The Newtown Pentacle

Tuesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

As described yesterday, a walk down a fairly steep road here in Pittsburgh’s ‘South Side Slopes’ area was undertaken. The effort was concocted in pursuit of reaching and exercising certain muscle groups in the legs, which weakened during the multi month recovery period after one suffered a broken left ankle, in September of last year. Horror plagues me, given the speed at which I now walk and my lessened capability to turn the planet beneath my feet. Fatigue, which I believe the French probably pronounce as ‘Fat Ih Gway,’ sets in quickly these days.

Always, I ponder: What if?

– photo by Mitch Waxman

It’s a question I ask myself all the time. If a proverbial ‘poop hits the fan’ moment pops up and I find myself in the middle of something awful (Zombies, Hurricane Sandy returns, 911 returns, storms, blizzards, blackouts, fires etc.), could I just walk away from it to get safe?

The answer I used to offer in NYC was that at my normal walking pace, I could painfully handle about 25 miles or so a day with my twenty pound camera bag (for reference) on my back if I had to, but there would be a price to pay for that sort of all day long ‘leaning into it.’ Blisters, sprains, garment failure, fatigue building all day… I’m also restricting the walking to daylight hours, so twelve hours at two to two and half miles an hour… that used to be comfortably doable for me.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Just remember, though, I’m in my late 50’s and have never been a physical ‘specimen’ so I move at my own pace, particularly so these days.

In comparison to this shadow of his former self – an 18 year old soldier, according to Google’s Ai – moves like the Flash compared to me: ‘In the US Army, a standard ruck march requirement for earning badges like the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) and Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB) is a 12-mile foot march carrying a 35-pound load, completed in no more than three hours.’

I hope that whatever emergency it is that I’d have to walk from doesn’t involve being chased by the Army. Y’ never know…

What if I become contaminated and mutate into an emerald rage monster? Can’t expect the military to overlook that sort of thing.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

At the point where South 18th street flattens out, I found myself having to walk a few blocks east to South 21st street in order to get around some construction work blocking the way. I could have stuck with South 18th, but the construction work introduced a series of obstacles which aren’t – what I’ve come to describe as – ‘ankle friendly.’

This walk was all about the exercise, I’d remind. The downhill section involved hitting certain otherwise difficult to reach muscle groupings at the top and front of the thigh, which a controlled descent down a steep grade would hit. The section starting here is largely flat land, alongside the flood plain of the Monongahela River. A different set of rubber bands and muscles would be hit on this section as I leaned into things. The big muscles in the butt, and back of thigh, specifically.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

It was fairly evenly divided, this scuttle. Roughly half of the mileage was downhill, with the remainder occurring in a largely two dimensional fashion. Saying all that, yeah, I was experiencing a good amount of discomfort, but was successfully avoiding dragging my foot, limping, or walking like the Batman villain Penguin. This is progress.

As you may have noticed by now, I’m desperate for sympathy and a pat on the back promising ‘you’re going to get there, pal.’ I’ve started making summer plans, some of which are a bit ambitious. If I don’t have some actual ‘fun’ soon, your humble narrator may go limping off into the woods while screaming obscenities and not return.

All work and no play make Mitch a Mitch Mitch.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

One thing about Pittsburgh – lots and lots of churches. I’m intrigued, but haven’t done any of the social networking involved with getting invited in to record the blessed fineries. I’m like a vampire… and need to be invited in to do my thing. Hate doing ‘run and gun’ shots in sacred spaces.

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.

Monday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

My latest inquiries into the urban milieu of Pittsburgh involved a roadway path referred to as either ‘South 18th street’ or the ‘South 18th street extension.’ According to the fairly excellent ‘Pittsburgh Streets’ site, this pathway was originally called Meadow Street in its lower section (as of 1869), with the upper section referred to as the ‘Brownsville Plank Road’ until it was renamed as the ‘South 18th street extension’ in 1881.

Me?

As it happened, opportunity saw your humble narrator driving through here about a week ago while avoiding a traffic situation, and it was decided that I’d like to walk through and see what I could see. The virtue that this sort of street offers is its long slope, which allows one to access the otherwise difficult to exercise musculature in the front of the thigh, specifically the large triangular muscles connecting to the hip. It also really works the calf muscles on the sides of the legs, this sort of slope. In both cases, my long recovery from the broken ankle has seen muscular atrophy set in and I needed a workout, even one that’s only a few miles long.

Off we go.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

First stop involved a quick scuttle into St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery. I’m notoriously a fan of such mortuary polyandrions, but this was the start of what’s currently a long walk for me and I didn’t want to spend my ‘ankle doesn’t hurt right now’ time in this particular pursuit. It’s a fairly large property, and I intend on returning when I’m behind the wheel of the Mobile Oppression Platform, a Toyota.

Saying that… what? I’m in a cemetery and not getting any shots in?

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Yep, there’s a view. I’ll be back sometime soon when time is propitious.

Regardless, one leaned into the scuttle and started down a fairly steep hill, down towards the South Side Flats section which South 18th street leads to.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

A series of sharp turns awaits drivers on South 18th. My problem, however, involved the actual quality of the substrate I was walking on, but that’s why I chose this path. I won’t be regaining any agility or strength by walking on level carpeted floors, it’ll be by walking on pavers, and broken sidewalks, and weirdly angled pedestrian paths which cause my legs to flex in different ways on each step. A real obstacle course is what I was looking for, and I found it.

The terrain here is extremely steep, with hilltops breaking off suddenly and offering sheer cliff faces which drop off 50-100 feet. Recently. I learned that – on average – 28 people a year die in Pittsburgh from falling off cliffs. Whenever I’m marveling at the terrain, the Pittsburgh natives just kind of yawn. I explain that I’m from a place near the ocean, with neighborhoods called ‘Flatbush,’ and ‘Flatlands.’

– photo by Mitch Waxman

For most of this walk, I was the lone pedestrian. Every now and then, you’d spot somebody getting out of a car, or throwing out the trash.

One thing I had to be careful about was not picking up speed while walking down this sharply graded street. Have to keep on reminding myself that I’m not out of the woods yet, nor as capable as I am normally.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

I kept on keeping on, heading down hill. Obviously a great deal easier than walking uphill (that’s this summer at the earliest), nevertheless I was ‘feeling the burn’ after just the first mile of my downhill scuttle.

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.