Central Park World War I Memorial

Posted February 9, 2008 by Famous Ankles
Categories: Central Park, Wanderings

As I was walking along the east side of Central Park recently, I ran into a World War I memorial.  It’s just off 66th Street or so and is dedicated to New York’s Seventh Regiment of the One Hundred and Seventh US Infantry.

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It comes from an era where the symbolism is a bit less…symbolic.  I have to admit that I probably wouldn’t have noticed a stylized sculpture quite as readily as I did guys brandishing bayonets, but that’s just me.

And I’m happy to know that NYC remembered, and remembers, its veterans.

-H

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A free peak into the Central Park Zoo

Posted February 8, 2008 by Famous Ankles
Categories: Central Park, Wanderings

The Zoo is nestled in the east side of the Park and is a popular family destination.  I’ve been by it a hundred times, but I recently was walking along Fifth Avenue and found that you can glance into it from street level.

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There are some neat “tree trunks” that are a big as small sheds.  I presume they are artificial, but I couldn’t tell.

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It’s not lions and tigers and bears in the “free view” area.  But some birds and llamas and the like.

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I’m a cheap man, so the free view is fun.  However, I will (someday) do the zoo when I have some spare time and it isn’t too crowded.

-H

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The Kosciuszko Foundation

Posted February 7, 2008 by Famous Ankles
Categories: Manhattan, Upper East Side, Wanderings

Thaddeus Kosciuszko (lots of spellings of his name as you might expect) was a Polish hero of the American Revolutionary War, and on East 65th Street there’s the site of a foundation named after him.  It’s a Polish-American group that primarily works to promote educational and artistic exchange between the US and Poland.  I’ve heard that they have a library or museum inside, but wasn’t able to find out when I went by there.

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There are two plaques next to the door.  The first gives the briefest of histories of the Revolutionary War hero.

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The fact that he oversaw the fortifications of West Point is a huge plus for the man as it was the bulwark against the British drive to break the revolution into isolated pockets.  The quote from Jefferson is about as fine a testament to a patriot as you can find.  It reads “He is as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known, and of that liberty which is to go to all, and not to the few and rich alone.”

The second plaque is simply a naming of the foundation and gives the goal of the foundation:  An American Center for Polish Culture.

I’ve actually had a “nodding acquaintance” with Koscuisko for a long, long time.  When I lived in Washington DC, I found that he was one of the five statues located in Lafayette Park.  He was the only one I wasn’t familiar with at the time and I went out of my way over the years to find out a little more about the man.

-H

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Happy Chinese New Year

Posted February 6, 2008 by Famous Ankles
Categories: Chinatown, Events

With a population as big as NYC, you know that there are communities celebrating something at almost every day of the year.  Well, the 7th is Chinese New Year and I was down in Chinatown over the weekend looking at their first preparations for the festival.

It was the 5th Annual Flower Market.

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The event was held at the lower edge of Chinatown in Columbus Park.  It didn’t consist of much, but the tenting was a nice touch.

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I did get inside and found a rather crowded and festive group doing nothing but…selling flowers and plants.

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Lots of people of all sorts were there, predominantly Chinese but not exclusively.

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As you can tell, they were having a good time.

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And what year will it be?  2007 was the Year of the Pig.  Let’s follow up with an equally interesting animal year!

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Yep.  2008 is the Year of the Rat!  A good NYC kind of year, I’d say.

On the other hand, and in news more immediate to me, it’s Ash Wednesday. That’s the traditional beginning of Lent. I saw a lot of people with the sign of the Cross on their foreheads. As for me, I’m a little too low an Episcopalian for it.

-H

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I didn’t go to the Ticker Tape Parade.

Posted February 5, 2008 by Famous Ankles
Categories: Parades

I seem to go to all of the parades, but today’s celebration of the New York Giants Superbowl victory is one I missed.  It’s too bad.  I’d have really gotten into it as ticker tape parades have perhaps the greatest visuals of any parade anywhere…despite no one actually using ticker tape on Wall Street anymore.  I know, I know.  I’ve let down my readers who expect even the tiniest of parades to be covered. 

Unfortunately, the need for cash on a regular basis through the mechanism of “employment” made it disadvantageous to go.  In other words:  I had to work.  Woe is me.

I was down in the Financial District yesterday and actually walked part of the parade route.  I was at a business meeting and rued the idea that the meeting was a day early.  Of course, there’s no way on earth that I could have gotten to the meeting on time, had it been today.

 I did hear that the crowds were lining up before 7am (for an 11am parade).  I heard stories of the traditional wild-eyed football fans painted blue and of parents taking kids out of school to go.  Those seem a bit extreme.

-H

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