Fort Greene Obsevatory

Opps. Ouch.

Last week a woman photographer shooting a furniture catalogue at the brownstone stepped off the steps and rolled her ankle.

Two snaps.

I comforted her while we waited for the ambulance and lied to her, saying, "It's probably ligaments."

"How do you know?"

"Because I played basketball for years and we were always getting injured."

She asked more questions and I told her not to worry, but I knew it was a broken ankle.

I had heard those cracks before.

Not from me.

Ten minutes later the EMS crew arrived and strongly suggested her going to the nearest emergency ward, which was less than three blocks away from the Fort Greene Observatory. As they drove away, I thanked the heavens for my good health and thought about what my Irish Nana said in my distant childhood, "As long as you can put on your shoes in the morning than you have no reason to complain."

I wasn't trying to be a smart-aleck, but I asked, "But what if i want to wear sandals?"

Whack.

Sometimes it's better to not ask so many questions.

Especially when there's nothing really wrong with you.

Redcoat Suspect

AP and I were sitting in the garden of the Fort Greene Observatory, discussing the lack of a video declaration from the Boston Marathon bomber(s). I had bought us big cans of 'Gansett beer. It came from New England. "It was only one person," I voiced my hunch. "He carried the two bombs in bags and dropped one and then the other." "Why four hours after the first runners?" AP had attended RISD. He had an analytical mind. "Because it was too crowded. Someone walking with two bags would have attracted attention." "And it didn't four hours later?" AP was a New Yorker. "The cops were standing down. The spectators were friends and family. No one was paying attention to a forty year-old white male with two bags over his shoulder." I knew my Boston, but didn't say that the police were in a bar on Newbury Street. There isn't anything more agreeable to any working man than getting paid to drink on the job. "One man? Those bags were heavy." The FBI said they were constructed out of pressure cookers loaded with household chemicals and ball bearings. "30-40 pounds each." I carried heavier bags, while smashing knives this winter. "He dropped the first up the street and then the second, which he detonated first and then blew the second." "And you're sticking with either a single bomber? The 42 year-old white guy from New Hampshire." "Missing a front tooth." "But not a Muslim." "A Muslim would have gone for a suicide mission, but there is another suspect." I put down my beer. It was empty. Luckily I had bought us two each. "The descendant of a redcoat officer from the Battle of Concord. Those Brits have a long memory." "That's the Irish in you speaking." AP was familiar with my blood. "Maybe you're right, so my money stays on the white guy from New Hampshire." "With the missing front tooth." We clunked our 'Gansett cans together. I hope they catch the bastard. Dead better than alive. And that's the Irish in me too.

No Rain In Sight

As far as I can ascertain from my research there has been no rain on the planet Mars for over billions of years, although the Xanthe Terra highlands on the equator shows signs of water flow. The heaviest rainfall on Earth has been recorded in the following locations according to Answers.com; LLoro, Colombia, averages 13,300mm (523.6 in) per year Mawsynram, Meghalaya, India, averages 11,873 mm (467 in) Mt Waialeale, Hawai'i, USA, annual average 11,684 mm (460 in) Cherrapunji, also in Meghalaya; yearly avg 11,430 mm (450 in) Tutunedo, Choco, Colombia, annual avg of 11394 (448 in) New York City weathermen predicted heavy rain for 5pm this evening. As we pulled the jewelry from the front window, my partner at Smith and Love Diamonds shook his head and said, "Fantastic, I get to walk home in the rain and I don't have an umbrella." "Don't worry, it will hold off." "How do you know?" Hlove trusted meteorologists more than me. "Because my fingers aren't crackling." I had fought about 200 times over my life. Not all of these bouts were one on one and not all of them were entered into the W column, but I always threw a punch. "Busted knuckles are a damned good barometer." "If you say so." Hlove is a guitarist, but he's also a fighter. "Clench our fist." "And?" "You hear anything?" "Nothing?" "So you'll get home high and dry." "I don't know about high." HLove's doctors had ordered him to take the cure. We had never drank together and I never say anything about his choice. It's life versus death and not a question of wet feet. "But if you say so I'll be dry." We shut the safe and left the exchange. I was the last to go, because it took me three minutes to find my cell phone. The train ride to Fort Greene was twenty-three minutes on the B. I exited at Atlantic Terminal and stepped outside onto Hanson Place. The rain had yet to come and looking out my window at 8:05 there's none in sight. High and dry. Except my the glass of wine in my hand is expecting a downpour. "The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling." Lucretius Same goes for wine, since all liquids find the fastest path to the sea.

