New York After the Apocalypse

I like taking pictures of the Empire State Building.  I’ve been taking them for more than thirty years now.

This was taken from all the way over on the West Side, on a Sunday, so it looks pretty desolate.

Ah.  Today.  Today, today. What’s on the “to-do” list for today?  I have an interview for a docents position to give people tours of Ground Zero.

God knows if I’ll get that.  It takes a certain talent to be good at that kind of thing in the first place, and to give tours of such a highly sensitive place?  We shall see.

I have a haircut scheduled for tomorrow.  You know me and haircuts.  It’s going to be tears or smiles tomorrow.  How did Jessica Mitford used to put it? Shrieks and floods. Either  shrieks of laughter or floods of tears.  (Thank God for google.)  I want that bob that yes, everyone has, but it’s so cute.  But I need my hair to remain long enough to pull back, so I’m shooting for a longer version of what everyone else has.  I’ve had a modified version of this haircut for years, so technically, in my mind anyway, I was first.

Remember Me?

“ACK!  What’s this thing in my mouth??  ACK!  Oh.  It’s my tongue.”  

Still playing around with my new camera, and of course the cats are a favorite subject.  Love the teeth in this shot.

What Was the Rush??

I just heard from my very first college roommate!  We were students together at the Florida Institute of Technology, but after one semester we both decided we wanted to study photography and left.  (Neither of us became photographers, although I did it for a few years after college.  She went on and studied physics and worked at Bell Labs!!  VERY impressive.)

When I look back I have to ask, what was the rush??  On the one hand, I guess this is a good thing about me, when I make a decision to do something I do it, little hesitation. But still.  This was a fun place and I really liked so many of the people who went there.  Did I have to leave immediately??  

That’s me on the left, and Elisa on the right, partying one night on the beach. Oh!!  I’m wearing my shark’s tooth necklace that I had made.  I miss that.

So Was it the Mob or the City?

This was the shot I was really going for, I love taking pictures of lots of shades of gray in color. But when I walked over to take the shot below a little guy came out to stop me. 

I wonder why?  What is it?  I was just drawn to the yellow, love yellow things now.  

He was kind of an icky guy, but that could have been simply because he was trying to prevent me from doing something I wanted to do.  I was mad at myself later, because if I hadn’t reacted, and got all annoyed, and had instead made an attempt to be nice to the guy it probably would have been fine.  Or fine-er than it was.  But as it was he got on the phone to either the cops or his mob bosses to report me.  I laughed because it had the feel of running to mommy.  “I told her to stop taking pictures and she didn’t!” But it was a fake laugh, a forced laugh.

Here’s a pulled back shot of the whole structure I was photographing.  There was a Department of Sanitation sign.  I’m not sure what the problem was, and the photo-guard wouldn’t tell me, only that it was private property, which didn’t seem like it could be true, it looked like City property and that’s when I thought, “sanitation … mob …”

Traumatized by Invaders From Mars

I was so traumatized by the movie Invaders From Mars that whenever I see anything even remotely like it I get the creeps, all these years later.

I took this walking towards the Hudson River.  I was somewhere up in the 70’s, I forget which block (probably due to TRAUMA).

Doesn’t it look a little like the path leading up to the sandpit in Invaders From Mars?  It’s just missing that fence running up along the left.  And trees.  It’s the urban version. This is the best sandpit alien landing pad we could come up with in the city. Seriously, I saw it and immediately thought Invaders From Mars, first thing.  I will never forget that sandpit. Whatever a sandpit is, besides being a good hiding spot for aliens.

I walked back home along the river from an unsuccessful shopping trip uptown.  I had a little adventure along the way, which I will post about. Nothing truly exciting, but I got a nice picture out of it.

I was threatened by someone who either works for the City or the mob. Or aliens. Okay, not aliens.  

Or does he???