THE UPS AND DOWN OF LIFE

Not long after landing in JFK, my family moved into our own apartment, way up in the Bronx, nearest subway station being the Fordham Road station on the #4 line. My father got a dishwashing job, I think at Club 21, while my eldest sister went to work and also attended school. All my working life I learned a few things on my own but they were just an extra hour here and there after work or on the weekend, never anything formal. It was really difficult to go to work full-time then go to school afterward. Good job there, sis!

Us kids had it somewhat easier just to concentrate on school. Some days after moving to the Bronx, one day my mother, my other sister, and I set out to find the school where we were supposed to register for. It was John Peter Tetard JHS, although I only know that years later when I return to the area after moving to Queens. In the movies, most of the time when someone asks for direction, it works like a charm. Not for the three of us on that day. Perhaps it was because of our broken English, we got pointed that direction then some other way. We went downhill at some point then made a right only to climb up a series of steps, like that shown below. The view in the photo is from just outside the school looking down. For the next few days or weeks that was how we got to school. Go downhill, make a right, then climb up the steps. We were just so unsure of what was where we stuck to that one routine.

At some point we learned we could ride a city bus to school. The school gave us some discount pass but we thought it was completely free. We would just show the pass and went to find a seat. I think because there were not that many immigrants back then, people’s tolerance of our ignorance was higher. We got free rides for a few weeks before one bus driver somehow explained that we had to pay a nickel for the ride. Or maybe it was a quarter. Eventually, we discovered that school was not really that far away. We ended up walking to and from school using the shortest route, which did not involve any hill repeats.

SAVE THE HOLIDAY MARATHONS - PART DEUX

So much for my speedy blogging.  When I was writing the last entry, http://www.qaptainqwerty.com/2011/10/save-holiday-marathon-series.html, I thought the article was too long and most readers would not finish it.  So I broke it up into two parts, with the first part briefly about my exploration of Staten Island then segue into my wish to further explore the Bronx, via participation in the Holiday Marathons series.  The free, fee-less Holiday Marathons series is a great alternatives for the many paid events out there.  Sure there is no T-shirts to have but do you really need another shirt?  All you need is other runners to compete against, perhaps some cheering sections, and water and refreshment along the way.  But there was some issues between the NYC Parks and Recreation Department and as I wrote the last entry, the permit was not yet granted to the organizers of the upcoming Halloween Marathon.

I waited too long and today through the org's Facebook Page that permit was already granted.  I was going to ask everyone to go http://www.thehalloweenmarathon.com/ and fill out a message of support for the event.  Well, I am glad that, at least for the Halloween Marathon, all is well and good.  I think I will even make the trip, this time running a Half Mary in preparation for the Brooklyn Marathon in late November.

If you still want to know what was all the fuss, the Riverdale Press has it tidily summed up in this article, Parks and Retribution.  For info on the opposition to the planned renovation of the Old Putnam Trail, see http://www.savetheputnamtrail.com/

SAVE THE HOLIDAY MARATHON SERIES!!!

Last Sunday, I ran in the NYRR Staten Island Half Marathon.  Getting to the island by ferry took more energy than actually running the distance of 13.1 miles, but overall it was a worthwhile trip.  One reason I like the S.I. Half is the chance to explore the island.  Staten Island is large and the race route only covered a small area in the north of the island.  Still, that is one area I may not otherwise visit.

The Bronx is another borough of New York City that I do not visit that often.  My first home in the U.S. was actually in the Bronx, in the Kingsbridge area, to be exact.  From time to time I would visit the area if I happen to be up there, but I rarely purposely go visit the Bronx.  Sure there is the Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, and of course the NYRR Bronx Half Marathon.  Except for this year the Half was cancelled because of Hurricane Irene.

For a short time, I thought I would have a great reason to regularly visit the Bronx - the Holiday Marathon series in Van Cordlandt Park, on most major holidays, even on some "fun" holidays like Halloween.  The idea is that people normally party and eat more than they should during holidays, so why not burn some calories through running?  As a plus, the event is free to participate in, although if you can afford it, a minimum $10 donation is suggested.  There are no T-shirts to have, no unique bibs, no electronic timing, and no monetary prizes.  But there is camaraderie, water and fruits, trinkets to remember the events by, and a nice trail to run on.  The route is about six miles long, so run twice to make a Half Mary, four times to earn a Full, or whatever distance you can get enough people to run with you.  I ran in the series once and was looking forward to the Halloween event but trouble is brewing in the cauldron...

Bronx Half-Marathon, Photos from My Cell Phone's Camera

I thought I would have some free time to snap photos of my old neighborhood. The Kingsbridge area of the Bronx was my first home in the U.S., albeit for just half a year. Unfortunately, I got to the race late, had a hard time finding parking, then after the race I had to attend a luncheon to celebrate the 90+ birthday for the in-laws' clan matriarch. I took some photos along the race though, mostly the mile markers.

Bronx Half-Marathon, the Race Itself

The Bronx Half-Marathon officially started at 7 A.M. Sunday 15 August 2010.  Before that there was the national anthem followed by the horn, not unlike the much-hated vuvuzela of South Africa.  I think I was still on the queue to use the portable john.  No rush, really, I won't be running at 7 but my time will be counted only when I cross the Start line.  I walked slowly into the corral and stretched a little on the side.  Around 7:15 or so, I finally started my race.

