An Irishman Gave Me the Finger

Ourselves Club on East 84th Street in 1903

St. Paddy’s morning I woke from a strange dream. It was a spring day in the early 1900s in Yorkville. I knew this when I saw isolated wood-frame houses scattered among the vacant lots along the cobblestone street lined with trees in early bloom. I rode inside a copper colored trolley shooting the breeze with the driver.

We passed Lexington Avenue on 79th Street headed towards Third Avenue, when an Irish gentleman dressed in his Sunday best, velvet green vest, spats, top hat, the works, decided to dart out mid-block and jog theatrically across the street in front of us. The driver paid him no mind and kept the trolley at cruising speed. This forced the gent to move faster than he intended and his feet tangled. The gentleman finished his cake walk crossing with a 360 degree turn with his arms flailing and remarkably kept his balance.

The Irishman fumed when he saw us giggling at him. He marched across his lawn to his porch and pulled a large wooden contraption down the steps and out on the grass ~ looked like the catapult that the French hurled the cow at the English with in "Monty Python's Holy Grail."

He set the weapon up on the lawn and started cranking a handle on the side of the device. The driver and I exchanged a look, we expected, "Incoming!" Instead, after several "Crank, Crank, Cranks," a colossus wooden fist rose up with the middle finger saluting ~ the carved hand was giving us the finger. The Irishman crossed his arms, smirked and nodded.  Erin Go Bragh!

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Central Park

Central Park

Sheep Meadow

The Essence of St. Patrick's Day

Third Ave El 1900

The essence of St. Paddy’s to me has always been to celebrate our ancestors. Not just the Irish but anyone from elsewhere in the world who courageously or otherwise came to this country, worked hard, took care of what they had, and improved it for their children. 

How I best observe St. Patrick’s Day is walking around the city and renewing my love for New York.

Thinking of my Irish grandfather, Thomas Pryor, born on the 3rd floor of a walkup at 50^th Street and Third Avenue in 1900. First four years of his life, dirty steam engines roared past his family’s front windows facing the Third Avenue El (the tracks were electrified in 1904). 

Imagining my Italian great-grandfather, Antonino Cuccia, making red wine in the cellar of 1403 York Avenue since the fruit stand at 1405 wasn’t enough to support the family of five. Nan told me he was embarrassed he couldn’t learn English so he always had a puss on his face.

As my family strolls through my head, the buildings I see, the points, the locations, the way the lights hit the brick, drive me giddy to distraction. I’m in awe. I walk around and consider my daughter at my age seeing many of these places years from now, maybe with her children and these buildings, these spots still delight, reminding her where we and all this comes from and she fondly recalls her ancestors and their work. 

Here are pictures from yesterday’s walkabout and three songs links in the photos captioned:

"Hail, Hail, Rock N' Roll," "Time Tangled Up," & "Waiting For The Man."

14th St & 7th Ave Fire Escape Party

Hail, Hail, Rock N' Roll!

Broadway on left, %th Ave on right ~ Bottom of Flatiron

St. George shuts up Big Mouth

1900

Hugh O'Neill Building

Time Tangled Up

Waiting For The Man

If only the city still had more corners such as this one

Old Hospital, Mental Ward, Military Prison & Pepsi Cola

looking towards Hoboken

Washington Street final blast of sunlight

Charles Street

Charles Street

Hudson St on left, 12th St on right

12th Street

My Favorite St. Paddy's Day ~ 1970

Ask a New Yorker published my column today about my favorite St. Paddy's Day ~ 1970.

It was one of those days that float in and out my head and when the memories visit me, they lift my spirits.

Here's a link to the story, a link to Old Saint Paddy's and a few pictures through the years.

The single including Thank You and Everybody is a Star by Sly Stone was in heavy rotation on March 17, 1970.

That day was a keeper.

Erin go Bragh!

cop of my grandfather's baptismal certificate from St. Pat's Cathedral  ~ 1900

Old St. Pat's

Buddy @ LaSalle Academy 1970

Tommy @ LaSalle Academy 1970

Artie Peters & T mugging for Joe Menesick on the #6 Local 1970

Tommy & Buddy 1982

Buddy, Tommy, Karl, Eddie & John 1989

Buddy & Tommy 2011

Central Park on St. Paddy's ~ Late Afternoon

Spring sprung yesterday in Central Park. The birds flew in the warm breeze and the mounted police gallivanted near Sheeps Meadow. I expected a lot of stray people from the parade but the park was quiet. A pleasant bike ride. A few more weeks and the water fountains come back on, yes!

The Pied Piper was on my mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r0zoEBba1Y&feature=related

Tonte Protecting the Yorkville Hearth

Erin Go Bragh!

ruff!

ruff!

My Favorite Saint Paddy's Day ~ 1970

Just past noon, Buddy McMahon and I jumped into the parade at 61^st Street joining our classmates and teachers, LaSalle Academy marching up Fifth Avenue. This was non-regulation starting the parade late (we paid the piper with a knuck off the head the following day at school) ~ We broke off at the Met Museum to run east down to the river and spent the late afternoon enjoying a bucket of swill down Carl Schurz with a crowd in the Hockey Field with tunes. Afterwards, five of us started a neighborhood walkabout. Around six, we ended up on the 300 block on 85^th Street in front of a building where someone had thrown away a large convertible couch, a straight up chair, and a refrigerator box. Ekis turned the giant box into a desk, put it in front of the chair and Romano, Muller, Feldman, McMahon and I took turns hosting the Johnny Carson show, ~ Romano did a pretty good Ed McMahon. We invited people walking home from work and school to join us on the show; some did, most takers were noticeably impaired walking back from the parade or a gin mill.

Muller was the best host, Romano served “You are correct, sir.” to Johnny. Ekis tried to spin a plate on a stick but we told him it was the wrong show, and threatened to send him over to a couple of drunks across the street doing a Ed Sullivan Show.

After we exhausted this routine, and got sick of ducking crap people were throwing at us out the windows, we moved. Between First & York Avenue, Freddy found a standing lamp without a shade that was a perfect prop. Our first stop Was Loftus Tavern on the corner of 85^th Street. We went in, dropped a quarter in the juke box for two songs (a recent change from three for a quarter & one for a dime) and out came the Beatles singing No Reply, and so did we, into our imaginary mike on top the standing lamp. Gathered closely around the lamp in sweet harmony, we sung the 45’s flip side, I’m a Loser. Loose change rolled towards our feet. This was a good sign, if the coins were thrown at us, they didn’t like us, rolled meant we were entertainment (kind of). We sung Witchcraft & Night Day before moving back into the Beatles catalogue. After an hour, and pocketing our money we took our show over to Killarney Castle on Third Avenue. There, our reception was mixed but we blocked most of the coins coming at our heads with our arms up.

Erin Go Bragh!