bafflingly homogeneous
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Quivering in some hellish and noisome pool of spreading horror, the sprawling obstructions of Long Island City lay between myself and the East River- after having had several surprising experiences at First Calvary Cemetery. Greenpoint Avenue at Borden is where the titan architecture of the Queens Midtown Expressway returns to grade from the arching heights it attains over the mutagenic sediments of an ancient canal called the Dutch Kills, eventually terminating at the East River’s junction with Newtown Creek at Hunters Point.
Seeking- instinctually- running water, your humble narrator found himself in a fine state of panic.
from psychcentral.com
…Their excessive suspiciousness and hostility may be expressed in overt argumentativeness, in recurrent complaining, or by quiet, apparently hostile aloofness. Because they are hypervigilant for potential threats, they may act in a guarded, secretive, or devious manner and appear to be “cold” and lacking in tender feelings. Although they may appear to be objective, rational, and unemotional, they more often display a labile range of affect, with hostile, stubborn, and sarcastic expressions predominating. Their combative and suspicious nature may elicit a hostile response in others, which then serves to confirm their original expectations.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Bogeyman, bump in the night, or the sure knowledge of an invisibly malign presence- it doesn’t take much to set a crazed ape like myself into howling melancholies of dread. Mundane and wholesome experiences terrify and insulate my fragile persona, and merely interacting with fellow members of the citizenry often results in days of fevered weakness and endless self recrimination. The gentlest of surprises- a small child laughing suddenly, or the appearance of a feral cat or dog- any environmental deviation which could be ascribed to be “sudden”- is enough to rob me of any aspiration of societal posture. Retreat to the hideous slime coated abysses of the megalopolis are called for, where one might hide and blend in amongst all hideousness.
I’m all ‘effed up.
from wikipedia
A person with low self-esteem may show some of the following symptoms:
- Heavy self-criticism, tending to create a habitual state of dissatisfaction with oneself.
- Hypersensitivity to criticism, which makes oneself feel easily attacked and experience obstinate resentment against critics.
- Chronic indecision, not so much because of lack of information, but from an exaggerated fear of making a mistake.
- Excessive will to please: being unwilling to say “no”, out of fear of displeasing the petitioner.
- Perfectionism, or self-demand to do everything attempted “perfectly” without a single mistake, which can lead to frustration when perfection is not achieved.
- Neurotic guilt: one is condemned for behaviors which not always are objectively bad, exaggerates the magnitude of mistakes or offenses and complains about them indefinitely, never reaching full forgiveness.
- Floating hostility, irritability out in the open, always on the verge of exploding even for unimportant things; an attitude characteristic of somebody who feels bad about everything, who is disappointed or unsatisfied with everything
- Defensive tendencies, a general negative (one is pessimistic about everything: life, future, and, above all, oneself) and a general lack of will to enjoy life.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It is simpler to believe ones mind has cracked wide open, than it is to believe the truth of those dark undercurrents which seethe just below the surface which have been observed in the Newtown Pentacle. Madness is preferable- I suppose- to those Malthusian truths which govern over this place. It is easier to embrace some swirling chaotic, marry oneself to a “very bad idea” than to accept that some sort of shadow had followed me on my long walk through a cemetery. I mean… that’s just… not… scientific…
Perhaps it’s just paranoia…
from wikipedia
Malthus thought that the dangers of population growth would preclude endless progress towards a utopian society: “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man”. As an Anglican clergyman, Malthus saw this situation as divinely imposed to teach virtuous behaviour. Believing that one could not change human nature, Malthus wrote:
- “Must it not then be acknowledged by an attentive examiner of the histories of mankind, that in every age and in every State in which man has existed, or does now exist
- That the increase of population is necessarily limited by the means of subsistence,
- That population does invariably increase when the means of subsistence increase, and,
- That the superior power of population is repressed, and the actual population kept equal to the means of subsistence, by misery and vice.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The air is clear, and not a poisonous fume. Broadcast antennas connected to powerful transmitters do not form wavefront cascades of airborne radiation which are known to create the vast static and electrical charges experienced on sky flung metal structures like these advertising signs or the Kosciuszko Bridge. The water in Newtown Creek is free of pharmaceutical residues, and there has not been some sort of cult operating at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Astoria.
