You write your wishes/prayers on the Lantern then float it in a body of water. I’ve done various volunteer activities with this Buddhist Temple. I don’t attend as much as I used to but I still get together with my Japanese friends for Buddhist services, chanting and meditation.
My Greatest Wish is to spend more time with my brother Stephen who is an Awesome Autism Guy! ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆
An idea for this post came while I was riding the subway home. Suddenly the scents, smells, odors and fragrances of my childhood visits to Coney Island and Rockaway Playland came back to me. In a moment while I was riding on the funky L train I could actually smell, the surf, sand, the ocean and of course those World Famous Nathan’s Hot Dogs!!
Of course outside of New York Coney Island is probably the better known of the two. I remember my paternal cousins used to live in Brooklyn and when I got old enough to ride the bus from Queens into Brooklyn by myself I would visit them, making friends with their friends. One Coney Island memory stands out from all the rest. I was about 15 and I was hanging out with this boy (I was not allowed to date and I doubt I told my parents I was spending time with a boy!!) Anyway we played handball. I sucked but he put up with me and at some point we went to Coney Island. At some point he wanted to ride the famous Coney Island Cyclone roller-coaster. Now this is after we had been chowing down on hot dogs and other food! Well I finally gave in to his entreaties and on we went. Needless to say the Cyclone did not agree with me and all the food I had previous eaten was then forcibly ejected from my body. Even though the wild ride on the Cyclone had stopped my digestive system went into volcano mode with lunch becoming a memory littering the ground! I think at that point the fellow felt bad but other than that disaster over all I had a nice time.
Of course over the years I have been back to Coney Island many times but have avoided the Cyclone and ALL Roller Coasters at any venue including Six Flags!! Can’t stomach them!!
Now my brother Stephen on the other hand is totally different from me. He LOVES Roller Coasters and that includes the ones where you are suspended by a harness with your legs flying free in the breeze!! Strange how two siblings can have such different tastes!! LOL!!
Luna Park is the name of an amusement park in the neighborhood of Coney Island, Brooklyn in New York City that opened on May 29, 2010 at the former site of Astroland, an amusement park that had been in operation for 46 years.
Another great Coney Island event which I hope to attend this year is the Annual Mermaid Parade. After all I’ve been living in Brooklyn since the end of 2012 and have not made it out to the parade. Now where or not I will dress up as a Mermaid depends upon my mood and the weather as we get closer to June. I should just go ahead and order a Mermaid Costume perhaps in April. Now that will be something because I have never seen a Black Mermaid! So I may be the first African-American Mermaid unless some other Beautiful Sister has beat me to the punch.
My most vivid beach memories are of Rockaway Playland which consisted of not only the beach but arcade games that were fun to play. Go with your boyfriend or husband and get them to win one of those gigantic stuffed animals for you. Or compete with your beloved, family and friends to see whose is the fastest and who has the best aim to hit those targets!!
By the 1970s my cousins had moved to an apartment development called Bay Towers so I spent plenty of time with family, walking along the board walk and allowing the sand to sift between my toes. No Swimming because basically nobody in my family can swim!! That may have changed now since Stephen’s Residence takes him to the YMCA for swimming however I never conquered my fear of having my head underwater so I will let Stephen take the lead on this activity!
One summer beach vacation with me, Stephen, Our Dad were walking along the Boardwalk and this was the Summer Jam for 1974!! Whenever I hear this song immediately it takes me back to the Summer of 74 and Rockaway Playland!!
Once again I’m utilizing the Net access available at the Herkimer Laundromat.
Still Netless in New York. However with my trusty WordPress app by my side I continue to blog on.
Thanks go out to the Herkimer Street Laundromat and New York City Transit subway stations that have WiFi capabilities. With their assistance I bumble along as a Web less Wonder.
StrangeSurrealSubwayStories
One of the highlights of working the 4:30 pm – 12:30 am shift or for that matter any work schedule is an advanced course in people watching. I get an A++ in this class.
While standing waiting for the L train subway about 1:45 am I observed a guy eating Skippy Peanut butter out of a jar with his bare fingers and between licks drawing strange horned creatures on his sketch pad. I was able to watch while keeping a safe distance.
