Yesterday was sunny, unseasonably warm.
Outside our door, we could see surfers riding the waves.
“We can’t lose, it’s election day
We can choose, it's election day
The sun is gonna rise
The stars are gonna fly”
— from Election Day, by Walter Salas-Humara and Sam Bisbee, 2011
Today is damp, autumn-like cool.
Outside our door, we can see surfers riding the waves.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Abandoned and Homeless
Abandoned
They protected New York Harbor
a century ago,
but now sit stripped
of their artillery.
In their place today grow weeds
and roam wildlife, bicyclists, casual strollers,
all warned:
“Cautious. Hazardous Area.
No unauthorized personnel
beyond this point.”
“Extremely Hazardous Conditions.
Area Closed.”
By Fort Hancock in Sandy Hook,
skeletons of armaments erode,
tortoise crawl across paths,
deer stand on the side of roads,
abandoned by the US Army,
left alone by summer sunbathers.
Abandoned they may feel in autumn,
abandoned again they will be in winter.
---
Homeless
The homeless man with the bushy gray beard
pushed the baby carriage
through the lot,
stopping at the sight
of a small black car.
“I ain’t seen one of these
in a long time,” he said.
Minutes later, the man sat down
and put tobacco into a cigarette roller.
He looked up at me,
having stepped out of the black Fiero
and now sipping a cafe con leche,
and he began to speak, clearly.
“My first car was a ’70 Thunderbird.”
With a startled smile, I replied,
“So was mine.”
After a few minutes of conversation
about Thunderbirds, Fieros
and British sports cars,
the homeless man put his roller and cigarettes
into the baby carriage
and began to walk away.
“Have a good day,” he said,
and then paused, and asked,
“Can you spare a few dollars?”
“Sure, I can spare a few dollars
for you,” I replied.
Then I paused, and asked,
“Can you do me a favor?”
He looked at me.
I looked at him.
“Can you pose for a picture
with my car?” I asked.
“Sure,” he replied.
“With or without my carriage?”
“It’s up to you,” I said.
“How ever you want to do it.”
He took a moment
to comb his hair
and brush his beard
before walking over
to the Fiero.
He stood next to the black car
without his carriage,
and posed with his hand
on the roof like he owned it,
just as we did our Thunderbirds
many, many autumns ago.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Greenwich Village, 2016
Things are the same
and things change.
Porto Rico is still
where it’s always been,
But Old El Paso
has gone Italian.
Caffe Reggio on Mcdougal
since nineteen twenty-seven
hasn’t changed one bit
except for the prices,
of course.
Students walk by
in the late afternoon,
as young as ever,
perhaps as ambitious
and idealistic as ever.
Certainly, more diverse
than ever.
Today, Greenwich Village
reflects the constant
and the changes
in New York City,
perhaps the US
and our world
as well.
May it ever be so.
and things change.
Porto Rico is still
where it’s always been,
But Old El Paso
has gone Italian.
Caffe Reggio on Mcdougal
since nineteen twenty-seven
hasn’t changed one bit
except for the prices,
of course.
Students walk by
in the late afternoon,
as young as ever,
perhaps as ambitious
and idealistic as ever.
Certainly, more diverse
than ever.
Today, Greenwich Village
reflects the constant
and the changes
in New York City,
perhaps the US
and our world
as well.
May it ever be so.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Goosebumps
So, as I parked my car in Asbury Park, this big goose calls me from across the street. "Hey, you, with the tie-dyed shirt and that beautiful woman. Take my picture. Take it now, before the sun sets!"
So, I did.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Ballad of the 59th Street Subway Station
by Lou Bruns
Deep to the bowels where the smells and stench reek,
go the strong men and women, the fools and the meek.
But the scene here unfolds, like a madman's nightmare,
and if you are sane you'll just stay away from there.
The stage is New York, and the actors are men,
with strong supporting roles from the dead and the damned.
The setting’s all perfect...a bum’s at the door,
and then from a distance, you hear a dull roar.
The station is cleared for the coming onslaught,
the transit cop waits, his nerves tied in knots.
And then from the earth comes the five o'clock train,
rolling and rocking like an old drunken lame.
Hundreds and thousands (and then maybe more),
were squashed in that train, right up to the door.
