Author Archive
Rampapalooza
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Memories of childhood are sparse. I remember dwelling in dusty apartments outfitted with atavist furnishings, populated by the very old.
My early years were spent in a forgotten world, one suffused with rules and customs forged in faraway Eurasian backwaters, and in an absolute desert of joy, music, or warmth. I was told to go ‘read a book,’ but without any curation, and that command was usually uttered by illiterates.
One is often startled and filled with denial when confronted when an unwanted image, shimmering across some random plane of silvered glass accidentally encountered and noticed. Horrible to see, but unfortunately that’s me.
A swirling conflagration of filthy black fabrics blowing about on the wind, such is your humble narrator. Everybody hates me, whether they know it or not or yet. I am the unwanted and the not missed, the unimportant and the uncommented upon. God’s lonely man, wandering strange streets in a foreign city, searching for meaning and purpose – one step at a time.
When people ask ‘how are you,’ my reply is ‘loathsome.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Actually, when people ask how I am, I usually reply with either ‘everything’s great, all the time’ or ‘it’s just another day in paradise.’
Nothing matters and nobody cares, after all, and these petitioners don’t want to hear an actual answer, they’re just being polite. Polity is another one of the things I’m not great at or can understand fully, so I snip conversations off with aphorisms and ‘canned’ sayings these days.
It’s disingenuous to pretend, though, so I usually apologize for my sins by throwing out a quote from Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ when confronted about my iniquity, something like ‘I will work harder.’ Boxer the Horse is a proletarian role model for me.
Even punk type rocker people will often state that ‘you’re rude, dude.’
Everybody turns their back on me eventually, after all. There’s a different set of rules at work for everyone else’s behavioral quirks, it seems – and as it turns out – maybe I’m not the hero of my own story, rather, I might be the villain instead.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Villainy would be an interesting turn for your humble narrator.
Snatching candy away from babies, kicking dogs, being mean to old ladies, twirling my mustache. I still haven’t found the two or three things here which could destroy Pittsburgh, yet. Back in NYC, I knew of two vectors by which the forced evacuation, and destruction, of lower Manhattan could be triggered – but don’t ask as I won’t pass that info along.
Villain maybe, but not super villain, yo.
There’s acting like a dick, and there’s actual top level dickery. One step at a time, folks. Let’s start with posting some nasty memes, build up some evil momentum, and then we can begin planning the giant robot attack on Manhattan.
That’s coming anyway, when AI escapes the lab and goes all Prometheus on its creators, and the rest of us for good measure.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is the actual thought process which was swirling about, behind my eyes and between the ears, while walking along this river trail in Downtown Pittsburgh. Avoided the rain all this way by scuttling about under highway ramps, however the intensity of the rain had forced the deployment of my trusty umbrella, which a loathsome moment in any hero or villain’s timeline.
I was heading for the T light rail station a few blocks away, at Pittsburgh’s First Avenue. If it wasn’t raining, I’d be crossing that bridge in the shot above, and heading to the brewery with the train tracks on the other side. The drizzle had become a soaking rain, so there would be no point in that activity.
Next time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A murmuration of ramps allow egress from below to above in this spot.
The parking lot section I had just walked through, under the ramps, is known colloquially as ‘the bath tub’ due to its proclivity to flood when the Monongahela River reaches high water levels during the spring melt.
Thump, drag, thump, drag… on did your humble narrator scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One has been working extremely hard for the last few months to regain physicality and strength in my legs after the ‘orthopedic incident.’
Recent experience has indicated that this process has been somewhat successful. I’m planning on really leaning into things during the winter months, and returning to my old discipline of two short walks and one long one every week by the thaw. The goal is to start the spring season in finer fettle than I’ve been dwelling within.
Saying that, I’ll always be an outsider, found in the shadows of cities.
“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.
Buzz buzz buzz, just b’cuz
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned yesterday, a misty day in Pittsburgh saw rising clouds of fog beginning to congeal into rain up in the vault, and your humble narrator negotiated an alteration to his walking path which would offer some cover should the sky ‘open up.’ Saying that, I’m fairly waterproofed.
Today’s title? Glad you asked.
I was wearing the filthy black raincoat, with the camera secreted beneath it. The camera bag on my back is fairly water repellent, and if things went sour there’s an umbrella attached to it. The biggest weather related issue I actually had involved my glasses steaming up whenever the camera got pushed against the repellent sensory stalk I call a face.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The bridge people were testing out a lighting kit, recently installed on the Three Sisters Bridges, and several water facing buildings were also lit up. Pittsburgh does an event called ‘Light Up Night’ wherein the municipal Christmas Tree is lit up, which was meant to happen a day or two later than this walk. There’s fireworks too. Tradition.
