Doom walking
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Good news is that I don’t seem to be going blind, or at least not yet. Bad news is that I have to go back to the Ophthalmologist again in August to confirm that. During this walk, the binary of whither or won’t was ruling my thoughts.
There’s all sorts of things going on behind the scenes here at Newtown Pentacle that I don’t really like to discuss with the outside world, I’d mention. I’d much rather tell you what kind of a jackass I am, or describe the psychic torments I inflict upon myself instead of discussing the many existential issues which have popped up in my late 50’s. Maybe even just chatter on about what sort of media I’m consuming.
To wit: Having finished a listen of Mike Duncan’s ‘History of Rome’ podcast’s 179th episode, I considered jumping right into Lars Brownworth’s ‘12 Byzantine Rulers’ podcast, but decided to stay in Western Europe, for Mr. Brownworth’s ‘Norman Centuries’ instead. I’ll likely rewind back to Constantinople afterwards.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This section of Pittsburgh is called the South Side Slopes, and it’s defined by how steep the grade of the land is. An accommodation installed on those steep hills are sets of municipal or ‘City Steps.’
It has been a couple of months since I scuttled through here, and surmounted the ‘German Square Steps,’ and that was my goal for the afternoon before heading over to the light rail station and catching a ‘Blue’ Line T, which would drop me off within a couple of blocks of my doctor’s appointment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m so old now that Joe Biden is only 24 years older than me. Holey moley.
More next week from the steps pictured above, and a special treat will be coming towards the end of the week which I’m pretty excited to share.
My Doctor’s appointment worked out well, and the diagnosis wasn’t terribly grim after all as my potentially horrific situation seems to be resolving itself. Doesn’t mean I’m not a jackass and that everybody doesn’t hate me, though. Really, I’m just the worst.
Back next week.
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Dispassionate observation
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An errand had carried me out the door quite early in the morning recently, and I found myself killing time between that task and my next ‘have to’ by sitting in the car and talking on the phone with My Pal Val, who’s back in NYC. Suddenly, I said ‘have to hang up, train coming,’ and jumped out of the Mobile Oppression Platform to capture the shot above.
Depicting a Canadian Pacific locomotive engine operating along CSX’s Mon tracks, the shot above is what I got. If you’re reading this, Val, there you go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The next afternoon, on another fairly warm day, one was negotiating the streets of Allentown on foot. Said community is found amongst the South Side Slopes region. I had left the car at home, and used a cab to get from HQ to here. It’s only a couple of miles, but the hills are ferocious and I’d have to cross a major traffic interchange on foot otherwise, which would frankly be a death defying feat of courage.
As always stated – my physical cowardice is vast, and I must be the least courageous exemplar found amongst all of the living males in these United States. Not wanting to freeze up and or then start crying out of terror and fear, I took a cab.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
‘It’s all downhill from here’ is an oft retreated phrase of mine, one which all of my friends from NYC dreaded hearing, since it was usually followed by a ten mile death march through an industrial zone. Literally true in this case, this is the apogee of the steep hill upon which Allentown nests, and I’d be heading downhill. There used to be an incline found right in the middle of the shot above, as a note, but it was demolished well before my birth. C’est la vie, huh?
I actually had a limited amount of time allotted for this walk, as I had to attend a Doctor’s appointment, several miles away, later on in the day. I left the car at home as my eyes were going to be chemically dilated to aid in the medical personnel’s examination thereof, and having already made the mistake of trying to drive home after a prior dilation… I’d be calling another cab to return to HQ. There’s a big difference between the dilation effect of an Optician’s chemicals versus the absolute ferocity of an Opthamologist’s formulation.
Back tomorrow.
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Outside, always
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After quaffing an adult beverage at a local brewery, and getting a couple of shots of a passing train, it was time to scuttle back to the T light rail station for my ride back to HQ. This was to be the ultimate T ride home for me, as the next day a prolonged interval of maintenance would begin and the light rail service serving my particular paradigm will be unavailable until autumn. They’re running shuttle buses in the interim, the Governmental Transit agency is, but it ain’t the same for one such as myself.
While shlepping along, I kept on shooting.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are three active light rail lines which disperse into Pittsburgh’s South Hills region – red, blue, and silver. The Red one is getting the maintenance attention, and that’s the one which HQ is found along, unfortunately and of course.
As mentioned yesterday, it was ungodly hot out on this particular evening, and I couldn’t help but remark on the fantastic luck of walking in direct sunlight for most of it. Good stuff.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, the light rail service station was held in total shadow. Unluckily, the maintenance work, further upstream on the service, saw me cooling my heels there for the better part of an hour waiting for the correct light rail train set to arrive and carry me home. Bah!
The thing finally arrived, and I shoveled my sloppy from sweating pre carcass onboard and found a seat.
Back tomorrow.
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Steppin out
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After descending down the South 18th Street Steps, found in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes section, one hung around a bit as I was on eye level with a set of train tracks used by the Norfolk Southern outfit and knew that a train was likely to appear. I couldn’t see it coming, due to the heavy vegetation surrounding the tracks, so I popped the headphones out of my ears and listened for the hum of a train approaching.
This shot required some luck, as I started firing the shutter on the camera as soon as the thing entered frame on the left, and I was quick enough to catch the shot above, offering a clean profile of the locomotive. One second before and one second after, the train was obscured by the brush.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Happy with an image or two of the scene ensconced on the camera’s memory card, a humble narrator resumed his endless scuttling and headed towards the Monongahela River frontage, where – entirely coincidentally – that Brewery I’ve been patronizing is found.
Hey, it was 96 degrees and super humid out… what am I supposed to do? Not hydrate? Pfah.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily for me, a CSX freight train appeared while I was… ahem… rehydrating. #837 is apparently a GE ES44AC-H model locomotive.
I’m sure that means a lot to someone, but all I can say is that I really enjoyed getting a few shots of it as it thundered past.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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18th street steps
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As has been mentioned in prior installments, a humble narrator has working his way around Pittsburgh’s inventory of ‘City Steps’ in recent weeks. Serendipity found me standing on the veritable breach of the 18th Street Steps recently, found in Pittsburgh’s ‘South Side Slopes’ section.
Somebody installed a pleasing bit of signage for this pathway, I’d mention, a close up of which you can admire here. The steps enjoy the same status that sidewalks do, as in they’re there for the scuttling public to use.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This set is a bit shallower than the German Square steps that I’ve described in the past, and offer a plunging descent that’s probably no greater than about six building stories.
As the name would indicate, these South 18th street steps deposit pedestrian traffic onto South 18th street in the South Side Flats area. There’s actually something quite magical about these paths, I’d also mention. Hidden corridors, surrounded by lush vegetation and private residential lots, and you don’t have to worry about motor vehicles or bicycles suddenly appearing and smashing into you. Instead you worry about stumbling, but that’s a different banana.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This set of steps ends in a high set structure which winds down to the street level, but what drew me to this particular path was a POV which I had noticed one day while driving through on that street down there. I walked down to a shady patch on the next landing and hung around for a few minutes hoping to see a train moving through.
Oddly, I was experiencing a slight bit of vertigo while walking this section, and thereby held onto the steel bannister while doing so.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 