The train grinds its wheels to force itself halt,
and then from the cars came a flash and a bolt.
Hundreds and thousands crammed fighting for space,
it mattered not who you were or what was your race.
And then from the lungs came a cry of despair,
it seems that another train had pulled up in there.
Fat ladies and models; yes even the meek,
the hippies, the hardhats, the cops and the freaks.
They all pushed and shoved to get down the hall,
and out through the gates where the smog greets them all.
For some odd ten minutes, this scene here went by,
and all that I've written is not just a lie.
The screams of the infants, whose mom’s breast they wish,
the odor of armpits that smelled like old fish.
Then suddenly, as if God himself heard our call,
the station went quiet; you could hear a pin fall.
And the wino; whose eyes have just witnessed this scene,
swore off of the bottle, to prevent more DTs.
Written by Lou Bruns with pen on paper in spring of 1972, now published digitally for the first time.
Deep to the bowels where the smells and stench reek,
go the strong men and women, the fools and the meek.
But the scene here unfolds, like a madman's nightmare,
and if you are sane you'll just stay away from there.
The stage is New York, and the actors are men,
with strong supporting roles from the dead and the damned.
The setting’s all perfect...a bum’s at the door,
and then from a distance, you hear a dull roar.
the transit cop waits, his nerves tied in knots.
And then from the earth comes the five o'clock train,
rolling and rocking like an old drunken lame.
Hundreds and thousands (and then maybe more),
were squashed in that train, right up to the door.
The train grinds its wheels to force itself halt,
and then from the cars came a flash and a bolt.
Hundreds and thousands crammed fighting for space,
it mattered not who you were or what was your race.
And then from the lungs came a cry of despair,
it seems that another train had pulled up in there.
Fat ladies and models; yes even the meek,
the hippies, the hardhats, the cops and the freaks.
They all pushed and shoved to get down the hall,
and out through the gates where the smog greets them all.
For some odd ten minutes, this scene here went by,
and all that I've written is not just a lie.
The screams of the infants, whose mom’s breast they wish,
the odor of armpits that smelled like old fish.
Then suddenly, as if God himself heard our call,
the station went quiet; you could hear a pin fall.
And the wino; whose eyes have just witnessed this scene,
swore off of the bottle, to prevent more DTs.
Written by Lou Bruns with pen on paper in spring of 1972, now published digitally for the first time.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Voice of Amsterdam Houses:
And I housed many New Yorkers
of all shapes and colors
long before all the other
tall new buildings in the ‘hood.
"So, show me and my people respect
as you’re entertained.
Be kind as you go to and from
cafes and restaurants,
stores and offices around town.
"It’s a great big city,
and it can be a good place
for all of us, poor and rich.”
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
The Seton Hall-Rutgers rivalry
When Seton Hall University's baseball team scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie Rutgers en route to a 7-6 win in 10 innings on Tuesday, my college friend Dave and I were ecstatic. We cheered and high-fived each other like some of the undergraduates in the stands. After all, it wasn't just another team our Pirates were playing that day. It was Rutgers, our intra-state rival. Yeah, the Rutgers we always get extra pleasure in beating.
A win against Rutgers, in any sport, on any day, has been extra special to me since I was a student at Seton Hall in 1976. That was the year Rutgers' mens basketball team finished its schedule undefeated, posting an NBA-like 119-93 win over the Pirates early in the season. Seton Hall finished a very respectable 18-9 thanks to some outstanding play by Glenn Mosely, Greg Tynes and Tom Flaherty. But no, the headlines and talk were all about the great Rutgers team featuring Phil Sellers, Mike Dabney, Ed Jordan, Hollis Copeland, James Bailey and, off the bench, Abdel Anderson. Yeah, you could say I took some pleasure in seeing the Scarlet Knights getting beat (twice) in the Final Four round of the NCAA tournament at the end of March.
It was payback for the Pirates 13 years later, when Seton Hall trounced Rutgers at the Meadowlands, 96-70, en route to the NCAA championship game. That Seton Hall team, featuring John Morton, Andrew Gaze, Ramon Ramos, Daryll Walker and Gerald Greene, beat Indiana, UNLV and Duke in the NCAA tournament before being edged by Michigan in overtime of the final. To some Seton Hall fans, however, the early-season win against a Rutgers team that would finish 18-13 was among the sweetest.