I did not see a man climb over the side of the Borden Avenue Bridge and disappear under the roadway as I drew close to the ancient structure.
from wikipedia
The terror of absolute annihilation creates such a profound—albeit subconscious—anxiety in people that they spend their lives attempting to make sense of it. On large scales, societies build symbols: laws, religions, cultures, and belief systems to explain the significance of life, define what makes certain characteristics, skills, and talents extraordinary, reward others whom they find exemplify certain attributes, and punish or kill others who do not adhere to their cultural worldview. On an individual level, how well someone adheres to a cultural worldview is the same concept as self-esteem; people measure their own worth based on how well they live up to their culture’s expectations.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There is no Black Crow living alongside this bridge, in a windblown shanty. It’s my imagination- wild fantasies and exaggerations concocted by a diseased and fever struck mind… the very progeny of failed ambitions and underwhelming talents.
There was only one shadow cast by your humble narrator since having stumbled out of First Calvary…
from about.com
Flight of Ideas: a nearly continuous flow of rapid speech that jumps from topic to topic, usually based on discernible associations, distractions, or plays on words, but in severe cases so rapid as to be disorganized and incoherent. It is most commonly seen in manic episodes but may also occur in other mental disorders such as in manic phases of schizophrenia.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After all… the Black Crow? Who makes this kind of stuff up? A man living on Dutch Kills, at Borden Avenue Bridge of all places, in this day and age…
from wikipedia
Oneirophrenia is a hallucinatory, dream-like state caused by several conditions such as prolonged sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, or drugs (such as ibogaine). From the Greek words “ὄνειρο” (oneiro, “dream”) and “φρενός” (phrenos, “mind”). It has some of the characteristics of simple schizophrenia, such as a confusional state and clouding of consciousness, but without presenting the dissociative symptoms which are typical of this disorder.
Persons affected by oneirophrenia have a feeling of dream-like unreality which, in its extreme form, may progress to delusions and hallucinations. Therefore, it is considered a schizophrenia-like acute form of psychosis which remits in about 60% of cases within a period of two years. It is estimated that 50% or more of schizophrenic patients present oneirophrenia at least once.
no pity
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Consider this one a space holder with a pretty picture in it, presented by a humble narrator otherwise overwhelmed with obligation who offers it with the promise of several regular postings appearing- on schedule- at this, your Newtown Pentacle in the coming week.
This has been one heck of a week…
stupendous ruin
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Before I left Calvary- that day when I finally located the grave of it’s first interment (Esther Ennis, 1848), stepped in a dead rabbit, and picked up a paranormal companion on my long walk- two things came to my notice. The first, which discussed and observed several of the so called “disturbing subsidences” prevalent at Calvary Cemetery after a severe winter, is found in the posting “of straw and willow“. This is the second, and this time the rabbit isn’t dead- just spooky.
Acquaintance and intimate strangers alike (for one such as I can never boast vaingloriously of possessing friends due to an inadequate equilibrium of emotion and inability to interact with others in an intimate or affable manner) have asked me about those assertions put forth in prior postings regarding this whole ghost thing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First Calvary, and to a larger extent- all of the Polyandrions of Western Queens, present an overwhelming experience to visitors. The megalopolis hums about peripheral boundaries, yet an unnatural quiet rings out shortly after entering the gates. Statuary in lifelike proportions towers above, and sure knowledge of that which might be below forces ones perception into an odd parallel.
The wealth of detail and brutally long sight lines cause one to scan the visual field intently, reading every name on every stone and noticing even the smallest things. The effect is not unlike that described by the hasish eaters of the far east, an hallucinogenic and dreamlike artifice of the mind.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A certain numbness manifests in the feet first, which act as leaden anchors rather than motive ground interfaces. Gait alters, from a strolling trot to a clumsy shuffle with the feet angled into 10 and 2 positions, and a slight sense of vertigo skirts about the edges of possibility. So too, do mundane and wholesome items take on an air of sinister intent and latent potential. The same ethereal effect is often felt in the world’s great museums, as the brain is attempting to make sense of the multitudes of provocative images it is suddenly gorging on (my navy nuclear engineer buddy calls this being “uberplexed”).
