2, while the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1. So today was the last game ever played at Shea Stadium. It was not as venerable as Yankee Stadium, nor as aesthetic, but I had pretty good times there over the last 44 years. I will miss the “venerable old dump” but also am looking forward to my first game at the new Citifield next year. So it’s “wait until next year” for all of New York’s baseball fans. And with that, I will root for the Los Angeles Dodgers to win it all. After all, Joe Torre is their manager, and they are one of the Mets’ ancestors.
I had gone to the 12:15 service this afternoon at St. Mary’s for the first time in months (got up a bit late, and had an ambulance call). After the service I stopped for coffee at the parish social hall and shared the table with two other parishioners, both of whom were also St. John’s University alumni. The older alumnus graduated in the 1950’s, when the Jamaica campus had just opened. He said that there was only one building on the grounds – St. John’s Hall – but the science building – St. Albert’s Hall – was being built. When I was there in 1971 there were only about 10 buildings all around. The other person, an alumna, graduated in the 1980’s and also was an avid fan of SJU basketball. After we all left the social hall I spoke to her in the parking lot and noticed a window decal that said “Islip High School Seniors 2008”. I asked if one of her children graduated that year, but she said not that year, but she is a teacher there. I told her that my daughter Eileen is now a special education at the high school, and she then told me that since she is a moderator of the Art Club, she worked with Eileen when Ellen brought her there after special education at North Country or after home schooling. She spoke very highly of Eileen and was glad to finally meet her other parent.
Ellen had gotten an e/mail from her cousin who we explored Red Hook with last Sunday, and the e/mail contained about a dozen pictures from his digital camera. I mounted 10 of them onto one of my web-pages on Homestead, at http://billysnewyork.homestead.com/Brooklyn.html. Please also check out the pages on the other boroughs and remember to sign the guestbook. I also created a new page on Yahoo Geocities, but somehow cannot access it anymore from this computer. Perhaps you may have better luck – the URL is http://www.geocities.com/ironmen8@y7mail.com/redhook2008.html. Maybe problems like these are why so many of my former Yahoo 360 friends jumped ship and went to places like www.multiply (like me) and also www.facebook.com (like I also did).
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28.9.08 22:45
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replacement site on original ID
It seems that Yahoo Geocities will not allow me to access the recent web-page that I created under the Ironmen8 ID. I think that the problem with the original web-page was that the pictures were too large, averaging 700 KB each, that I just exceeded the bandwidth after 8 pictures. Luckily I downloaded the originals, that my “cousin-in-law” e-mailed to us, into my album at www.photobucket.com. So I simply went to the album and saved those copies to my hard drive. They were smaller, and only around 45KB each. I then tried to re-edit my Red Hook page and Geocities would still not let me in. The excuse is that it's "unused". Go figure
So I decided to go to my original ID, Roosevelt126, and create it there. I finished it this afternoon and the URL is http://www.geocities.com/roosevelt126/redhook2008 . I still have to put in a guest book, but you can send your comments here.
Yahoo 360 is still giving me trouble on the blog. When I try to view all of my entries, it automatically goes back to entries from the middle of 2007.
Maybe having alternate sites for blogs is not such a bad idea.
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30.9.08 23:01
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