rclab

After last nights deluge all of mine are singing “ What do you do with a drunken sailor”. As always ....

Definitely great for its time. Another insect favorite of mine was the movie Them. That little girl in shock and then screaming Them them over and over. Fess Parker had a break in role as a bush pilot. They were ready to put him away because of his description of the mating flight of the queen ants. That small part got him the role of Davy Crockett after James Aries’s turned it down. Apparently Walt Disney saw the movie and Mr Parker’s acting made an impression on him. Was there another one called The Beginning Of The End, with giant grasshoppers? A great decade for fright flicks. As always ....

It was 1968 and I was in the midst of a study all nighter in my Arkansas college dorm. I was heading for the Loo to get rid of some of the coffee ( that and no doze is all that we used then). When what greets me, ambling down th hall toward me was an Arkansas Brown Tarantula. I believe one of the local rebels kept it as a pet and figured it would be fun to see a yankee run out of his drawers. I was a Brooklyn kid well used to two, four and multi legged wild life. I went back to my room, got my two buddies, one from New Jersey, the other Minnesota and collected the tarantula which we christened Androcles. Didn’t know if it we had a male or female and we weren’t about to investigate. We kept Androcles on exhibit for a day and then released him/her to the wilderness behind the dorm. We disappointed our grey brethren and no one ever owned up to Androcles the Tarantula. Thank you Stormlover for jogging that memory. As always ...

God bless you Julian. At my age, whatever I have that needs it better be self pollinating. As always ....

We in the UHI inner city really can’t say “ we don’t have them” we just train them to stay hidden while the lights are on. As always ....

Anthony my row house abuts the Kane Street Synagogue. I believe it’s the oldest in Brooklyn. My good neighbor says it best: ”This Too Shall Pass”. As always ......

So that’s why I don’t see any in my young urban progressive neighborhood.

I saw one, finally, in my Cobble Hill Red Hook back yard. One lone light in the evening dusk. I stood there, thinking back 65 years wondering where have you all gone to. As always .....

Appropriately named and beautiful. As always ....

Dew Is rare in my little corner of the concrete/asphalt inner city. My usual and often only relief for the backyard in summer is a hose in hand or a cooperative congested cumulus. As always ......

I was 19 and getting ready to start the third year of college. I lived in the Fort Ham section of Brooklyn off Ridge Blvd, two blocks down from Fort Hamilton High School. I remember the heat. We did not have air conditioning. The heat was like a pressing physical presence. I had to water my fathers vegetable patch. I didn’t mind that day, I hose watered me as much as I did them . I remember dialing WE 6 1212 and hearing the over 100 reading. We had a black rotary phone. It was over half a century ago. 17 was a good year for you Unc, probably one of many. For me, I just cling to the sage advice of the singing poets, S and G ,” preserve your memories, their all that left you”. As always .........

It’s never a waste when there’s a bacon egg and cheese involved. As always ......

Sadly in my neck of the inner city woods they are now rare to non existent. As always .....

The forum has taken a scatological turn. ( but does it float? ) As always ....

Same in RedHook/Cobble Hill. As always......

Just before nine it started to brighten in the 11231 area. In the winter there was always a temptation, on my part, to wish cast for snow. I never thought I could do it during meteorological summer for sunshine. As always ......

Your right it wasn’t 51degrees at the time of the celebration. It had, I believe, dropped to 55 degrees by midnight. With a stiff breeze on the roof at those temperatures it felt cold. This year with the Macy’s display around the Brooklyn Bridge I may give it another go. 33 years later. The sycamores are taller but I should still have a decent view, Thart is, if I don’t fall off. As always ..

I remember that 51 degrees. I was on the roof of my Red Hook/Cobble Hill row house watching the fire works around lLiberty Island. I was freezing, it felt a lot colder, with the breeze, then 51. Frank Sinatra was part of the night celebration. I look at all the pleasure boats and every day folk close into the festivities. With today’s sad reality it probably could never be reproduced. Restrictive protective measures would have to be in effect. Thanks for the memory, Unc.

My dust will be helping to make snowflakes for many decades before your time is done. That is as it should be, as always......

You know, of course, that your going to get a twitter response form the real “Head”. As always......

I always thought bath temperature rain occurred in the tropics or perhaps Deep South. If and when we get into deep heat, and showery rains I’m definitely going to try to feel it. Probably need a gentle rain that drifts down in the already warmer air. As always .....

A good place to see creations palette, thank you. As always .....

It’s good to be happy in the rain. It makes drying off a lot easier. As always .....

How sad, the thought of a diminished star field, an unintended victim of us. I remember a May spring night. I and couple of school chums were sitting on boulders in a Johnson County field just south of the Ozark National Forest. It was 1968 and a warm tranquil clear night. No beer. Johnson County was a Dry County. No girls because, even though it was Friday the girls dorm curfew still kicked in at 8:30pm. I beLieve Saturday went to 9:30 and Sunday was rolled back to 7:30 with chaperoned parlor visiting privileges for a little longer .You don’t want to ask about Mon to Thur. We just watched the star show Having grown up in the Dyer Heights, Bay Ridge/Fort Hamilton neighborhoods of Brooklyn stargazing was not a memorable experience, except on July 4th, depending on which of us was able to get the best stuff. To this day I’m still surprised I can count to ten using both hands. The star gazing in that Ark field will never be forgotten, I even viewed my first shooting stars. They were frequent, it seemed to me. I recall seeing two cross. Sad to lose that to progress but it won’t be denied. Rather than squawking about it I should try to transport these old bones to place where I might see it again. At least I can still sit in the dark, close my eyes and remember. As always ....

Could the State generate an after hours park permit for those whose skills necessitate it’s use? Just a thought, as always ........