Posts Tagged ‘Dormont’
Stretching and strengthening
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This time around, I made it halfway up the hill I live at the bottom of before I had to give the ankle a rest. I did utter a series of nonsense sounds while doing so, ‘unnghhhahh’ or ‘ahh ah ooh,’ that sort of thing. The plan for this walk involved going places which aren’t terribly interesting on the surface, but are somewhat close to HQ geographical wise. Just ‘a walk,’ this time around.
The endeavor I’m involved with at the moment is encapsulated in the title of today’s post: stretching and strengthening. The stretching part involves the tendons and ligaments which were damaged during the shattering of my ankle, and the consequent dislocation of the left foot back in September. It’s amazing how profound this injury ended up being, and long lasting. See, I am special.
After all this time – six months – I’m just now getting back to a somewhat normal pattern of life, and movement. The ankle still hurts, as a note.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the top of the hill, a left was hung, and I started walking up a more gradual hill, towards the ‘main street’ section of Pittsburgh’s Borough of Dormont. I’m still trying to understand the organizational chart of the Pittsburgh metro, as in ‘which’ elected office or agency handles ‘what.’ This Commonwealth business is still novel to me.
That’s the T light rail, moving away from Pittsburgh, and entering Dormont’s Potomac Avenue station pictured above. The PRT (Pittsburgh Regional Transit) people have been all over the local news for the last few days, ringing the alarm bell that they have run out of money. It seems that they have been propped up by first Federal Covid relief and then Infrastructure Bill money, sent by ‘Uncle Sugar’ in Washington for the last several years, and that they now find themselves more than a hundred million in the hole for 2026.
They are appealing to the State legislature in Harrisburg for a funding rescue, as Washington will no longer offer them financial succor, and the PRT claims that they will need to institute draconian cuts to their services in order to remain solvent. They offered their ‘Doomsday Scenario:’ complete elimination of over 40 bus routes, one of the T lines, and a decimation of their current schedule down to hour long waiting intervals between buses and even longer ones for the T. The doomsday plans includes layoffs for bus drivers and mechanics, train operators and engineers.
Entire communities would lose their bus, and or transit, service. Guess what? The cuts are mainly in the less wealthy ‘exurb’ places where people explicitly rely on mass transit to get to work or for their kids to go to school.
Lousy, this.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A right turn was next hung, and your humble narrator began moving south east. Pittsburgh has lots and lots of alleys, which are described as ‘ways.’ Narrow, it’s where businesses keep their dumpsters and where the junkies gambol and jump and play. Land has always been scarce back home in NYC, and alleys are a lot rarer there. Hell, if this was NYC, they’d probably try to build a long thin ‘shotgun’ style building to profitably fill that space pictured above with ‘affordable housing.’
Me? I was just pushing against the ankle’s restraints, taking long striding steps in order to condition that web of rubber bands secreted under my skin back into regular ‘ready to exercise’ condition. It’s all about stretching right now, and conditioning my muscles back into active duty mode after all of the sitting over the last six months.
Not too long after this post publishes, this afternoon in fact, I’ll be at the Orthopedic office for a check up and they’re likely going to shoot radioactive waves through my leg, in order to photographically vouchsafe the repair condition of my broken skeleton.
Fun. Back tomorrow with more.
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Down, with the T
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I drive through that intersection pictured above, in Pittsburgh’s Borough of Dormont, at least once a day. Every single time, I comment to myself that I should some shots of the light rail there. Instead of parking the car and doing so I always lazy out and head back to HQ about four blocks away instead. Some day, I say.
Get behind me Satan, this day would be that day.
The light rail tracks cross through here, but they leave behind a street running section of the line and proceed into a right of way that clearly pre-dates the real estate development around it. Apparently, the T made use of decommissioned trolley lines when its ’right of way’ was being laid out to take advantage of existing municipal real estate.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A Pittsburgh bound T showed up, catching some nice afternoon light as it did. At my back was the station I normally use, and these tracks continue out several miles to the South Hills Village Mall terminal stop on one side, or continue on to a North Side of Pittsburgh terminal stop nearby one of the sportsball stadiums.
Your humble narrator had taken up station right alongside the intersection in the first shot, if you’re curious.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A South Hills bound T arrived next, and I hurriedly crossed the street for a better angle. I mean, as ‘hurried’ as I can manage these days. One of the parts of my life that sucks right now is that I’m fairly slow moving at this stage of the medical drama, and will be spending the spring season getting my legs all muscled up. My normal walking speed used to be about 2-2.5 miles an hour, these days I’m lucky if I can do a mile in that interval.
Getting better every day, in every way. When I’m whole again…
Back next week with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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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.
Lots of hills, very few dales
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Challenging. That’s how I’d describe what it’s like handling the terrain of Pittsburgh with an ankle that’s recovering from a severe break. As I’ve found myself having to remind people in my daily life, the injury also involved a dislocation of the foot, which ‘popped’ a tendon or two and damaged a lot of the soft tissue in leg, ankle, and foot. It’s been a deal, coming back from this one, I tell’s ya…
Regardless of how I might feel, or the free flowing availability of pain, it’s incumbent upon your humble narrator to return to his normal ways and the only way I’m going to get there is by walking it off.
