July Blues in the Square
JULY BLUES IN SQUARE – Marilyn Armstrong
Tag: ships
BICENTENNIAL FIREWORKS – BY ELLIN CURLEY
I was lucky enough to have a truly remarkable and unique experience. It happened on July 4, 1976. It was part of the huge Bicentennial celebration in New York City in honor of the 200th Birthday of the Declaration Of Independence. There were festivities all over the city for a whole week.
There was a parade of old-fashioned Tall Ships from all over that majestically sailed up the Hudson River. I only saw that on TV but it was an incredible sight. (I did get to see a few individual ships in the harbor as we drove into the city, but not the full parade).
The pièce de résistance of the celebration week was the fireworks display that was set to go off from the Statue of Liberty on the night of July 4.
At the time, my husband, Larry, worked at a law firm in New York City. The law firm scheduled a big office party on the night of the 4th of July. They booked the restaurant at the top of World Trade Center One, Windows On The World. The restaurant was on the 107th floor and had an unobstructed view of the Statue of Liberty, which was just a short distance out in the harbor.
When the time came for the fireworks, we all gathered around the floor to ceiling windows facing the Statue of Liberty. I’m short, so I was funneled to the very front of the crowd. There was absolutely nothing between me and the view outside.
The fireworks display was, appropriately extraordinary. It was so close I felt I could reach out and touch the bursts of light directly in front of me. It had an eerie quality because I was 107 floors up in the air. So the fireworks were not only nearby and coming right at me, they were coming right at me at eye level. They weren’t coming from above, as they usually are. They seemed to be aimed right at me. I even flinched at first, fearing that the window would be hit by stray sparks.
Once I relaxed, I sat back and enjoyed a truly awe-inspiring show. I’ve always loved fireworks. Unfortunately, no display since then could even come close to rivaling that night.
Remembering that night is bittersweet. While it was a euphoric experience for me, it’s sad to realize that no one will ever again get that great view from the long gone tower at the World Trade Center. I’m sure the views at the new buildings on the World Trade Center site are magnificent. But for those of us who lived through 9/11, it will never be the same.
BOATS AND SHIP – THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE
A Photo a Week Challenge: Boats and Ships
THE BEAVER AT BOSTON WHARF: TRACES OF THE PAST
BLACK & WHITE SUNDAY: TRACES OF THE PAST Y3-04
The Beaver
The original brig Beaver, like the Dartmouth, was built and owned by the Rotch’s, an affluent Nantucket Quaker family. The Beaver was a whaling vessel built in 1772 by Ichabod Thomas at the Brick Kiln Yard on the banks of the North River near Situate, Massachusetts. Similar to other merchant vessels of the time, the Beaver was about 85 feet long with a beam of nearly 24 feet. The draft of the Beaver could not exceed nine feet because Nantucket Harbor had a sand bar across its mouth, which as a result, set the maximum size for vessels of that port.
From “The History of the Beaver”
INDUSTRY OUTSIDE METROPOLIS
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Industrial
It’s a matter of definition. For most of my life, I lived in or around major cities. New York, where I grew up. I don’t know if Jerusalem counts as a major city, but I was there a pretty long time.
Then Boston. Industrial in large cities is synonymous with “big.” Great brick factories belching smoke. Tall chimneys. Pollution. Cement. Traffic.
Yet, ironically, out here in the Blackstone Valley is where the American industrial revolution began. We are the home of the first factories.
The mills, built along the Blackstone River were where it all began. We are still cleaning up the pollution and the mills are either gone or converted to some other use.
First they moved down south, where they could find cheaper land, labor, favorable tax laws … and they would be near the cotton fields.
But industry remains. It’s not the way it was, yet it is industry. Small factories, cottage industry by comparison. And just as interesting as photographic subject.
And finally, not forgetting our New England coastline, the docks and ships of our historic fishing fleets. Our first American industry!
TIED UP AT THE DOCK
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: BAD MOON RISING
There’s a bad moon rising over there, over the boats sitting at anchor on a flat sea. As the sun goes down, that giant moon hovers over all … making man and beast think strange thoughts … very strange …
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Eerie (dailypost.wordpress.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Eerie (2) (scottseyephotos.wordpress.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Eerie – Watches and Waits (teepee12.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Eerie (lvileshina.wordpress.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Eerie (nwframeofmind.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Eerie…Keith Richards (californiagirlexploringart.com)
