tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post8198844910393450582..comments2023-09-26T03:53:17.142-04:00Comments on Pentimento: "Beautiful city, we must part," part 3: Old Man in a New PlacePentimentohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-5418324776482420892010-05-02T18:25:24.209-04:002010-05-02T18:25:24.209-04:00Actually, truly LOL.Actually, truly LOL.Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-50045359123887310092010-05-02T18:04:30.744-04:002010-05-02T18:04:30.744-04:00Aye, and well they might, lass!Aye, and well they might, lass!Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-56058871592475284682010-05-02T17:54:36.081-04:002010-05-02T17:54:36.081-04:00Rodak, if you paid a visit to County Woodlawn, Bro...Rodak, if you paid a visit to County Woodlawn, Bronx, today, you'd be suprised. Lehman College offers a degree in Irish-American Studies now . . .Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-49063020398421375912010-05-02T17:44:24.707-04:002010-05-02T17:44:24.707-04:00Irish-American
I.e., what the Irish immigrants in...Irish-American<br /><br />I.e., what the Irish immigrants in the Bronx called narrow-backs." <br />;-)Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-71876091979749207672010-05-02T17:14:17.583-04:002010-05-02T17:14:17.583-04:00That's beautiful, TQ, and, though I'm not ...That's beautiful, TQ, and, though I'm not Irish-American myself, it's pretty close to what I witnessed in my old neighborhood in the Bronx.<br /><br />It also reminded me of item #4 in this post.<br /><br />http://pentiment.blogspot.com/search?q=ambulancePentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-86444604566876027742010-05-02T16:24:49.503-04:002010-05-02T16:24:49.503-04:00I just watched "The Irish Empire," on Ne...I just watched "The Irish Empire," on Netflix, and one talking head said:<br /><br />"The Irishman leaves his home in order to find it."<br /><br />TQ<br />Fifth Generation Irish-American (still leaving home in order to find it)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-69292853105896162352010-05-02T12:50:20.696-04:002010-05-02T12:50:20.696-04:00Right. And it's also now the Weill College of ...Right. And it's also now the Weill College of Medicine.Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-46234376423170277162010-05-02T12:22:39.104-04:002010-05-02T12:22:39.104-04:00I know it well. They've now merged with Colum...I know it well. They've now merged with Columbia-Presbyterian.Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-45916032615993408002010-05-02T10:59:27.830-04:002010-05-02T10:59:27.830-04:00My daughters were both born at what was then The N...My daughters were both born at what was then The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. My wife was a nurse there, and I was working in the dean's office of the medical college. <br />As such, we were extremely fortunate to both have the very best obstetrical care and to have it free. <br />In addition, we lived only a block and half down York Avenue from the hospital. Those were the good ol' days...Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-45591678093075559342010-05-02T10:52:16.720-04:002010-05-02T10:52:16.720-04:00Yes, oh yes, the money thing. Every single thing ...Yes, oh yes, the money thing. Every single thing you want to do with your kids is prohibitively expensive in New York. My dear friend Rosie, who guest-posts here sometimes, just went through a year of anxiety about whether her son would be able to go to kindergarten in a non-failing school; if you can pay stratospheric rents, all the schools in your district (decentralized school districts in NYC since 1970) are fine, but she lives in Harlem. Luckily, her son scored high enough on a gifted-and-talented test that he will get placed in one of the non-failing schools in her district -- but not high enough to get into the best kindergarten programs city-wide. It's such a racket.<br /><br />Rodak, were your children born in NYC? At what hospitals?Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-28610021351754794362010-05-02T09:38:52.575-04:002010-05-02T09:38:52.575-04:00Yes, in a sense, we certainly carry our "exil...Yes, in a sense, we certainly carry our "exile" within us.<br /><br />As for NYC vs. Smallville for the raising of kids, it's a no-brainer, imho. My girls were able to do so many things here that they never would have been able to do in NYC, b/c we weren't rich.<br />It had been great, in many ways, for me. But once I had babies (2 in less than 2 years), I began looking for escape routes.Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-76691812477111532862010-05-02T09:01:36.637-04:002010-05-02T09:01:36.637-04:00Thanks, Eaucoin. It really *is* easier to raise c...Thanks, Eaucoin. It really *is* easier to raise children here; I can see that already, and I'm sure it'll be easier still when I get my driver's license. In New York it does become a tiresome hassle to take children, strollers, and all the other things you need for your day -- snacks, changes of clothes, etc. -- on the buses and subways, but there's no choice (doing all this in the rain becomes a real penance). It's only being out of New York that I realize how difficult it is to get from point a to point b there, even more so with little people hanging off of you.