The Newtown Pentacle

Wednesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The day which I had picked to visit the Lauer Way steps here in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes area was at the very end of that crazy heat wave which had plagued the nation for a couple of weeks. A cold front was forecast to blow through later in the afternoon, trailing a powerful line of thunderstorms behind it, and I calculated the timing that would save me from getting wet.

I was totally and absolutely wrong in my calculation, which wouldn’t be the first time that I screwed myself over, but that’s just tomorrow’s post being foreshadowed for you.

After descending down the first section of the Lauer Way steps, there’s a very narrow road cut into the steep hillside which one encounters.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Looking left, my first thought brought a shudder, as I pondered about having to potentially drive through here. I also wondered how you’d bring a fire engine, garbage truck – or really any large vehicle – through here. Jeez.

Heck, I was thinking about how difficult and nerve wracking it would be to drive my Toyota RAV4 through here, and that my Mobile Oppression Platform really isn’t all that much bigger than a standard car and even then it would be a difficult route to navigate. Brrr.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Looking in the other direction – and same deal.

I mean… it’s a paved road, and there were fire hydrants and such, so obviously it’s done by someone, but wowza.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The steps continued their downward journey, after a bit of wooden patchwork that had been married to the older steel and concrete dealie.

I was traveling light, I should mention. Prime lenses in the bag, along with my trusty umbrella and the now ubiquitous water bottle. Last time I was weighed in at the doc, I asked them to indulge me and we did one with and one without the camera bag.

Seven and a half pounds in toto, as it turned out, for my ‘bag of prime lenses’ bag configuration, with umbrella and water bottle riding within, as well as the camera strapped onto me separately.

Bare minimum kit, just what I need, most of the time.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The Lauer Way steps don’t go all the way down to flat land, instead they terminate on a street called ‘Fritz.’ From there, about 3-400 feet of cross scuttling will find you at the last section of the German Square steps, which terminate at a pedestrian bridge over a set of Norfolk Southern rail tracks. As you may have guessed in recent months, rail is a big draw for me, in terms of pointing the camera at something.

That pedestrian bridge is where I was heading while the wind was starting to pick up, and the skies darkened. That cold front was a bit ahead of schedule.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The views from Fritz Street were great. To the left is Pittsburgh’s ‘Downtown’ section, and the red brick section of the shot is the city jail. Instinct found me constantly reaching back to my bag and touching the umbrella. One of my little dealies is to constantly and obsessively check the contents of my pockets and bag to ensure that I haven’t dropped or lost any of the gadgets in the bag, or my keys, or wallet.

A mundane fact I’m quite proud of is that a part of my key ring is the last surviving part of the very first key ring I was presented at 8 or 9 years old by my parents back in Brooklyn. My wallet is a 1983 vintage Levi’s velcro one, purchased at the Gap in Brooklyn’s Kings Plaza shopping mall back in Tenth Grade. I’ve never lost either one, which elicits a somewhat shocked reaction from others. Those little check in’s of mine pay off.

Back tomorrow with more.

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“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.