Pictured is the Avenue I live on, as a note, and it’s got a relatively shallow grade compared to the neighboring Avenues. The Borough of Dormont does not streets, it has avenues and ‘ways.’ 19th century politics, that. There were no ‘mean streets’ here, instead stately avenues.
‘Ways’ are basically alleys.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was meant to meet some friends for an event at a nearby brewery, and while waiting on them (I’m always pathologically early) the crazy terrain again caught my eye. That castellated structure in the distance is the PPG HQ building, roughly 5-6 miles away in Downtown Pittsburgh. This block, which I actually have been forced to walk up in the last month or so, is a real pain in the neck AND butt to navigate. You really gotta lean into it.
Believe it or not, this isn’t the worst hill in my neighborhood. Not too far away, in neighboring Beechview, is found the steepest street in the entire western hemisphere of the planet – Canton Avenue. It’s part of what a bicyclist group calls ‘The Dirty Dozen’ of Pittsburgh’s hills.
Globally, there’s a steeper street than Canton Avenue found in New Zealand – I’m told – and that the Kiwis hold the Guinness Record for the steepest grade on a public street in the world. It edges Canton Avenue out of the top spot by a half a degree.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the top of the hill, the tracks of the T Light Rail system are encountered.
Transit was one of the many factors which decided ‘Dormont for us’ when we relocated here at the end of 2022. My friends and I continued on to the event we were heading to, and made merry. I had a stop I wanted to make on the way back home, so I said my goodbyes and set off on a distinctly down hill course. More on that tomorrow.
Ostensibly, a descending grade should be easier walking, but given that the ankle is still getting used to being walked on again… Angling the foot and keeping it in that position to accommodate the grade actually kind of hurt. I found myself continually picking up speed on the down hills and having to slow myself down by grabbing onto a sign or utility pole.
Great, now I gotta get me some brakes.
What a drag. 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 simplest of plans…
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First things first, and first thing involved walking up this hill.
Normally: not a problem, currently: my ankle was pissed off by the time I hit that next corner, which happens to be midway along another somewhat shallower hill. This is my neighborhood pictured above, by the way, in Pittsburgh’s Borough of Dormont. People still ask me why I left NYC, in response I will point out the near total absence of litter, passed out inebriates, or random emergencies midway through occurring in the shot above. Five miles from the center of things, this is.
It was a warm day in Pittsburgh, given the time of the year, and your humble narrator had a plan. I’d walk to the T light rail station, and board a Pittsburgh bound train set. There’s a major construction project underway involving the service, meaning that the route is significantly altered. Street running light rail moving through a series of interesting areas? Heck yeah! I’m in.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Of course, just as I got there, a Pittsburgh bound T was leaving the station. This ensured that I’d enjoy the maximum wait time until the next one arrived, which was somehow comforting. Who likes to rush?
Your humble narrator was appointed in his usual style, with the filthy black raincoat and a knapsack full of camera gear on his back. The camera was wearing its 24-240mm superzoom lens, if you’re curious. It’s strictly a ‘daylight’ lens, that one. Not the best glass I own, but its range makes it invaluable when out on a day time photowalk in a feature rich environment.
As far as my plan for the day went, the intention was to ride into the city, where the T was servicing a normally unused station due to the construction project(s) occurring along the line, where I’d catch a few shots of the thing coming and going and then scuttle along on my merry way. Then, I’d cross the Monongahela River on a bridge, and hunt around for any passing rail traffic. Lots of room for serendipity.
It ended up being about a nine and a half thousand step day, which is a new record for me in this post broken ankle period.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Saying all that, since I had to wait the maximum amount of time between Pittsburgh bound T’s, I occupied myself by focusing in on a T train set, which was heading away from Pittsburgh, and towards its eventual terminal stop at South Hills Village. Love the web of catenary wires over these tracks, I do.
Back tomorrow with more, 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.
It’s like Ragnarok
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Even Moe the Dog is sick of all this winter weather we keep getting plastered by, out here in Pittsburgh. As I’m writing this, it’s currently 8 degrees Fahrenheit and frozen snow pack is everywhere you look. Quite obviously, your humble narrator has been sheltering in place, a task made easy by the fact that we had baked a Lasagna on Friday and thereby didn’t have to worry about ‘what’s for dinner’ for a couple of days.
Really put a crimp in my plans for the weekend, this snow, unfortunately. Bad weather has become a personal affront to me, as I’m positively antsy to get out of the house and be outside with the camera. Instead, I’m stuck.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s pretty, the snow, I’ll give you that. It’s also difficult to walk around on, even without having to worry about your ankle. The current batch is a crunchy white powder which is floating on top of a layer of ice formed from wet slush. This snow event started as a rain storm before the temperatures dropped, so there’s hard pack ice under the powder. No bueno.
By the way, apologies for a mistake that was published yesterday and quickly corrected – I identified yesterday’s holiday as Martin Luther King Day rather than President’s day. Oops. There was some conversation in the comments about this particular holiday, which seems to be suddenly controversial. When did that become a thing?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My splendid isolation period is coming to an end, I’m afraid. It’s time for me to reactivate and get back to my various pursuits. A lecture on the Monongahela Incline will be attended this very evening, for instance.
Moe is not at all happy about this, as it will interrupt the flow of treats into his shovel face if Daddy’s not there to buy his affections.
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 