Sinking feelings
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Mountain Avenue to Yard Way part three.
Not gonna lie, your humble narrator has been ‘bumming out’ of late. The news isn’t a subject which I like to dwell upon these days, as whether it’s National or Global – it’s all bad. I’ve made it a point of not talking about world events here, in an attempt to provide some bit of diversion that isn’t apocalyptic or horrible.
The future has ended up to just kind of suck.
Somehow, I’m not surprised, but then again – I am – after all, a member of Generation X. We always figured that the Baby Boomers would figure out a way to screw everyone else, during their dotage and on their way out. It’s how they lived, it’s how they’ll die.
One likes to ruminate while out, and scuttling about, which your humble narrator was involved with on this particular day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Dribbling down the Yard Way steps, in the manner of a greasy liquid one associates with that which might ooze forth from an abattoir, me. My countenance is horrific, with dogs and children shrieking as I pass by. Cats hiss. Blossoms fold as if it was night as I scuttle past. A bird once saw me from above, and dropped out of the air dead, right in front of me. Pestilential.
I’ve been called that, as a point of fact. Pestilential.
Yard Way’s City Steps terminate at Pius Street, where the steps transmogrify into a series of sidewalk ramps. A block or two away from this spot are the Church Route City Steps, upon which I’d continue this scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking back at where I’d been, above.
As far as the bad mood goes, mental health complaints don’t necessarily refer to me slipping into or feeling ‘batshit crazy,’ but at the time of this writing I would describe myself as suffering from a bit of a ‘psychic cold.’
Low grade, no fever, just your run of the mill stuffy nose, headache, and sore throat kind of thing – that’s the analogy. It’s annoying, being bummed out, but just like when you’ve got a cold – you just have to wait it out, and then go for a walk in the sun when you’re feeling better.
Normally, I’m an ‘effin beacon of positivity, yo.
That’s me, just ask anyone who knows me in real life. I’m all sunshine and lollipops if you meet me in person.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Times like these are when all of those little guiding aphorisms of mine, which I pass off as wisdom, come into play.
‘It’s all downhill from here, and wherever that goes, there you are. Take a picture, it’ll last longer. One foot after the other, other, and soon you’ll be walking out the door. You’ll never win a fight with a woman you love, find a better way. Be early, at least they can’t hold that against you. Nothing matters, and nobody cares.’
The songbook from the musical ‘Annie’ suggests that the sun will indeed come out tomorrow. The Gorilla Biscuits also chide one to ‘Start Today.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My plan had been was to try and catch some Norfolk Southern train traffic along the way, but that neighborhood cleanup mentioned in earlier posts extended down to their tracks, and there were people with hi-viz vests and NS hats on who were talking on walkie talkies while the neighborhood people did their thing on and along the rails.
No bueno.
One decided to ‘try’ for CSX instead, an ideation which would involve a bit more scuttling. There would a possibility of a beer, too.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As far as cheering up, it’s a fairly difficult, intractable, and closed system. Me. Whatever happens behind the eyes and between the ears is sort of tidal in nature. When a storm comes, you just ride it out.
Only thing to do – really – is get out and shoot a bunch of photos, scuttling about, and turning the earth beneath my feet.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Yard Way City Steps
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Mountain Avenue to Yard Way part two.
Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes section, and your humble narrator was pretty close to the top of the world, here in the Paris of Appalachia.
One was heading for the Yard Way City Steps, which can be observed on a Google map here.
Now… realistically… I have zero desire to experience ‘all’ 400 plus sets of Pittsburgh’s City Steps. It’s likely that over the course of time I will… but… the desire to surmount that particular catalog isn’t there at the moment.
My interests at the moment are centered around the dramatic views available from the South Side Slopes, and I’m always game for cutting around a bunch of different places hosting cool City Steps.
Remember ‘Rising Main’? ‘Sunday Street’? The ‘Church Route’ or ‘Lauer Way’? ‘Sterling Street’? Yeah.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the apex of the landform, there’s a ball field and an abandoned house which seems to be in mid collapse. These are – what look like – one family homes, with an occasional multi family setup, populating the streets up here. This is very much ‘car country,’ due to the ridiculously steep nature of the streets.
Said public streets are also quite narrow, even though they run as two way streets. Parking density is a serious issue up here, and one needs to consider egress for emergency vehicles when pulling your keys from the ignition. It’s common practice for residents to park their cars with at least one set of wheels up on their sidewalk to preserve access.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Top of the world, ma, top of the world.
As a reminder, the Newtown Pentacle time warp is still in effect.
You’re receiving this in early/mid June, but these words were written back on the 9th of May, and further – the photos were captured in late April. I’ve somehow managed to manufacture a terrific amount of ‘lead time’ again, with posts being scheduled far in advance.
This is a good thing for your humble narrator, but I think it should be explained why you’re looking at shots of early spring in the early summer.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is a massive set of City Steps, I’d mention.