<br /><br />I think my feeling of exile here is a sort of microcosmic reflection of the constant exile that is our true state in this life.Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-20862715297396729072010-05-02T00:20:34.119-04:002010-05-02T00:20:34.119-04:00I left the city for a rural town the year after I ...I left the city for a rural town the year after I had my first child. To me, it's a kind of metaphor for motherhood: leaving self behind but sometimes looking back and mourning that girl I used to be. You'll find it easier to raise your children in a small town (where you can find out who's house the party will be at while standing in the grocery store checkout line). The best and worst of people stands out, but I find that learning other people's stories at close range leads mostly to admiration. Now when I go to the city, I feel a little sorry for all those bustling people.eaucoinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03572252291115673745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-54839121082690354852010-04-28T17:29:44.714-04:002010-04-28T17:29:44.714-04:00Thanks, FD. I've been here over a year now. ...Thanks, FD. I've been here over a year now. It *is* beautiful, but lonely.Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-13766491752777255642010-04-28T16:05:37.866-04:002010-04-28T16:05:37.866-04:00Good luck! I hear Appalachia is so beautiful.Good luck! I hear Appalachia is so beautiful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-17344705843755046472010-04-28T12:23:27.048-04:002010-04-28T12:23:27.048-04:00I'm about a zillion miles from it, too; but in...I'm about a zillion miles from it, too; but in a totally different direction...Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-81559197865921782392010-04-28T11:55:48.616-04:002010-04-28T11:55:48.616-04:00LOL! She's from a pretty bad neighborhood, in...LOL! She's from a pretty bad neighborhood, in fact, though she's about a zillion miles away from it now.Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-31720874219334299672010-04-28T11:45:37.135-04:002010-04-28T11:45:37.135-04:00+JMJ+
I'm such a philistine that the beautifu...+JMJ+<br /><br />I'm such a philistine that the beautiful quote Rodak shared put me in mind of <i>Jenny from da Block</i>--because, you know, she's from the Bronx, too, and she can't ever forget it! =PEnbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-44204714664507006122010-04-28T09:01:40.660-04:002010-04-28T09:01:40.660-04:00Yes, it's nice. Goes well with your photograph...Yes, it's nice. Goes well with your photograph. The story is a dark one, however--about madness.Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-6860755975432298152010-04-28T08:49:49.997-04:002010-04-28T08:49:49.997-04:00Wow - I love it.Wow - I love it.Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-6570241431997298112010-04-28T07:01:04.713-04:002010-04-28T07:01:04.713-04:00Below is the opening paragraph of "Ghost Stor...Below is the opening paragraph of "Ghost Story" from the short story collection, <em>Slapboxing With Jesus</em> by Victor D. Lavalle:<br /><br /><b>Move anywhere, when you're from the Bronx, you're of the Bronx, it doesn't shed. The buildings are medium height: schools, factories, projects. It's not Manhattan, where everything's so tall you can't forget you're in a city; in the Bronx you can see the sky, it's not blotted out. The place isn't standing or on its back, the whole borough lies on its side. And when the wind goes through there, you can't kid yourself--there are voices.</b>Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-28764070337325909452010-04-26T19:53:14.689-04:002010-04-26T19:53:14.689-04:00If one has really turned it around, one's gaze...If one has really turned it around, one's gaze has been redirected away from externals and towards the self. This is not to say that we like what we see when we look inside. But do it we must. It is crucial to remember where Jesus said that the kingdom of God is to be found. The "self" who attaches himself to externals and knows himself only in relation to things that he sees and moves towards, is not the real self. <br />The real self knows the freedom of absolute poverty and essential humility. If we make an effort of attention, we can sometimes achieve enough detachment to catch a brief glimpse of that essential self.Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-53850311412943321772010-04-26T18:47:59.526-04:002010-04-26T18:47:59.526-04:00Hmmmm, that's uncannily close to mine . . . :)...Hmmmm, that's uncannily close to mine . . . :)Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-7485547635402614422010-04-26T18:44:05.988-04:002010-04-26T18:44:05.988-04:00+JMJ+
Sometimes I think my definition of "id...+JMJ+<br /><br />Sometimes I think my definition of "ideal" is "whatever I don't have yet." =(Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-83438745510498288102010-04-26T18:40:55.616-04:002010-04-26T18:40:55.616-04:00I suppose it depends on what the ideal is. If the...I suppose it depends on what the ideal is. If the ideal is heaven, then it shouldn't matter how much smaller and dumpier our lives get, should it? And yet, it does, it does . . .Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.com