A Cabinet of Curiosities
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Like stickybeaking tourists clogging up the sidewalks of a foreign city, we’ve been out and about spotting the everyday marvels and quotidian wonders of the neighborhood.
Here’s the fruit and veg display outside the local supermarket. It may not taste as good but it’s as colorful as anything in Palermo.
And here’s an ornate art deco-ish street number:
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Just when I thought that all the phone booths that used to be on every corner of every block were gone forever – I spotted not one, but three on West End Avenue.
And, yes- there was a dial tone!
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And a helpful sign in case you were in some kind of misunderstanding about the street drain:
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And so many other things to see when you look up. I started to wonder about the water towers on the tops of buildings. What happens when it gets really cold. Do they ever freeze up? The search engine is my friend – and apparently not.
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Sue has been turning some of her photos into interesting architectural trompe ‘l’oeil collages. You can see some of them above the desk in the space I call the cabinet of curiosities.
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West End Avenue, especially in its middle stretch, felt a little subdued compared to the rest of the city, plus Riverside Park! Glad to see old stomping grounds.
Sending you and yours best wishes for the New Year!
Yes - it's the rather quieter and more sedate part of the West Side Story. A character in a Patricia Highsmith I read recently - might have been "A Dog's Ransom" - referred to the residential buildings on Riverside Drive as being like tombs. Given the other changes going on in NYC - and especially the Village -it remains a blessed spot for all kinds of reasons.
Our drains have stenciled images of fish next to them with the reminder that the water drains into the river.
I've seen those kinds of markers and reminders too. It all helps!
Loved this one, Josie - point taken.
The cabinet of curiosities fabulous!
Happy New Year!
Brilliant, Josie, and made me feel nostalgic for the days when I used to stay on West End Avenue. The joy was often in doing the ordinary things: shopping for groceries, getting a haircut, making like we lived there full time! Glad to see a stickybeak mention too 😉
Yes! Stickybeak! Such a useful word. Always fun to imagine living in a place you are enjoying visiting. It's partly why self-catering holidays are the best. You get to go local food shopping and that is always an adventure.
I love this; I love all posts that examine the wonders of the quotidian; great photos too, and a good read :)
The everyday (people, places and things) is full of wonders. Thanks John.