tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157342843002612388.post646420621507561677..comments2024-03-05T15:10:07.370-06:00Comments on A Building Roam: The Colossus of Staten Island and Other Historical Detritus PQhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14491626995530401441noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157342843002612388.post-32177500983237810862015-01-15T10:00:24.545-06:002015-01-15T10:00:24.545-06:00Definitely a separate community with its own ident...Definitely a separate community with its own identity, yes. It is a notoriously close-minded place despite being a part of perhaps the most multicultural city in the US. As I said, it's the very definition of insular. I've always thought it was because Staten Island is cut off from the NYC subway system.<br /><br />It's undoubtedly a beautiful place, though. It's got plenty of parks and nature reserves, the Ferry is fantastic, the Verrazano Bridge is probably NY's prettiest (the East Coast's grandiose answer to the Golden Gate), and it has Todt Hill which is the highest peak on the eastern seaboard. PQhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14491626995530401441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157342843002612388.post-44642469278569076812015-01-14T15:31:36.507-06:002015-01-14T15:31:36.507-06:00Yes, I guess the whole Finnegans Wake stuff was fo...Yes, I guess the whole Finnegans Wake stuff was foreshadowed in some way. Actually, Joyce seems to have felt a bit about his Dublin the way I do about mine, although he made better use of his material. <br /><br />Heroin has a foothold in Santa Cruz too, and I believe the pain pill addiction problem is everywhere, because it's so insidious. I watched a report on huge problems people are having with it in Salt Lake City of all places.<br /><br />I have to admit that from riding the Staten Island ferry, I always saw it as just part of the greater New York City, but after some footage from Hurricane Sandy, I saw how much it was a separate community with its own identity. seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157342843002612388.post-18761980663569181272015-01-14T14:45:19.594-06:002015-01-14T14:45:19.594-06:00Dublin, ay? That's funny.
There some teen ang...Dublin, ay? That's funny.<br /><br />There some teen angst involved certainly, but in the case of Staten Island it's really gotten to be a sad, dreary place. Besides the recent Eric Garner murder and all that it represents, there's a scary heroin and pain pill addiction epidemic that was written up in the New Yorker of all places: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/08/antidotePQhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14491626995530401441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157342843002612388.post-21072421108510698742015-01-14T14:32:10.884-06:002015-01-14T14:32:10.884-06:00I feel the same way about Dublin, California, whic...I feel the same way about Dublin, California, which is where I spent those formative high school years. I do wonder why I'm so down on it, though, as I've been in contact with some of the people I knew way back when, and they are lovely people, and the actual setting of Dublin between the foothills is quite lovely as well. The animus I feel toward the place has something to do with feeling held back by it in some way, which may be how most people feel during that era of their life. seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157342843002612388.post-64743340459069628972015-01-14T13:08:23.464-06:002015-01-14T13:08:23.464-06:00I love my family and friends who are still there, ...I love my family and friends who are still there, but I can't help being cynical about the place. That's just how it is.PQhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14491626995530401441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157342843002612388.post-42360139519124257002015-01-13T20:49:30.644-06:002015-01-13T20:49:30.644-06:00I guess you CAN go home again.
Great stuff, as us...I guess you CAN go home again.<br /><br />Great stuff, as usual. I couldn't get through the New Yorker pay wall, but I do think I need to read some Joseph Mitchell. seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.com