The Seton Hall-Rutgers basketball rivalry dates back 100 years. I'm happy to say the Pirates have more often gotten the better of the Scarlet Knights during that time, winning 38 of the 67 games they've played. Some of Seton Hall's wins against Rutgers occurred during seasons when the Pirates had mediocre teams. But, as long as the year included a win against the Scarlet Knights, it was not a lost season.
Many of the Seton Hall-Rutgers basketball games have been nail biters -- 20 of the last 24 matchups were decided by six points or less or went into overtime -- but not since the rivalry began contesting the Garden State Hardwood Classic two seasons again. The Pirates trounced the Scarlet Knights, 81-54, in Newark two winters ago, and humiliated Rutgers in Piscataway, 84-55, last December. Yeah, I like that!
The two New Jersey universities have also played 110 baseball games against each other during the last 70 years. Seton Hall holds a 56-53 (with one tie) advantage in the series. Few of the wins, however, could have been as sweet as Tuesday's. Down to its last out of the game with a runner on first base, Seton Hall batters drew three consecutive walks and then came through with a pair of hits to tie it. In the bottom of the 10th, the Pirates again drew three walks and then used an infield hit to bring in the winning run.
Seton Hall nearly did it again today at Rutgers, scoring with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to pull within a run, but it was not to be as the Scarlet Knights held on to a 3-2 win. So, the Pirates tossed them a bone. Yeah, we'll remember the next time we beat them on the basketball court, baseball field or any other competition.
A win against Rutgers, in any sport, on any day, has been extra special to me since I was a student at Seton Hall in 1976. That was the year Rutgers' mens basketball team finished its schedule undefeated, posting an NBA-like 119-93 win over the Pirates early in the season. Seton Hall finished a very respectable 18-9 thanks to some outstanding play by Glenn Mosely, Greg Tynes and Tom Flaherty. But no, the headlines and talk were all about the great Rutgers team featuring Phil Sellers, Mike Dabney, Ed Jordan, Hollis Copeland, James Bailey and, off the bench, Abdel Anderson. Yeah, you could say I took some pleasure in seeing the Scarlet Knights getting beat (twice) in the Final Four round of the NCAA tournament at the end of March.
It was payback for the Pirates 13 years later, when Seton Hall trounced Rutgers at the Meadowlands, 96-70, en route to the NCAA championship game. That Seton Hall team, featuring John Morton, Andrew Gaze, Ramon Ramos, Daryll Walker and Gerald Greene, beat Indiana, UNLV and Duke in the NCAA tournament before being edged by Michigan in overtime of the final. To some Seton Hall fans, however, the early-season win against a Rutgers team that would finish 18-13 was among the sweetest.
The Seton Hall-Rutgers basketball rivalry dates back 100 years. I'm happy to say the Pirates have more often gotten the better of the Scarlet Knights during that time, winning 38 of the 67 games they've played. Some of Seton Hall's wins against Rutgers occurred during seasons when the Pirates had mediocre teams. But, as long as the year included a win against the Scarlet Knights, it was not a lost season.
Many of the Seton Hall-Rutgers basketball games have been nail biters -- 20 of the last 24 matchups were decided by six points or less or went into overtime -- but not since the rivalry began contesting the Garden State Hardwood Classic two seasons again. The Pirates trounced the Scarlet Knights, 81-54, in Newark two winters ago, and humiliated Rutgers in Piscataway, 84-55, last December. Yeah, I like that!
The two New Jersey universities have also played 110 baseball games against each other during the last 70 years. Seton Hall holds a 56-53 (with one tie) advantage in the series. Few of the wins, however, could have been as sweet as Tuesday's. Down to its last out of the game with a runner on first base, Seton Hall batters drew three consecutive walks and then came through with a pair of hits to tie it. In the bottom of the 10th, the Pirates again drew three walks and then used an infield hit to bring in the winning run.
Seton Hall nearly did it again today at Rutgers, scoring with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to pull within a run, but it was not to be as the Scarlet Knights held on to a 3-2 win. So, the Pirates tossed them a bone. Yeah, we'll remember the next time we beat them on the basketball court, baseball field or any other competition.
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