Psychics, mystics, seers and the like would describe the effects which Calvary reliably supplies as being some sort of psychic charge which suffuses this garden of loss. Descriptions and analogies of the spirit legions whose mortal remains rest here would also be offered by the magickally inclined.
Doesn’t explain why there are rabbits here, live ones, with glowing red eyes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
To the point of this missive however, which concerns my spectral companion, the following is offered:
While entering the cemetery with the expressed purpose of locating the grave of its first interment, a shadow was noticed flitting about that was consistent from place to place. This shape seemed to be everywhere I was, and my path that day saw my own cast shadow falling behind me. Once or twice, while crossing the roads which service the various sections, it was observed on the asphalt where NOTHING was there to cast a shadow.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It has been a very long time since one of my spells has seized upon me. The vast weaknesses of character and underwhelming physique which your humble narrator has earned through years of sloth, gluttony, and too little sleep once again betrayed me at a critical moment. Light headed, the pharmaceutical tablets which my doctors have ordered me to have at the ready for when, not if, such a moment comes were already in my mouth when the rabbit in the shot above looked alertly at just to the left of my position. Spinning around, I realized that I was casting two shadows instead of the usual one.
I’m all ‘effed up.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My presence of mind returned partially only after having crossed Greenpoint Avenue and scuttling down the hill towards Borden Avenue. Since there were no cats about to guide me, my synaptic memory demanded that a generally widdershins directional orientation be followed. Perhaps, by moving out of this place, this haunter of the shadows could be dislodged.
Perhaps, solace might be found closer to Tower Town…
unseen things
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Breaking from our ongoing narrative for a moment, to discuss the tyranny of the now, and the corpus mundi of the eternal sea.
When word filtered over to me on Friday the 4th that New York City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer was gathering a group of his fellow Queens representatives at the corner of 49th street and Galasso Place, alongside Maspeth Creek- a tributary of the maligned Newtown Creek- a veritable beeline was made by your humble narrator to try and get to this event.
Hey, if WPIX and Fox are coming to my turf… my beat… I’m going to be there too. These are the Creeklands, and this is the heart of your Newtown Pentacle.
(in the interest of full disclosure, Mr. Van Bramer represents my district in Astoria. I’ve found him to be a fair and responsive representative, as well as quite approachable. I voted for him, and most likely will again. In the language of the neighborhood- “he’s alright”)
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The issue which drew the attentions of area wags and the elected officials was the sudden announcement by the commissioners of the City’s Executive Branch to relocate an MTA facility from its current home in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to Maspeth in Queens.
Pictured above is the site in question, which is part of a brownfield parcel we’ve described in the past that bears the rather ominous name – “The Maspeth Project”. Check out this posting from 2009 that describes the area in some detail.
Greenpoint, like Maspeth, carries far more of the municipal burden than many other communities and the current home of the MTA Access-A-Ride fleet located on Commercial Street is destined to become a waterfront park.
Maspeth, however, also needs more parks- and it certainly doesn’t need any more truck traffic.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Area wags describe the decision to move the MTA facility to Maspeth as having been conducted in the dead of night, and normal processes (Environmental Impact Studies, Community Board involvement and the like) governing such a move have been overlooked or ignored. Accordingly, Mr. Van Bramer and Ms. Crowley are rather put out about the whole matter- hence this gathering in Maspeth on 49th avenue. Text accompanying the following shots is quotidian in nature, and emanates from Mr. Van Bramer’s official statement. Video of the event is available at the Council Member’s site.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“On Friday, March 4th Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and Assemblywoman Marge Markey united with local elected officials and concerned residents to speak out against the city and MTA’s proposed Bus Depot site in Maspeth. The proposed site on 49th Street and Galasso Place would be the third MTA depot in an area that is already saturated with commercial traffic. The rush job in selecting Maspeth as a potential site has raised concerns about the secretive process that gave no notice to the community or to local elected officials.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The selection process by the city and the MTA for potential locations fails to include notice to local elected officials and community members – a key element for any development decision that greatly impacts the quality of life in the area.
(hey, that’s Maspeth’s own Tony Nunziato in the background!)
