(Sunday Paper, Year VII, Issue 35)

Last week I mentioned that I spent the day in New York.

If I have the time on a New York trip, I like to try to go for a run in the neighborhood where I grew up.

If you saw any of my social media last week, you know where I’m going with this:

I ran over the Triboro Bridge.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it since then.

I rarely ran growing up the way I run now. When I do run in New York now, the runs usually take me down by Astoria Park, and a path that runs parallel to the East River, over which the Triboro Bridge crosses. (Yes, I know it’s now the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, but old habits die hard.)

It was that picture above that really got me thinking about how different it was running on the Triboro Bridge instead of driving on it…or running under it.

I rarely get to take a look at everything from up there when I’m driving because my eyes are on the road. Even as a passenger growing up you don’t get to look straight up at the structure.

And if I’m running I’m usually looking up from under the bridge, which you can see in this terrible picture at right which I didn’t ever want to see the light of day but it’s the only one I have that shows the bridge from below.

(Hoo boy I can’t get over what a terrible picture this is. I’m equal parts disappointed in myself for not deleting it immediately and relieved that at least I took one picture down by the river with the bridge visible.)

(For what it’s worth, I do have a much better picture from this day but the Hell’s Gate Bridge is in the background.)

Being on the bridge on foot, though, is something else.

First of all, the views are amazing. Unless you’re on a boat you’re not getting this view:

And even if you were on a boat you wouldn’t have that angle.

The thing about it, though, is that view comes at a price.

If you’re a little nervous around heights, that is.

Things start out OK - there’s a tall fence for the first stretch, which you can see there at the left.

For as daunting as the rise feels, it still seems somewhat secure because of that fence.

But suddenly, as you can see below, that fence becomes a waist-high railing…and everything feels a lot less secure.

I chickened out at this point.

The bridge’s walkway connects to Randall’s Island, where on a Sunday morning it was busy with adult-league soccer games.

I didn’t quite make it all the way to the stairs that led down to Randall’s Island - I pretty much crossed the water and then turned around and headed back.

It was pretty scary, not going to lie to you. I took a couple of pictures and kept my eyes ahead until I was back in the relative safety of the taller fence again. (I think part of bridge construction involves leaving room for the ability to expand in the heat and contract in the winter…and I believe the walkway was in a bit of an expansion. There were tiny gaps in the ground - nothing huge where I felt like I would fall through…but big enough that I kept thinking, “Don’t drop your phone,” because it could have slipped through.)

In that picture below that's me heading back towards Queens. My house (well, I guess my parent’s house is the way I should say it) is probably off in the distance towards the left there.

it was cool to get a new perspective on this place I’ve been literally hundreds of times in my life.

I don’t know if I would do it again. That lower railing stretch is very intimidating for me. Which leads me to the unfortunate conclusion I reached, as I thought about people who are more thrill-seeking and able to handle heights like that:

Despite what I would like to believe, I’d make a terrible Spider-Man.

What I’ve Been Enjoying

“Licensed To Ill” - Beastie Boys
“Appetite For Destruction” - Guns N’ Roses
Diamonds Are Forever
Live And Let Die
The Man With The Golden Gun
The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
For Your Eyes Only

This accidentally turned into James Bond week. I had been watching a James Bond movie every Monday, figuring that would take me through the end of the year. But on Monday when I popped the movie on it said it was leaving Prime next week.. The same was true of the rest of the Bond movies. I thought they were on Amazon to stay. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND STREAMING SERVICES. Anyway, I figured I might as well try to watch as many as I could before they went away. Will I have a 5-movie Bond Marathon today? We’ll see.

Notes

*I don’t exactly love the James Bond movies. They are entertaining, but if you’ve seen one you get the formula. It’s more that I have come too far at this point to not finish the job. It’s definitely a cultural touchstone that I feel more in touch with now. I’m glad I’ve been able to catch up as much as I have. (I also enjoy looking up information about the movies after the fact. I’ve learned some interesting things. Maybe I’ll share them with you before the year is out.)

*The Mets are still clinging to first place as we head into the last week of August. Atlanta is still giving them a run, but I just can not see them maintaining the absolutely torrid pace they’ve kept up for three months now. Here’s hoping September and October are just as fun for the Mets as April through August have been.

*On Saturday the Mets held an Old Timers’ Game for the first time in almost 20 years. It was fun to see so many former players - not something that has happened all that much in team history. I didn’t think the app would show the festivities to me (usually it’s just games and nothing else), but I was pleasantly surprised to see a little bit of it. I’m going to see if I can pull up the whole event to watch it start to finish at some point.

*The social media links are below for you to check out, follow, like, whatever. Thanks!