Blocks and blocks and blocks of them, descending downwards towards the South Side Flats. Most of this pathway sees you descending through what can be described as a ‘vegetation tunnel.’ Ultimately, the Yard Way steps terminate nearby another set of City Steps which can carry you down towards the ‘flats.’
As is usually the case with walks around this area, I’d offer the observation that you really, really want to reconsider your decision to plant bamboo on Pittsburgh’s hills. It just takes over and crowds out native species of plant and tree, is a breeding ground for rats, and it’s infestations allow feral deer too much in the way of comfort.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Down, down, down.
Along the path, one ran into a group of people from the neighborhood who were performing an organized citywide clean-up that was organized in advance of the NFL Draft which was called ‘The Immaculate Collection.’ Picking up litter from places where it collects, all that. Nice peeps they were. I reminded them to weigh the bags of garbage afterwards, so as to say ‘we collected X number of pounds of trash.’
Back at Newtown Creek in Brooklyn and Queens, we would arrange for an entity like the DEP (who once dropped off a dumpster for us), DSNY, or even a private outfit like Waste Management to cart away the trash afterwards. They’d always let us know a number, as far as weight.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Check out those raised sidewalks, on Yard Way at Baldauf Street.
Back next week with more from the Paris of Appalachia – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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This time around, I used my compass
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Mountain Avenue to Yard Way part one.
So… that recent walk where I accidentally headed off in the wrong direction, and ended up scuttling – in terror – along the side of a de facto highway, without sidewalks, because of that mistake?
Also, that I had resolved to head back to the starting point of the walking path which I originally intended to scuttle along?
Ok, I’m not saying that there weren’t any obstacles this time, but your humble narrator didn’t ‘eff this one up,’ and headed in the correct direction. The area and neighborhood designations are a still little hazy for me, but I was on Mountain Avenue in what I’m told is the ‘Mount Oliver’ section, at the starting point for this effort. I started this one right about here.
As the title would imply, I used that little plastic compass which dangles off of my camera bag to vouchsafe my intended direction, this time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This scene, I would mention, is a little bit over two miles away from the dense urban core of Pittsburgh’s central peninsula. Mind you, it’s semi-difficult to live amongst these hills, particularly during the winter months, and more difficult to build housing into various plots and properties.
The path I had meticulously laid out, and then completely ignored on my initial walk, would carry me away from Mount Oliver towards and over the ridgeline of that massive elevated landform found along the Monongahela River called Mount Washington (Oliver is actually a part of it) and into a neighborhood that’s known as the ‘South Side Slopes.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First dealie was walking up the hill, and up to the ridge line. This ridge and cliff face wears a street upon it, called Arlington Avenue, which snakes diagonally down the prominence’s city facing side. Once you’ve gotten to Arlington, you’re in the ‘South Side Slopes.’
This ‘zone’ has been absolutely what the doctor ordered, as far as getting past the aftereffects of the ‘orthopedic incident.’ The downward angling of the streets here allowed me to address the muscular atrophy caused by that misery, stretching and strengthening the musculature in the front of the thighs and calves. Of late, I’ve been walking ‘up’ these streets.
The trick to walking around here, while compromised, is to not allow yourself to pick up speed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Crossing Arlington Avenue allows egress to St. Patrick’s street.
There are few if any sidewalks along this path, but it’s a pretty low volume road, lined with private housing there’s not high traffic counts to fret over. You just stay to the side.
This may strike terror into your heart, but there is no bike lane there.
As you may have noticed, after a couple of months of walking around the ‘North Side’ of Pittsburgh, my curiosities had led me back to an area that’s a bit closer to HQ. As my physical capabilities have been returning to normal, the concept of being adventurous again has crept in.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
St. Patrick’s street feeds into a gully, or ravine, or possibly a ‘hollow.’ Mishegoss.
It, in turn, leads to a short set of City Steps which elevate pedestrians up to the level of the serpentine course of South 18th Street. There’s a grandiose set of City Steps here, which I haven’t experienced yet, that I was heading for.
The landform which is called Mount Washington forms a ridge along the Monongahela River. Mount Oliver and the other ‘named’ hills surrounding it are part of the same geologic shaping. Ultimately, the land summits up to the ridge and then plunges, in the sharp manner of cliffs, towards the flood plain at the river below.
Behind the ridge, to the south, there’s a series of hills and ‘hollows’ which play out for miles and miles, in a region called ‘The South Hills.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
To position myself for the set of City Steps which I was heading for, this example of that sort of infrastructure needed to be surmounted in the ‘up’ direction. I decided to have a quick sit down at the top, and check on my compass again. A quick scan of the ‘make a right, make a left’ directions I had prepared in the notes app on my phone was also accomplished.
I find that ‘sitting down’ should never be any longer than a few minutes, otherwise you lose momentum. The camera, camera bag, and all the crap I need to carry around with me is fairly heavy, so it’s useful to give the lower back a rest, and an ‘uncoil’ every now and then.
Back tomorrow with more, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Monongahela style, Hey Now!
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a harrowing and honestly terrifying walk alongside the west bound vehicle lanes of Pittsburgh’s East Carson Street, specifically between Becks Run Road and South 33rd street, your humble narrator began to relax a bit.