“Maspeth cannot and will not be a dumping ground for MTA Depots,” said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. “The attempt by the city and the MTA to consider this location without taking into consideration the environmental impact to the area or the community’s input is troubling. There are five other boroughs and the MTA and the city need to dump this depot somewhere else. Maspeth needs more green space – not additional traffic and pollution.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“Maspeth residents have been burdened with the City’s truck traffic for over a decade—we need to be greening these streets, not polluting them,” said Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. “As the community looks forward to finally implementing the Maspeth Bypass Plan that will reduce truck traffic on our local streets, the MTA’s plan for a Maspeth Bus Depot will sets us back to ground zero. I stand with my colleagues in government and the residents of Maspeth when I tell the MTA to do right by Queens and keep the Bus Depot out of Maspeth.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“Maspeth is already doing its share for the MTA as the home of two transit facilities,” said Assemblywoman Margaret Markey. “This third depot does not belong here. Just as we are seeing progress in our decade-long fight to reduce the commercial traffic that clogs the streets and pollutes the air in Maspeth, this project is a set-back that we cannot accept. Less congestion, safer streets and better air quality is what we need, not a third MTA transit depot.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Members of the Maspeth community including Roe Daraio, president of COMET, also spoke.
“Apparently the MTA doesn’t think it is bad enough that Maspeth residents already have to deal with a barrage of truck traffic. If they did, they wouldn’t be discussing the possibility of relocating a bus depot into the community – a move that would bring even more pollution, noise and disruption to Maspeth,” said Rep. Crowley. “Maspeth residents have been plagued by excessive traffic for far too long, and it is time for that to end. I urge the City to reconsider the plans to transplant the bus depot to Maspeth and to take into account both the concerns of the community and the impact on the environment. Maspeth residents must not only be heard, but listened to.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Gary Giordano from the local Community Board also said a few words, and a group of absent elected officials sent these statements to be entered into the record.
“I am concerned with the plan to relocate the MTA bus depot to Maspeth,” said Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan. “The lack of notification and community input is alarming.”
“What Maspeth needs is more green space, not another bus depot,” said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. “When it comes to traffic, Maspeth is already receiving more than its fair share. And, when it comes to the number of MTA depots in one community, Maspeth already has two.”
“The MTA is outrageously favoring one neighborhood over another without the courtesy of even notifying the affected community,” stated State Senator Michael Gianaris.
“Maspeth already has two other bus depots and a plethora of truck traffic on its local streets. It is time to stop dumping on Maspeth and give the residents of Queens the respect we deserve.”
“I strongly oppose burdening Maspeth with a third bus depot,” said Assembly Member Michael Miller. “The local residents should not be forced to cope with the additional environmental strain. Maspeth’s transit infrastructure is already overstressed. Also, there is no reason to reach this decision in secrecy, with no public input. This is unhealthy, unsafe, and unfair.”
Although no final decision has been made by the MTA and the city as to where the bus depot will be placed, it is clear that elected officials and Maspeth residents will fight to protect their community.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Seemingly orchestrated to demonstrate their point about the incredible volume of trucks which move through their neighborhood, the Press Conference was continually interrupted by incredibly loud traffic noise. This made the questions from the press difficult to understand for those at the podium, and really hammered home the point.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
WPIX’s Greg Mocker is in the foreground in this shot. Our friends at Queenscrap recently featured a post with Mr. Mocker’s personal brand of reportage on the issue, which can be accessed here.
Mr. Van Bramer also mentioned that the proposal for a park at the St. Saviors site was languishing, whilst the Greenpoint park was greenlit and made a reality almost overnight. Once again, it seems, Queens will get the short end of the stick.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A decent representation of local papers and TV reporters showed up, including the ever present NY1, Fox, WPIX.
This was probably the largest group I’ve ever seen gathered around this part of the Creeklands, with the exception of some of the walking and bus tours I helped to conduct last year.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Not discussed, of course, was the fact that the City was planning on siting it’s Access A Ride vehicles- which are utilized by those infirm, ill, or otherwise disabled at a yard directly opposite Maspeth Creek and sitting quite nearly on top of one of the largest CSO’s (Combined Sewer Outfall NC-077, Maspeth Creek, discharges 288.7M gallons per year into English Kills, Ranked 25 out of over 400 in terms of volume) in the City of New York.