Clear Skies, Cool Air

Yesterday was unseasonably warm for January in New York City. The temperature was in the 50s. Today is a little chillier at the Fort Greene Observatory, however I don't see any snow on the horizon. Where are you, Mr. Snowman?

Not Chuck Daly

Two days ago I went into the NBA store of 5th Avenue and a salesperson on the elevator said that I looked like Chuck Daly, the 80s coach of the Detroit Pistons. I was crushed that I was in such a state of ruin, however today I went there to buy a gift and the same salesperson apologized and said, "I went home thinking about it and realized that you didn't look like Chuck Daly, but someone else." "Who?" I was hoping that it wasn't Al Franken. "Eric Robert." "Better." I was insulted until seeing his photos. Younger than me and I loved him in RUNAWAY TRAIN. ps I actually went traitor to the Boston Celtics and bought my nephew James Pollack a Knicks tee-shirt. # 1 Amare Stoudemire "Is he good?" James asked with the blessed innocence of a seven year-old. "He is very good," his father replied with love. His four school friends and James chanted, "The Boston Celtics suck." It sounded cute, but last night that was the truth versus the Brooklyn Nets. "James, sssh." His father stilled their mantra. His son obeyed his order. They are a good father-son team, but the Celtics will out in the end. 2013. Beat the Heat.

The Fort Greene Observatory

Hurricane Sandy barely touched Fort Greene. Trees were knocked down in the park and the internet service has been off for a day, otherwise this neighborhood weathered the storm with ease. We are 120 feet above sea level. Coney Island and the other low-lying areas of city were not so lucky. Lower Manhattan remains without power. Yesterday I bicycled over the Manhattan Bridge to Chinatown. The queues for the Fung Wah bus were around the block. Enterprising merchants were charging phones and computers with portable generators. A few restaurants were selling food outside on the sidewalk, however they were swiftly closed by health inspectors. The Tombs were open for business and I saw two white people led intot the criminal court by cops. The only reports of looting have come from Coney Island. The greater threat are gangs of organized criminals seeking to hit the most ravaged sections of the city. Most of them will be wearing a uniform. Be careful, people. The Fort Greene Observatory will be watching.

Storm Aftermath Day 1

This morning the East Coast woke up to the havoc of Hurricane Sandy. Reports of widespread destruction are just hitting the media. New Jersey bore the brunt of the storm's landfall, while Lower Manhattan was deluged by 13-foot high tides. Power is out for millions from Virginia to New England, as the remnants of the hurricane dissipate on its path through the Midwest to Canada. Most of my friends are fine, but a ConEd substation on Avenue D and 14th Street exploded last night. This vital link in the city's powergrid could harbinger muhc touhg times ahead, for in Katrina the chaos didn't start until after the passage of the storm. President Obama has declared a State of Emergency for New York. BBC News reported the following updates -Fire has destroyed about 50 homes in the New York City borough of Queens -More than 200 patients were evacuated from New York University's Tisch Hospital after power went out and a backup generator failed -A large tanker ship has been washed on to a street in Staten Island, New York -America's oldest nuclear power plant, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, was put on alert due to rising water, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said -The New York Stock Exchange will stay shut on Tuesday - the first time it has closed for two consecutive days owing to weather since 1888 -A crew member from a replica of HMS Bounty has died and the captain is missing after the ship sank in mountainous seas off North Carolina on Monday -New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the storm surge had surpassed the highest forecast, but he expected waters to start receding. Airports are shut. Railroads are shut. Subways and buses are shut. NYC is off-line, but the Fort Greene Observatory stays open.

So Far So Good Hurricane Sandy

Florida was spared a hurricane season and earlier this week my Palm Beach comrade hit the beach to enjoy the outer winds of Hurricane Sandy. Alison was surprised to be caught by the local newspaper photographer and even more agogged by the photo hitting the front page. Sandy was sunny in Florida. Not so in New York, but so far so good. My friends are safe and sound. Those is danger's path have retreated to safer ground to seek beer or wine to pass the time of weather, althoguht there are reports of flooding in Lower Manhattan. Hopefully we make it through without too much loss. Be safe. ps I was just out in Fort Greene. Safe and sound indeed. Looking for cheap wine. I drank the first bottle fast than the barometer dropped during Katrina.