Couldn’t chance that ‘one of my turns’ might occur, wherein I fall to the ground – crying and quivering while kicking my feet at the sky – consumed by paroxysms of physical cowardice, and raw animal fear, while squealing in a high pitched manner.
Just like every time I see the full moon. The horror…
Once I felt nice and safe again on normal streets, and shortly after quaffing a Gatorade purchased at a nearby gas station convenience store, a few quick steps saw me walking alongside that waterfront trail which mirrors the Monongahela River’s shoreline through Pittsburgh’s ‘South Side.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s an ‘after’ and ‘before’ dealie going in that shot above. To me, at least.
Time was growing short, as I was meant to be meeting up with Our Lady of the Pentacle later on in the afternoon. Had the equivalent of about thirty city blocks to walk, a mere stumble for one such as myself.
Leaned into it, thereby.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Soon, I was walking past the Birmingham Bridge, firmly on my way.
Naturally, I walked too fast, and got there nearly 45 minutes early.
I’m pathologically early, by habit. My Mom used to screech at me: ‘get there early, at least they can’t hold that against you.’ I also think that it’s a sign of respect for whomever you’re meeting that you got there ahead of time. Tardiness should be added as an ‘8th sin’ to the list of deadlies.
Luckily, there was a big pile of rocks that I could sit down on and wait.
A man needs a random pile of rocks, every now and then.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While sitting on that pile of rocks, I waved the camera about.
This is a familiar location, nearby that brewery where I often shoot trains from. Different establishment for this particular evening’s diversion, but same neighborhood.
The signal bells then began to chime, and the barrier arms lowered.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now!
It’s CSX #3380!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That shot above was at the end of this particular scuttle.
Forthcoming, I went back a few days later to that starting point on Mountain Avenue, up on Mount Oliver, and walked in the correct direction for the ‘cool walk’ I had meticulously planned… sigh.
You’ll see all that fairly soon, so get ready!
Back tomorrow, with something different.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Deathsylvania
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Catchup from yesterday: your humble narrator had accidentally gotten ‘turned around’ on a local road, called Becks Run, after having made a wrong turn at the start of a scuttle. This set me on a less than salubrious pathway.
I’ve mentioned, many times, that one of the things you have to watch out for when taking walks around the Pittsburgh metro area is finding yourself trapped into a ‘cul-de-sac’ style situation, while ‘on-foot.’ You find yourself with limited options, as far as where you can go and even when you do, or the path that you’re walking on just kind of terminates at a highway, or a cliff.
The highway scenario was the case, on this particular day.
I ‘effed up, alright.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Lovely little ‘zone’ back here, have to say. The wooded hills behind the neighborhood are at the edge of a natural area called Hay’s Woods. Bald Eagles nest in those woods, which is kind of cool. Lotsa critters.
Becks Run Road has been receiving an awful lot of attention from the State’s water control people, who are quite concerned with flooding, and the broader region that Becks Run Road is a part of has been displaying opened up streets and busy construction crews for the entire interval that I’ve been living out here in Pittsburgh.
History of coal mining hereabouts, as a note.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the end of Becks Run Road, there’s a fantastic ice cream joint called Page’s, and an enormous rail trestle which carries trackage for the Norfolk Southern RR outfit. Becks Run disappears into the ground there.
A ‘local’ street is present, which interesects to the ‘South Side’ section of Pittsburgh to the west, or becomes a de facto highway heading eastwards towards Homestead and Duquesne, along the shoreline of the Monongahela River. That local east/west street is called ‘East Carson.’
About a mile to the west, it’s a normal street with lights and crosswalks and sidewalks, but here…
This is where I found myself in a pickle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I walked up on top of a hill, along this de facto highway, to see if I could spy some way to get from ‘a’ to ‘b’ without having to walk the better part of a mile along the shoulder of East Carson Street.
No bueno.
This view looks eastwards, as a note. The ground level set of RR tracks on the left of the shot belong to CSX.
‘Feck.’ I’d just have to ‘do it,’ and walk alongside a high speed road.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As an omen, as soon as I began my tremulous passage, the realities of this plan asserted themselves.
There was an abattoir’s worth of dead animals lying on the shoulder side of that curb. It was so dangerous a walk that I didn’t shoot any photos during this section of things, as I couldn’t take my eyes off the traffic lane in case I needed to leap for safety. Of course, the curb disappears after a few hundred feet and then you’re just walking on the 18-24 inches of space between the painted white line and the grass.
‘Sheiste, en mi pantalunes,’ lords and ladies.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Cannot begin to tell you how happy I was when I saw that guard rail above appear, and then when I stepped over it. Whew.
I was still walking alongside a highway, but now there was 10-20 feet of space and a steel rail between me and oncoming traffic. That’s opposed to about 18 inches of space, with buses shooting by me at 50 mph.
Wow. How stupid was that? I really am a moron, just like everyone says I am.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
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The Newtown Pentacle 