Carl Schurz Park, Now & Then & Then

You're 5, and you just left the Carl Schurz Park playground with your mother and talked her into a walk over to the water. You jump on the granite stone ledge, grab the black steel fence with both hands and pull your body forward to look through the opening and there they are: the Hockey Field, Lighthouse and Drive, and you think, "when I'm older, and allowed to come here by myself, they'll be all mine."

Remember "itchy balls" down the park? My least favorite part of oncoming spring was itchy balls falling out of trees, getting picked up by budding sociopaths and going straight down the back of your shirt (if you were lucky) or in your pants. I never see an itchy ball without thinking about some idiot.

This month marks my 60th year as a New Yorker, and I still find new and interesting things everywhere I go in all five boroughs. To celebrate the city, to thank my friends, this month my storytelling show is free on me. I’m giving away stuff, too. “City Stories: Stoops to Nuts,”Tuesday, March 11 @ 5:30pm @ Cornelia Street Cafe.

It’s a doozy, my guest tellers: Barbara Aliprantis, Cris Beam,Francis Flaherty,Robin Hirsch, Tim O’Mara, Joshua Rebell, Angelo Verga and Adam Wade. Time Out Magazine says, “Stoops to Nuts,” is a positive experience not to be missed. No they didn’t, but they do say it’s a cool thing to do. Show starts sharp @ 5:30pm. All friends of Stoops to Nuts are welcome.

Below:

Now & Then & Then, Carl Schurz Park, 2014, same spot, Ella & Lenny Ryan 1962, Ella & Lenny Ryan at Lake Ronkonkoma, New York in 1927. It's a short ride, love somebody.