Believe it or not, the first thing I thought when I finally ran was "Oh no, what did I get myself into?  Three hours, 13 miles, such long and big numbers!"  I thought back to my blog entry about lòng người ngại núi e sông (the human spirit fearing the mountain and the river) and pressed on.  Mile #1 came up pretty soon, where JHS 143 was located.  I took a photo of the store that I was sure used to be a different kind of deli, with a video arcade machine outside, where I lost a few quarters to Space Invaders.  Somehow I missed Mile #2 but even before I reached the Moshulu Parkway the leading man already ran back toward my group of runners.  The Moshulu Parkway was described as scenic but I was too busy running to really take it all in.  I only looked forward to where the course looped back, U-turn, on the Moshulu so we know we got another leg of the race covered.  At Mile #5, back at JHS 143, I feel a tingling pain on the right foot as I stepped down.  Luckily, it was nothing major and I continued back to the area of the start line.  For some reason, I got annoyed by a pair of power walkers in front of me.  It didn't look like real work to me, as they don't actually run but just walk very quickly.  Still, they managed to stay ahead of me - that's enough reason to be annoyed, right?  At some point I managed to run past them.  Rounding the corner to pass the start line and head for Mile #6, somehow I pulled a muscle in my left hip.  Past the portable johns and I was again on the Moshulu Parkway, but only until I reached the Grand Concourse.  Mile #7 was pretty much at the entrance to the Concourse, with Mile #8 around the dip that crossed Fordham Road.  Onward I pressed to around 183rd Street then a U-turn on the Concourse to reach Mile #9.  I noticed some woman using me as a goal to keep up with.  She alternately ran and walked and the tactic seemed to work.  I couldn't shake her off with my constant pace.  After Mile #11 we were back to the Moshulu for the last time.  I think around the U-turn on the Moshulu to get to Mile #12, I finally ran away from the woman.  Just before Mile #13, some man was trying to keep up with me and we were running shoulder to shoulder for a few minutes.  I offered to race him to the finish line and he accepted, but then I started to sprint and he could not keep up.  Pity my sprinting does not look that fast in the Brightroom video.  Sprint!  The page is actually for someone who finished a tad before me.  On my own page, the video does not include me at all.  I think there was a mistake. Jump!

Compared to the Queens Half-Marathon, the weather was great.  It was not hot and even the sun was not shining.  As a result, I did not have to stop at water stations as much, or get sprayed on.  My finish time was almost 20 minutes faster.  It really helped that I did not walk at all, only briefly through the water stations where I stopped for water.  I also paused to take photos.  Maybe I should skip the photos next time to improve the time even more.

Bronx Half-Marathon, the Race to Get There

Ah, the best laid schemes of mice and men.  The Bronx Half-Marathon this past Sunday was my second race in a long time.  It was held not too far from my first home in the U.S., in the Kingsbridge area of the Bronx.  I thought by then I would be familiar with the format of the race and would arrive early to snap a few photos of the old neighborhood.  I got my bib number, tank top, and timing tag (D-tag) on the Thursday before the race.  That same night, I got the bib attached to the shirt, D-tag looped securely around my left sneaker's lace.  The night before the event, I packed a change of clothes in a small duffel bag.  With the Queens Half, I packed on the morning of the race and only realized I forgot the change of clothes when I parked at the event.  Nothing would go wrong this time, so I thought.

I got up early at 4:30 in the morning and out of the house by 5.  Less than half-way there, the car complained that gas was low.  (A subway stop is close to the race start line but traveling from Brooklyn to the Bronx on the subway really early on Sunday is probably not a safe thing to do.)  I knew that normal usage would allow the car to go another 15 miles or so even after the low-gas indicator came up.  However, I really don't like to take chances.  Who know, I might have enough gas to get to the race but maybe it won't be enough to go back.  I lived in the Bronx for only a few months and rarely visit the borough so I am not familiar with locations of gas stations.  Better get gas before arriving at the Bronx Half.

I figured it would be safest to get off the highway while in Manhattan.  The idea of getting off the Gowanus and visit some gas station on Brooklyn's Third Avenue or Fourth Avenue, at 5+ in the morning, was not very attractive.  I got off the FDR Drive at the Queensborough Bridge exit and went straight for the gas station at York and 65th Street (?).  Alas, the attendant was AWOL and all the pumps were unusable.  Only one prompted me to swipe the credit card but by the time I backed my car near that pump, it timed out on the prompt for zip code and it too was not usable.  In the end, I went somewhere I was familiar with, Washington Heights, where I occasionally go with the in-laws to visit the clan's matriarch.  The original plan was to cross University Bridge but in the end I went with the 155th Street Bridge instead.  Good thing I had a good sense of direction so even with all the bad turns I still made it to the Bronx before 6 AM.  One hour to race time!

The Queens Half-Marathon took place mostly in Flushing Meadows Park, with some free parking spaces on the park's inner perimeter.  With the Bronx Half, you only have a handful of paid parking lots and whatever little street parking you can find.  With all the delay in getting gas for the car, I got there too late to find parking.  I ended up parking two subway stations away, at University Avenue and Fordham Road, on the edge of Devoe Park and looking at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church.  It was a long walk to the race!

Thanks to the timing system, even though I was technically late to the race, my own race did not start until whenever I crossed the start line.  That was when the computer would detect my D-tag and start to log my time.  Of course at some point latecomers would not be allowed to run, but I was not that late.  I did a little stretching within the race corral, on the side, with others eager running past me.  I finally crossed the start line at around 7:15 A.M.

First Home in the U.S.

Not content to just put up a bunch of photos of my old home in the Bronx that I scanned in with the relatively new Fujitsu ScanSnap S300M, I've mapped them out below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/qaptainqwerty/BronxHome/photo#map

I suggest zooming in all the way to see the photos at their most approximate locations. To avoid covering the street names, I sometimes put the photos a bit off their exact spots.

Each photo has a nugget of recollection of my early life in the U.S., but you will need to see the photos in their full size to be able to read the text. Enjoy!