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But if it could be
drawn open,
one million and one
memories
would pop out
of this suspension bridge.
I grew up
I walked on this bridge thirty times.
All but three
involved a shortcut
—across its width—
to a Catholic Church
My thinking was
if I get run over and die
on the way to or from
Sunday Mass
that would be
an Easy Pass
to the Promised Land
The Whitestone Bridge is viewed
from the continent of North America
and this exact image appears
in the opening credits of BECKER,
starring Ted Danson
I lived two blocks away from the bridge
on the unseen side of this suspension
which is that thing called Long Island
whose western end is fronted by
the East River
The park adjacent to the bridge
is named for one of our Founding Fathers:
but everyone called it Whitestone Park.
It is where I smoked my first cigaret
a jazillion years ago,
give or take
a few jaz.
Maybe I should be
reduced to a mound of salt
because I have
inundated these pages
with Whitestone Park
and Whitestone Bridge memories
talking to my mother and father
and sister Linda
All of whom are laughing their asses off
in the Promised Land.
***
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Any chance you would share
ReplyDeleteone of the darker memories?
Yeah, why not:
Deleteat the age of thirteen,
we sat on a park bench
and sniffed glue...
Amazingly, my friend made
the Whiteston Bridge rotate
so that it was completely
parallel to the river...
another friend counted the fish
who crossed the bridge
but I think her count
was off by few dozdn
Do you remember the story
Deleteof the woman who was murdered
under the Whitestone Bridge
in 1971?
I distinctly remember
Deletethat there was no such murder:
it was a self-inflicted death,
and I knew the woman
much better than most people:
her stunningly beautiful face
appears at least fifteen times
in this blog
and at least twice every hour
of my life