Fortunately as NewYork is the City that Never Sleeps the subway trains are full of people at all hours.
I will continue with more weird and wacky subway tales in future blog posts.
Actually I had two favorite subjects. English and History or back then it was called Current Events.
If you could have a servant come to your house every day for two hours, what would you have them do?
My Laundry!!
Where did you live when you were in the third grade of school? Is it the same place or town you live now?
Third Grade. I would have been age 9. I Lived on 115th Road in St. Albans, Queens, NY. I no longer live there. Now I Live in Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY. The below photo taken March 1964 is Stephen and I sitting on the stoop of our home. I was 5 Stephen would have been 3.
Me and Stephen March 1964 Home 115th Road St. Albans, Queens, NY
In your opinion, list some places that are great for shopping?
Jamaica Avenue. Downtown Jamaica, Queens. Today I scored two winter sweaters for only $3 a piece. That’s $6.00 of warmth!!
Green Acres shopping mall located in Long Island, New York
Fulton Street Brooklyn New York
Lord & Taylor located near 37th or 38th Streets on Fifth Avenue.
Actually there are many funky, fun, fascinating places to shop in New York but those are the once that come to mind immediately.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m Grateful for this wonderful email message that I received from my brother Stephen yesterday. Here is the message. Please don’t mind the spelling. I think Stephen is doing quite well for an Autism Guy. He is wonderful.
Good morning sister, hi how are you doing today. I got your massage and will make you another picture, and bring it when i come to see you again.
I had a great week at program. we had a party , we sang songs and dance , they had stacks and soda there it was a good time . thank you for the halloween costumes .
I really like the knight costume, I wore it to the party and my fiends liked it i had a good time.
I’m grateful for the fun that Stephen and I had at today’s Halloween party held at AABR which is a Training Center for Developmentally Disabled Adults located in Jamaica, Queens, NY.
Given that one of my good friends passed away last week and I attended her wake/viewing I’m grateful for Life. I look forward to not only being Alive but enjoying Life and having Fun.
Decided to take an evening constitutional. Fortified myself with the other half of my Subway sandwich, collected my umbrella and small travel purse, keys, Metro Card in case I got too tired and had to take the bus, put on a light jacket and of course made sure that I went to the bathroom before neighborhood striding!!
Stuck to Fulton Street which is a major thoroughfare in Brooklyn. Plenty of bright street lights and folks are out and about. Many are returning from shopping, visiting friends and/or family or on their way home from work.
Started out at 9:30 pm. Most of the rain had subsided but I was still anointed by rain drops descending from the trees. Continued my trek from Rockaway Avenue a little past Utica Avenue and made my turn around at Boys & Girls High School. Took half an hour to get to Utica so that’s why I reversed my course so I could be back home within an hour.
I accomplished my goal plus I had the pleasure of a resurgence serene divine essence from Heaven. Now when I say peace and serenity I do not mean quiet. I Live in Brooklyn specifically the Inner City. As soon as I stepped out the door I was greeted by wailing EMS and police sirens!! My neighborhood is loud! I mean high volume. However I’m used to all types of loud noises. I’ve learned to sleep through Be-Bop, Doo-Wop, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Block Parties, Noisy neighbors, etc…. Yes I do have insomnia but that probably comes from inner turmoil and stress.
The warm caress of showers brought internal Blessings. I was Walking in the Rain with the Ones I Love = Me, Myself and I!! Yes I Feel So Good!! In this Warm Soft Autumn Rain I Reign…..
Walking In The Rain 1972
Bible Verses Regarding Rain
James 5:18 – And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Leviticus 26:4 – Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Zechariah 10:1 – Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; [so] the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
Isaiah 55:10 – For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
1 Kings 18:41-45 – And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for [there is] a sound of abundance of rain. (Read More…)
1 Kings 8:35 – When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
Jeremiah 14:22 – Are there [any] among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? [art] not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these [things].
Psalms 72:6 – He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers [that] water the earth.
Jeremiah 5:24 – Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
Zechariah 14:17 – And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up of [all] the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
James 5:17 – Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
Hosea 6:3 – Then shall we know, [if] we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter [and] former rain unto the earth.
Acts 14:17 – Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
Espiritu en Fuego/A Fiery Spirit 