(for another view of 49th street- from the CSO POV, click here)
of straw and willow
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Before I left Calvary- that day when I finally located the grave of it’s first interment (Esther Ennis, 1848), stepped in a dead rabbit, and picked up a paranormal companion on my long walk- two things came to my notice.
The first was what I’ve been referring to for awhile as “disturbing subsidences”, which in the case of this posting, seem to have been a result of the series of those winter storm events which bedeviled New York City in January and February of 2011. On my few attempts to enter the place during this period, an untrammeled yard deep layering of snow and ice covered the ground.
The second… we’ll talk about that tomorrow.
from wikipedia
Snow remains on the ground until it melts or sublimates. Sublimation of snow directly into water vapor is most likely to occur on a dry and windy day such as when a strong downslope wind, such as a Chinook wind, exists. The water equivalent of a given amount of snow is the depth of a layer of water having the same mass and upper area. For example, if the snow covering a given area has a water equivalent of 50 centimeters (20 in), then it will melt into a pool of water 50 centimeters (20 in) deep covering the same area. This is a much more useful measurement to hydrologists than snow depth, as the density of cool freshly fallen snow widely varies. New snow commonly has a density of around 8% of water. This means that 33 centimeters (13 in) of snow melts down to 2.5 centimeters (1 in) of water. Cloud temperatures and physical processes in the cloud affect the shape of individual snow crystals. Highly branched or dendritic crystals tend to have more space between the arms of ice that form the snowflake and this snow will therefore have a lower density, often referred to as “dry” snow. Conditions that create columnar or plate-like crystals will have much less air space within the crystal and will therefore be denser and feel “wetter”.
Once the snow is on the ground, it will settle under its own weight (largely due to differential evaporation) until its density is approximately 30% of water. Increases in density above this initial compression occur primarily by melting and refreezing, caused by temperatures above freezing or by direct solar radiation. In colder climates, snow lies on the ground all winter. By late spring, snow densities typically reach a maximum of 50% of water. When the snow does not all melt in the summer it evolves into firn, where individual granules become more spherical in nature, evolving into a glacier as the ice flows downhill.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Take into account the size of this place, with vast acreages unshielded by geological feature or manmade structure (unless one considers that the entire place is a sort of construct). Next, imagine snow… a lot of snow.
With a square foot of snow estimated to weigh some 12.5 to 20 pounds (depending on density, i.e. fluffy versus wet), and calculate not just the crushing weight of this frosty load upon the ground and the graves themselves- but the actions of the tens of millions of gallons of water released into the soil during the melting process.
from wikipedia
In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many parts of the world, in some cases contributing high fractions of the annual runoff in a watershed. Predicting snowmelt runoff from a drainage basin may be a part of designing water control projects. Rapid snowmelt can cause flooding. If the snowmelt is then frozen, very dangerous conditions and accidents can occur, introducing the need for salt to melt the ice.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Understand what I’m attempting to show in these shots, which are not presented for prurient reasons.
The headstones in a cemetery almost always stand on a concrete base which acts a foundation against the shifting of soil and alleviates fears of the heavy monument falling over and shattering- perhaps even wounding a passerby like myself. In some cemeteries, where marshy conditions exist, the graves aren’t truly in the soil but are rather inside of a sort of cement or concrete vault which holds the interment in place (it also aids in not contaminating ground water) that is itself filled in with dirt. A coffin for a coffin, as it were.
The “b” sections of Calvary which are lower in elevation than the rest and lie along the Review Avenue and Laurel Hill Blvd. sides, I am told, use this sort of approach.
from wikipedia
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table. Groundwater is recharged from, and eventually flows to, the surface naturally; natural discharge often occurs at springs and seeps, and can form oases or wetlands. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, also called groundwater hydrology.
