Bridges, Art, and the A-train

On Friday, I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, on my way to the headquarters of the Jehova's Witnesses (JW).  Rafael and Christine had invited me to lunch.   They are volunteers, living communally, eating communally, living in a JW apartment building.   Everyone there was very well dressed; I had been told not to wear shorts or a t-shirt.   It was pleasant and low key.  They have a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

 After lunch, I headed back to the apartment, and decided to take it easy the rest of the day.  A little before sunset, I walked to the base of the nearby George Washington Bridge and took a lot of photos.

For dinner I strolled down Broadway to get a few empanadas.  It was fun to listen to the Spanish from the Dominican Republic, more sing-song than the Spanish from Mexico.

One kind of theme to the trip was the A-train.  Malcolm and Janis live around 181st on the west side, very far north.   The A-train was the local train in that area, and pretty much the best way to go anywhere.   I rode the A-train at least twice a day, every day.  The A-train is an express, running nonstop from 125th to 59th st, the longest nonstop run in the NYC subway system.  It runs 31 miles from the north end of Manhattan to the south end, and then on to Brooklyn and Queens.   It was made famous by the Duke Ellington song of the same name.

On Saturday I went to the Chelsea neighborhood to visit galleries. Most of it was not very impressive, except for a large installation by Jacob Hashimoto at  the Mary Boone gallery. Maybe half the art showed craft and skill, the rest was pretty crude.

Highline

I walked a little on the Highline, an old elevated railroad track now converted to a park. It is very popular, and a different view of the city.

I headed for the Upper East Side, where I met my old college friend Debbie. We had bagels at H&M, and headed for the Met. 

The Met was impressive, as usual. We started at arms and armor, where I loved their display of men in armor on their armored steeds.  We saw photos from the 50!s and 60's, looked at metalwork, and finished with Islamic art. Debbie was a great guide. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant after the museum closed.

Sunday morning started with mass at the  shrine of St. Mary Cabrini, who has a Colorado connection as well. I headed south to the MOMA. It was a beautiful fall day, and lots of people were out walking and biking. 

The MOMA was a mix of the great and the silly. The great included a wall of Mondrian paintings. The silly included a transport dolly for paintings with an office partition mounted on it. One piece that I at first thought was a joke at the viewer's expense appeared to be an all black painting. When I went back to photograph it to make fun of it, I noticed that it was subtle shades of black, and decided that there was more to it. 

Next stop the Frick, where I saw old masters by Rembrandt, Titian and Gainsborough.   The contrast could not have been more vivid. The old masters had actual skills. 

Malcolm had invited Bairj, and Tom T. To dinner.  I had not seen either of them for almost 40 years. Jay showed up later. We had a wide ranging discussion including global warming and the Torah. We chatted til late. 

Monday I got up very early to take the subway and bus to the airport.  The guy in the next seat on the plane was in the payday cashing and loan business; he explained that for the folks that use his services, it is actually cheaper than a bank, due to the penalty fees that they would accrue at a bank.

It was a great trip.  I really enjoyed seeing my old friends, hitting the museums, and just being in NYC.  A special thanks to Malcolm and Janis for giving me a place to stay for my visit to the big apple.