The Newtown Pentacle

Tuesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

One found himself within the confines of the City of Greater New York a couple of weeks ago, tending to some personal business.

A point was made of visiting some of the old familiar places, which obviously included the fabulous Newtown Creek, and Astoria. I had the car with me, which ended up being a bit of a curse, but I don’t like to fly and there was a not inconsiderable amount of cargo which I’d need to transport back to Pittsburgh, at the end of the trip.

Seven dozen bagels. Some of them were for my personal cache, and immediately bagged up and frozen for later deployment upon my return to Pittsburgh. Others were requested, from friends in Pittsburgh. Two weeks later, the Mobile Oppression Platform still smells of ‘everything bagel.’

Check me out, I’m an interstate bagel trafficker now.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

A friend put me up at his crib in Middle Village, so that was my home base for the interval. Beer was quaffed at my old ‘local’ in Astoria in the evening, and I ran into a bunch of the old neighborhood types and got caught up. I kept it a bit quiet that I’d be back, but saw a few of the people whom I’ve made it a point of staying in touch with.

Nothing but trouble greeted me when trying to use the car to get around, and at one point I just drove back to Middle Village and parked the thing. I called a ride share taxi to get me out of that transportation desert and took a walk around my beloved creek.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

I stopped off at Newtown Creek Alliance HQ in Greenpoint and caught up with my old crew. NCA HQ is across the street from the sewer plant in Greenpoint, and one couldn’t resist cracking out a shot or two for old times sake. I felt disconnected from it all, which was an extremely odd sensation for one such as myself.

It’s a 7 hour drive, back to Pittsburgh. One had lots of time to ruminate about the experience of returning to NYC for a few days, something I couldn’t help but do, since I was awash in bagel aroma for some 400 miles.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Everything back home seemed to have been magnified a bit, and definitely it’s gotten a lot more intense. This is the third version of this post you’re reading, with the other two having been essentially rants about how horrible everything there seemed to me, compared with what’s become ‘normal’ to me after a year.

I’ll happily fill your ear with invective about this subject during a conversation, but the text version of it was just boring. Everybody knows what’s wrong back in NYC, but ultimately it’s not my problem anymore. I’m rooting for y’all from afar, but NYC is a city of the young and wealthy and I’m neither. Armchair Quarterbacking really isn’t my style.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

I got lucky, weather wise, on this trip. Bright skies and a lack of precipitants. Despite being fully ‘kitted out,’ I ended up only using one lens the whole time I was there. As mentioned yesterday, there’s very little on Newtown Creek in particular that I haven’t fully explored and photographed at every time of day and in all seasons.

Also, to be honest, I was more interested in human interaction with the people I left behind than I was in expanding my catalog of creek shots.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

I’m digging the anonymity I experience in Pittsburgh, I should mention. It became pretty common for me to be standing on the Kosciuszcko Bridge, behind the tripod, and hear ‘get that shot, Mitch’ from a passing vehicle, or to have a business owner walk up to me on Review or Kingsland Avenue and ask ‘are you Mitch Waxman.’ This happened a surprising number of times, believe it or not.

Back tomorrow with more from a visit to the greatest City in the history of mankind, a hive of villainy and perdition called New York.

“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle

Buy a book!

“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.