I didn’t go, Light Up Night is a real crowd scene – not unlike New Year’s Eve in Time Square – and I really, really don’t like crowds these days.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The fountain at Point State Park has been subject a rebuild/maintenance project for a while now, and it was a surprise to see it on.
The NFL Draft is coming to Pittsburgh next year, and a bunch of tax money is being spent to accomodate the event and give Pittsburgh a ‘glow up’ while the whole country is paying attention to it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One continued down the Monongahela River shoreline trail, and luckily for me, just as I stepped under the ramps leading to Fort Pitt Bridge the sky opened up and the precipitation turned from a mist into a proper bout of rain.
The path I was on followed along under a series of highway and bridge on and off ramps, so there was cover to be found in the rain shadows. Didn’t need to deploy the umbrella, at least at this interval.
It’s nice, as an aside, to not have to worry overly about atmospheric conditions again. The busted ankle is stable enough now for normal and all-weather duty, which it hasn’t been all year. That’s part of the reason that for the last six months or so all of the photos presented here were captured on fairly nice days with lots of sun and a distinct lack of ‘weather.’ Going out shooting at night is in the cards again as well.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An abundance of light wasn’t an issue on this section of the scuttle. This shot was from about 4-5 in the afternoon.
The rain began to intensify, and it wasn’t long before I opened the umbrella and hid beneath it. My mind was already focused on getting to the First Avenue T light rail station, as this was plainly not going to be one of those happy evenings where I drink beers while waiting for CSX trains to pass me by, at the Sly Fox Brewery found on the opposing shore.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There was still an interval of scuttling ahead of me, though, so it was leaned into. This ‘corridor’ used to host some rather large encampments established by the ‘unhoused,’ but a recent Mayoral plebiscite saw an unpopular incumbent trying to buoy up the opinions of the electorate in an attempt to win a second term.
He booted the street people and their belongings away and out of public view, using the usual methodology of ‘outreach, policing, and sanitation dept.’ but that incumbent lost the election anyway.
Back tomorrow with more.
“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.
White Whale Spotted
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Allegheny Valley RR’s ‘Carload Express’ locomotive #6002 pictured above, rolling through a rail trench found in Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Commons Park, on the city’s ‘North Shore.’ I more commonly see Norfolk Southern and CSX traffic in Pittsburgh, as AVRR is a far smaller outfit than either of the two giants. Sightings of them are so rare, for me, that I’ve come to refer to them as the ‘White Whale.’
This park is surrounded by a historic district, and it’s also one of the places which I regularly move through in Pittsburgh which seems ‘safe as houses,’ but most of the ‘Yinzers’ tell me this area is a crime ridden cesspit. ‘You’ll get shot,’ they say.
Honestly…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The train continued on its way, crossing over the Merchant Street Bridge on its course to points eastwards of here. The first shot in today’s post was what I came to this ‘zone’ to get, and my plan for the rest of the afternoon would end with eventually riding the T back to HQ in Dormont. Saying that, I had budgeted away a few hours for ‘serendipity’ and decided to walk through a section of the area which I hadn’t formerly.
Looked over my shoulder the whole way for approaching hordes of East Asian horse archers, cannibal gangs of tooth sharpeners, and of course – Diurnal Vampires – was called for.
The way seemed clear. No feral kids in the trees firing poison darts at me, either, and most of the people I passed by seemed like I could take them in a fight – as they were either young children or quite elderly.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
So, pictured is a former post office which is now part of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. A street has been pedestrianized into a plaza around it, and there were a few late 1980’s style apartment buildings surrounding the spot. A few people were walking around, moms with kids and a security guard or two.
There were no ogres, pirates, or barbarians. Just folks.
I was finishing up a relisten of an audio book offered by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society, adapting ‘The Dunwich Horror.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Practice, that’s how I got here, practice.
The rain started kicking up a bit, and thereby my pathway options began to narrow. I would be seeking ‘rain shadows’ for the rest of my scuttle.
If you spend a lot of time outside in urban spaces, rain and wind shadows can be your best friends. You see the former all the time, especially so back in NYC, where a three to four foot wide dry pavement patch around the bases of tall buildings can be observed during rain events. You also see them under elevated highway ramps and train trestles. When outside, use this unintended architectural consequence to your advantage.
Connect with whatever the environment you happen to be in is, and use its quirks to your advantage.
Back at Newtown Creek, for instance, you can pretty much pee wherever you want to, and I’d offer the advice to avoid industrial Maspeth during the summer months due to the heat island effect.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Thusly, I found myself shambling towards the ramps of the highway connections which overfly the surface streets and move towards the direction of the Allegheny and Monongahela River’s confluence. From there I’d be walking under yet another set of ramps carrying different high speed roads, on my way to a T station for my ride back to HQ.
