In an attempt to outdo my friend A.J. in her spectacular image of a cloud emerging from a god-spot, I took a couple of shots through my window.
Just between us, her picture was better.
Postscript: When asked to explain myself by my friend MSG: “A god-spot is my way of seeing that little halo in the midst of the clouds.
As a rule, I don’t make it to the breakfast special at Effy’s which ends at 10am. Hallelujah, I am here today.
Drizzly weather encouraged me to grab the early bus. I stopped by on my way to a workout.
Effy’s at 88th and York by Asphalt Green. Breakfast special @ 7.95 is 2 eggs toast home fries and good coffee.” Note to self put Effy’s on my coffee trail!
Okay. To be honest this is another tease.
Actually, I wanted to share an article by my friend Dr. Arline who has nothing but your best interests for a quieter and more peaceful environment.
It appears that New Yorkers have learned patience from the pandemic.
Those alternate side of the street sits are being handled with more grace and poise. Of course all the devices we own and use help. One parker had her dog at the curbside and a tablet with a board game. (Wonder if her dog plays chess.) Another waited with a newspaper and ear buds. Time appeared to be suspended for them.
Incidentally, grooming is coming back along with the mask-free look. Actually, hair and beards have been trim and neat for sometime now. There was the initial shock of the pandemic when men’s facial hair was a reflection of the chaos we all felt but then the barbers got busy.
My travels on the coffee trail took me to the 7-11 to try out the Brazilian I spoke of recently.
Picture this with me: if my walking the coffee trail entails following the little brown beans strewn along the path to help me find my destination.
I imagine this path is a bit slippery as we crunch along, grinding coffee beans underfoot. Or it is perhaps a bit more slidey if the coffee is already ground and catches to the soles of our shoes.
Sorry for the digression or should I say detour. Back to the coffee mission in which we follow-up on the promise of checking out the selections at 7-11.
The coffee is a bit less expensive, as noted, than the other chains. For instance, compared to the high-priced spread at Blank Street I sampled last week it’s a total bargain.
7-11 cleverly arranges small, medium, large and what Starbucks calls “Venti Hot” cups with little increment in cost. They also require you self-serve which makes for a more personalized cup.
This participatory experience also means you get much quicker service. I chose the medium size cup, and truth be told, had a delay in the process due to indecisiveness.
To be fair, there are many coffees on display. 7-11 has installed some fancy machines that offer to make cappuccino, latte or other fancier caffeinated drinks. I would say stay away from these.
After hemming and hawing over the vast choices, I settled where I started. A 16-oz (I think) cup of Brazilian to which I added a splash of half and half was a delicious $2.29. The fellas with the street carts sell these for $1.75 but elsewhere the price is closer.
Price is not the only criteria, of course, so factor in convenience and taste. While I loathe the Seattle-brewer, I think Dunkin provides an excellent alternative.
Specialty coffees, in my opinion, should be specially made so head for a neighborhood brewery like our Le Moulin a Café.
Speaking of specialties, I am enjoying a cold Mocha brew from a new joint called B&B. It’s on 1st and 73rd and its actual specialty is bagels, I imagine. Never had one of these before so too sweet should cover it.
Arguably it’s summer that yields the best fruit, what with an abundance of peaches or nectarines. Plums and cherries are also a sweet treat this time of year.
However, as we head into the autumn, we should reserve some appreciation for the apple.
It played a huge role in man’s downfall, for those of you biblically inclined. Let’s not remember apples only in that limited context.
An apple provides sustenance along the lines of the potato and should you need reminding the latter is an amazingly nourishing food.
Apples come in a range of remarkably diverse varieties. Braeburns and honeycrisps are among my favorites. I had a deep love for the sour-sweet Granny Smith once upon a time too.
Texture is as important as taste in a good apple, but whether you care for a soft or a firm-fleshed one is strictly your choice. For me, the apple du jour goes a bit with the mood.
The supermarket offers some types but to truly tune into the diversity of the apple kingdom you need to visit a farmer’s market. There you’ll find some fantastic choices. Cloning apples seems to be a cottage industry of some standing.
I find the origin stories of the apples to be very appealing. That’s a touch of color many green market vendors like to post.
The Constitution of these United States has an amendment guaranteeing our freedoms should all the other amendments fail us. Who knew? Thank James Madison for this little safeguard.
Specifically, #Madison’sNinth ensures that we, the people, are granted rights not enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
There are things I should know about human history, but honestly it is such a long history. The archeologists among us demarc that history in ages identifying, for example, the materials used. So we get a bronze age or a stone age to describe our ancestry. My failing in this regard is not having a clue which came when. I am fortunate in that my science newsletter (from CNN) specifies dates of service for each of the peoples that came before us.
Another fact that escaped me all my school years is that we are the evolutionary relatives of a broad range of hominids. I have come to find out that different members of our extended family roamed the earth at the same time, perhaps finding themselves in adjacent caves… Well perhaps not, but it’s not a clear timeline from one “brand” of humankind to the next.
Not knowing should lead us directly to knowledge as soon as we know all we don’t know.
Convoluted enough? Simply put, I have the opportunity to endeavor to learn more.
Peaches, as I know I have mentioned before, are my best summer treat. A good peach washes away a lot of troubles.
The best fruits of this summer have come from an unlikely source. I have gotten the peaches with the perfect texture, firmest flesh and excellent juice-to-bite ratio at my local D’Agastino.
Unlikely? Yes, because I malign this market every chance I get. And this time I did not get the chance. Isn’t that fabulous.
The pandemic dining scene has yielded so many creative solutions to the outdoor eatery huts. I have been very impressed.
One of my local restaurants has instead seen fit to offer this sad picnic spot. Their one concession to aesthetics has been to paint the area over. It started as a yellow area. Today it’s red. Festive? No, but it echoes a day in the park. You’re lucky you were able to snag that last table.
Riverboats roil the waters
Oh, not the riverboats you
Are envisioning, just the
Ordinary summer Sunday
Traffic that a river in the
American northeast sees.
Our riverboats are the ones
With sails furled while a
Motor runs them up or
Down or they are ferrying
Sightseers and citizens
Alike or on patrol passing
Slow-moving transport
Ships or just slightly gaudy
Fishing boats not trawling
For fish but amusing a crew
Of revellers in a holiday spirit.
After all, it is Sunday and we
Have our day off and it is the
Last days of summer we want
To enjoy and celebrate here
On a Sunday on the river
It's a continent,
Those groups
Of clouds, at
Rest in a gray
Sky. Hunched
Together as if
To form a map.
Directions to
Climbing this
Mountain run,
This Everest,
This widest of
Rivers, forded
And travelled,
These trails,
These byways,
These prairies,
Are purely in
The imagination
Of this traveller.
A continent un-
Folded, drawn
And redrawn in
A demarcation
That has no firm
Boundaries, as
It floats across
A clear pale sky.
If I were to climb
Or wander the
Pillowing mounds
Or if I could row
Over the billows
Would my feet
Fall softly or find
Their footing lost?
What is the difference between being in a rut and finding your groove?
The latter by definition a place of comfort and acceptance; the former a greatly less desirable spot.
It’s a matter of perspective whether you are caught in a trough, treading the daily grind or enjoying a congenial and leisurely spin of your wheels.
After all, it’s perspective that can make us see the glass half full.
All The Best