Typically, groundwater is thought of as liquid water flowing through shallow aquifers, but technically it can also include soil moisture, permafrost (frozen soil), immobile water in very low permeability bedrock, and deep geothermal or oil formation water. Groundwater is hypothesized to provide lubrication that can possibly influence the movement of faults. It is likely that much of the Earth’s subsurface contains some water, which may be mixed with other fluids in some instances. Groundwater may not be confined only to the Earth. The formation of some of the landforms observed on Mars may have been influenced by groundwater. There is also evidence that liquid water may also exist in the subsurface of Jupiter’s moon Europa.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What’s interesting about these 2 images is not that the snow melt washed out a section of soil as it sought low ground. It’s that little peak of red brick and masonry in the extreme corner. It’s the first time that we’ve witnessed a part of (what I believe to be) the 1848 structural elements built into the ground poking out. Confidentiality restrains me from discussing certain reminiscences about these red bricks, and their meaning in Calvary’s original section at this point in time, but these are a very important feature. Possibly very important.
More on that in later postings, as researches into the place are going well beyond the normal scope of inquiry practiced by this, your Newtown Pentacle.
from wikipedia
Some couples or groups of people (such as a married couple or other family members) may wish to be buried in the same plot. In some cases, the coffins (or urns) may simply be buried side by side. In others, one casket may be interred above another. If this is planned for in advance, the first casket may be buried more deeply than is the usual practice so that the second casket may be placed over it without disturbing the first. In many states in Australia all graves are designated two or three depth (depending of the water table) for multiple burials, at the discretion of the burial rights holder, with each new interment atop the previous coffin separated by a thin layer of earth. As such all graves are dug to greater depth for the initial burial than the traditional six feet to facilitate this practice.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At higher elevations in the ancient cemetery, the evidences of the “business” of the place intrude on the dispassionate and detached observer. This grave’s last interment was a mere 30 years ago, but the characteristic and familiar shape of its subsidence make it pretty clear what the rushing torrents of melting snow have caused as they filtered down through the soil. The grounds keepers of the place will add it to their labors, I’m sure, and cosmetically adjust the spot to an even grade.
Oddly, Calvary had it’s own odor this day, one which actually overwhelmed the perfumes emitted by that nearby assassination of joy called the Newtown Creek.
from wikipedia
The habitation of lowlands, such as coastal or delta plains, requires drainage. The resulting aeration of the soil leads to the oxidation of its organic components, such as peat, and this decomposition process may cause significant land subsidence. This applies especially when ground water levels are periodically adapted to subsidence, in order to maintain desired unsaturated zone depths, exposing more and more peat to oxygen. In addition to this, drained soils consolidate as a result of increased effective stress. In this way, land subsidence has the potential of becoming self-perpetuating, having rates up to 5 cm/yr. Water management used to be tuned primarily to factors such as crop optimisation but, to varying extents, avoiding subsidence has come to be taken into account as well.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It wasn’t coming from this recent burial, nor from the one shown in the shots above. It was in Section 9, on top of the hill and behind the Johnston Mausoleum that it was emanated from. No photos were gathered, as it was a VERY recent burial, and it would violate Newtown Pentacle policy on this subject. Like this shot, the washout had carved a hydrologic pathway down and into the earth, cutting into the loam and descending into the vast unknown that underlies a world known only to these tomb legions. Unlike this shot, the melting water had eroded the soils covering the grave to the point… the outline of a coffin could just be traced out in the clay and sand, and… other… sensory information was also made available. The olfactory, unfortunately, was amongst them.
As the wind turned, your humble narrator shrieked in the manner of a small girl, and as I turned- the shadow which had been following me since I entered the place ducked behind the nearby Lynch Monument.
from wikipedia
Soil mechanics is a branch of engineering mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids (usually air and water) and particles (usually clay, silt, sand, and gravel) but soil may also contain organic solids, liquids, and gasses and other matter. Along with rock mechanics, soil mechanics provides the theoretical basis for analysis in geotechnical engineering, a subdiscipline of Civil engineering. Soil mechanics is used to analyze the deformations of and flow of fluids within natural and man-made structures that are supported on or made of soil, or structures that are buried in soils.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I always attempt to avoid using cemetery roads, partially because the fear of automotive encounter and disastrous consequences bedevil the frequent pedestrian, but mainly because of some instinctual desire to avoid crossroads in places like this…
But I really needed to get out of here…
from wikipedia
In the folk magic of many cultures, the crossroads is a location “between the worlds” and, as such, a site where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place. Symbolically, it can mean a locality where two realms touch and therefore represents liminality, a place literally “neither here nor there”, “betwixt and between”.