I still haven’t taken a bus in Pittsburgh, other than a shuttle which was running when the T was under construction. One of my winter plans is to get familiar with the ‘busways’ hereabouts.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Cannot tell you what was going on here, but I did wonder if lifting that ball would summon a fireman. Most people call 911.
Back tomorrow with more.
“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.
Many, many, ramps
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This particular scuttle, here in Pittsburgh, began with a ride on the T light rail. The plan, as it were, was simple – and involved a walk of about three to five miles. Your humble narrator was fully ‘kitted out’ camera wise, and the weather was somewhat chilly and rain was threatening.
Misty, it was, misty.
The T light rail was ridden all the way to its terminal stop on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. There’s a shot I wanted, one which hadn’t coalesced the last time that my presence was noticed in this area. Pictured is what it looks like when riding the service. The area that the rail unit was moving through in this shot was one of the busways, one which also has rails and catenary wires.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The T soon deposited me on the North Shore elevated platform that functions as a terminal stop, and after a quick adjust of all the straps and whatnot involving the camera and bag, one leaned into it. I was ‘wearing’ the camera under the filthy black raincoat in case it started raining, a long standing habit which started back on the deck of vessels in New York Harbor, all those years ago.
One descended down to the street, where he belongs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This area directly touches the football stadium where the Steelers dwell, and it’s sacred ground in Pittsburgh. Said holy spot is to the right.
A maelstrom of black fabric whipping about in the breeze, wrapping itself about a decaying human husk, wherein my brain inhabits, one began his fitful imposture of human locomotion and attempted to blend into the background.
This isn’t always possible, given how children point and cry when I’m passing by. Old Ladies clutch at their purses, men start forming violent posses, dogs howl. Cats are indifferent. Always, an outsider.
Thump, drag, thump, drag… that’s my walking rythym these days.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One cannot complain. Last year, it was questionable how much mobility I might have after the shattering of my left ankle. It has been an act of pure will (along with the attention and the expertise of a team of medical professionals) to get back to ‘doing my thing.’
What is ‘my thing’? Why is it ‘my thing’? Where do I go to do ‘my thing’? Is it just wandering aimlessly, or…? How is…
Best not to ponder such esoteric concepts and motivations, as the only ideation that really matters is to remain in constant motion, and enjoy the consequent unstoppability. Juggernaut, that’s the word you’re looking for.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One feels like a corner has been turned quite recently, and aspirational thoughts have been blossoming. Ambitions, goals, all that crap.
A Jedi craves not these things.
Thump, drag, thump, drag…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Merchant Street Bridge, which was described in a prior post.
Thump, drag, thump, drag…
The mists then began to slightly precipitate. Wasn’t ‘umbrella rain,’ instead it was just a fine layer of droplets suspended above ground level. Very atmospheric, but had to clean the lens of moisture often.
Back tomorrow.
“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.
Bottoms end
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This post concludes a fairly satisfying walk over the gargantuan McKees Rocks Bridge, here in Pittsburgh. As stated at the start of this series, Our Lady of the Pentacle was attending a pierogi festival at one of the churches in McKees Rocks, and the opportunity was taken by myself for an exploratory walk over this mile and a half long span.
Just as I reached my ‘turn around point,’ the phone chimed and Our Lady was summoning me back to ‘base’ for the journey home.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While scuttling along, a Norfolk Southern train was seen on the Ohio Connecting Railroad Bridge, on the Ohio River. This 2025 post from a painful scuttle at the end of May describes the section of the river from the ground level on the northern shore.
This is one of the very few times that I wished a very long and expensive telephoto lens was part of my kit. Conversely, carrying a six thousand dollar, eight pound lens around ‘just in case’ i see a distant train is kind of a non starter.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This shot overlooks a former penitentiary, once which is scheduled to be gentrified away, and towards the so called ‘Golden Triangle’ of Downtown Pittsburgh. As mentioned last week, the skies were dynamic and changing by the minute as weather systems and storm clouds blew about.
I was scuttling back towards Our Lady the whole time, I swear.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The train finished its crossing of the bridge and river, and reappeared behind the Alcosan Wastewater Treatment Plant (or whatever it is that they call it) and started heading north west in the direction of their enormous Conway Yard.
Tied a bow around my efforts for the morning, that.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A short scuttle and I was back over the ‘Bottoms’ section of McKees Rocks. I still had a way to go, the staircase I’d be exiting from is connected to the fairly distant steel arch seen in the upper right side of the shot above. It looks further than it is, and it took me about 15 minutes to get there.
As mentioned, I was pretty ‘amped.’ Very productive and interesting location, and I’m definitely coming back for more in the future. The bridge was stolid enough to justify usage of a tripod for long and loving views of the place.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Scanning about, noticing everything, that’s me.
Couldn’t help myself from locking onto a couple of random boats just sitting there in someone’s back yard.
Back tomorrow with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“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.
The Newtown Pentacle 