Top of the World

 

Riding over the top of the Verrazano Bridge on a bicycle is an exhilarating experience especially since you have already completed a forty mile trek through the five boroughs starting on Church Street in lower Manhattan, up Sixth Avenue, through Central Park, up through Harlem, and into the Bronx over the Third Avenue Bridge and out again on the Willis Avenue Bridge , down the FDR Drive, over the Queensborough Bridge to Astoria Park and into Green-point and over the BQE to Bay Ridge ,Brooklyn and into Cannonball Park. From Cannonball Park the steep ramp leading over the upper roadway of the Verrazano Bridge towers above you, and your aching muscles, but the exhilarating experience of feeling that all of NYC lies before you as you ride across the crest of the bridge is euphoric! The ride down the far side of the steep bridge and into Fort Wadsworth for the end of the event with a choice of bicycling swag and refreshments along with a well-deserved rest brings the wonderful forty-two-mile ride to a close. Of course, for those who have not had the forethought to bring a car here in advance for the ride home, the trek to the Staten Island Ferry and the ride home, still lies ahead. Now the planning begins for next year’s Five-Borough Bike Tour!

Jim- September 25’

Chocolate Euphoria

 

Schmidt’s Chocolate Shop has been in business longer than I can remember. It’s a medium sized shop and when you walk in, you will see ribbon and cellophane wrap everywhere. The shop isn’t the neatest but they have the family recipe for making the best chocolate and that’s what I focus on when satisfying my love of chocolate in Schmidt’s.

Every time I’m getting ready to enter Schmidt’s Chocolate Shop, I get euphoric. I know that as soon as I open the door, a strong, over-the-top aroma of chocolate is going to rush into my nose. It’s overwhelming in an exciting kind of way.

Enter the shop, look in the displays and your eyes will spy every kind of chocolate you could ever think of plus more. I get ecstatic when I see my favorites like chocolate butter crunch, nonpareils and white chocolate pretzel crisp. Other popular goodies include chocolate lollipops, chocolate truffles, chocolate covered graham crackers, and, of course, chocolate covered pretzels. The shop is dripping in chocolate!

Just to reiterate, I love chocolate thus I go there several times a year and for all the holidays. I never get tired of that feeling of euphoria that I get from Schmidt’s Chocolate Shop.

Ellen

Receding Summer

 

The tinkly- tinkling faded slowly as the sound of the ice cream truck rolled away, children savored their last luscious treat while waving farewell till next summer as its song became faint and the truck disappeared over the hill to warmer climes where children would still be inclined to verbally torture their parents until the necessary funds had been secured, in a timely manner, before these overpriced treats were driven away! Overextended parents were relieved at this parting since they had already vandalized change jars, and harvested the deepest recesses of their chair and couch cushions to purchase pencils and pencil cases, pens, loose- leaf paper, erasers, protractors, compasses and rulers for the new school year and stretched their budgets beyond all recognition, like an over- chewed piece of bubble gum.

This is one of the four seasonal changes, this case being Summer to Fall wherein lazy Summer wants are replaced with sobering Fall needs and the listless, lackadaisical, lethargy of Summer is wiped away like excess ice cream and the silly smiles of summer are replaced with the seriously intense requirements of learning new lessons while recalling the skills of discipline, study, and homework. This is a crucial time to unconsciously prepare for the skills needed for adulthood and the joy of learning new things, renewing old friendships and meeting new teachers. Eating ice cream, playing stick ball and swimming do not fill up a resume effectively or impressively but learning to work together to collectively attain a goal is an important lesson and Summer’s fun can have a positive impact.

Jim- Sept 25’

MUSE

 

Ugh, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt that heavy malaise and unease when facing the work that needs to be done. I numb out, lose inspiration, get confused about where to begin, and slip into a strange amnesia where the whole day passes without my accomplishing anything important.

My muse avoids me when I am frozen. She only appears when I show up—at my desk to write, at the sewing machine, or with my watercolor paints spread before me.

It is my job to prove I am ready for her, and when I do, she never fails me.

Georgia

Writing Prompt - 9/25 (by Georgia)

 

I was standing at the East River in Queens waiting for the ferry to go into Manhattan. The water was rushing beneath me and I could hear horns in the distance. 

 

In a blink I was elsewhere-walking through ancient China near a temple. I heard laughter and saw a tea room. Above me was a bird calling out but, in my mind, it was the temple bell. I am both here and there jumping timelines in my imagination by an invisible thread.

Georgia

Fall's Volcano

 

The fiery hues of the leaves,

A Beautiful array of colors in the trees.

The sight does fleet,

As the fallen provide a satisfying crunch 

Under the feet.

 

Enjoy it before you grab the rake,

An ode to the new season,

The sounds they do make.

But alas, the mizzle does enhance 

The rot, decay and break.

 

On the verge of withering away.

Savor the leaves display,

as they crackle on the ground.

Unfortunate, for disposal they are bound. 

Trudie

Crickets: "Love Me, Love Me Not"

 

This is not your usual story about the love people have for crickets. It’s actually a story about people who really come to abhor those noisy, unattractive, grass dwelling little insects.

I believe it was late August when a bunch of family members decided to take a drive to Woodstock, New York to see how Cousin Doris and her husband were enjoying their new home. The house was a decent size and nicely decorated. Grass surrounding the entire house and mountains encircle the entire landscape.

Having had a late start, everyone didn’t get to Doris’ house until dusk. When we got out of the car to stretch our legs, we couldn’t believe our ears! “What is making that ear shattering noise?” asked Gramps. Doris answered, “It’s crickets. The live in the grass and chirp like crazy all night.” “How do you sleep with that noise?” asked Uncle Bill. “Well, I’m getting used to it but most nights, I have to sleep with the windows closed and use a pair of earplugs,” said Doris.

The family was supposed to sleep over three nights but after chirp, chirp, chirp, all through the first night, they made an excuse to their cousin about not being able to stay the next two nights. Before everyone left, Gramps even went as far as asking Cousin Doris if she ever considered investing in a chocolate-covered cricket business to get rid of all those crickets in her grass. Doris thought that was a great idea as crickets are very high in protein and it would clear out her noise problem.

Ellen