Ghost Stories on the Radio - Updated 10/31

I told ghost stories on WFUV-FM radio (90.7FM) this Saturday morning, Oct. 31, at 7:30 a.m. WFUV-FM is the station of Fordham University. If you missed the show, (it WAS a bit early), you can hear it on the podcast. Click on: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510086 and then click on Halloween Show.... You can can also find the show at http://www.wfuv.org/audio/archive/index.html after Nov. 9, 2009.

Had a great, final ghost tour of the season today in Central Park. I'm always happy to see familiar faces and meet new people from all over the country. Hope to see you soon!

A Glorious, Spooky Autumn Day

I can't believe I haven't posted to this blog since Labor Day! I thought autumn was slowly chugging along.

Today, I led my ghost tour of the Upper West Side. The morning was rainy, a bit foggy -- perfect spectral weather! Sandy Sanford, my charming husband and (ta-da!) lovely assistant, told a great story about crime in the Majestic Apartments and things got spookier as we went along. We explored Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, the Naumberg bandshell, a stand of ancient American Elm trees, statues, and a series of story-book carvings by Jacob Wrey Mould. (You can see some of these images on my Facebook page, "Dering Walking Tours.") Later, we wound our way through a hushed and eerie part of the Ramble. I ended the tour across from the New-York Society Library with a favorite story of a bookish ghost.

Witch Designed by Mould
Photo by Maria Dering

Eerie moans and screams were provided by the haunted house that was part of the Pumpkin Festival at Bethesda Terrace -- saw lots of families carving pumpkins, Park Rangers displaying giant papier-mache spiders (or maybe they weren't just paper ...), children having their faces painted, and everyone enjoying Central Park.

Next week is my final public ghost tour of the season: 11 a.m. on Hallowe'en! I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful autumn!

Labor Day

I am glad it's Labor Day. I am not a fan of summer, never have been. Too hot, too many mosquitoes, too boring and too little work. Several years ago, I saw a commercial on Lifetime TV where the tag line was "waiting for summer." Beautiful scrapbook-size photos eased their way across the screen: the seashore, a family digging in the sand -- bucolic bliss. Must exist for some, but not for me.

I'm up early, laboring on labor day; you can read the results at my new blog, http://ghostly-ghosts.blogspot.com Now we enter the season of light and sound and color, the start of everything. Stay tuned for more posts that I promise will be less cynical.

Meteorology

Why does it smell like Fall at the end of July?

Are there ghosts in the gingko trees, combing out the last bits of summer?

Has August come and gone, scattering her glow on the tip of a match?

Missed the eclipse, but I hear the sound of the boxcars on Damen Avenue, the whistle in the night, a rumble of light through trees in the open window. A long yesterday ago.

Summer night -- no stars -- only the light from the toy shop where they are working late.

Tango and the End of Civilization

This evening I heard Hector del Curto's Eternal Tango Quintet at the Main Squeeze Accordion Festival in Riverside Park.

Photo by Maria A. Dering

The program was arranged beautifully, a mix of classic and new tangos, starting and ending with driving arrangements of merciless Astor Piazzolla compositions. Listening to these pieces made me think of fin de siecle Vienna, Gustav Mahler, all the doomed heroes of Thomas Mann, Evita Peron, and the dark corners of history. Especially in the 1920s and 1930s, tango seemed to be a harbinger of the end of civilization ...

Photo by Maria A. Dering

Saved by music??

To hear clips of del Curto's group, visit http://www.hectordelcurto.com/eternaltango_project.html

Take heart!

Fireworms

I had a great time watching the fireworks over the Hudson River tonight. However, my photos look like fireworms.

Photo by Maria A. Dering

Happy Independence Day to one and all, and good night.

Independence Day 2009

Today I spent a wonderful afternoon at the New-York Historical Society, located on Central Park West between 76-77th Streets. To celebrate the 4th of July, the N-YHS offered a full day of free exhibitions, storytelling, re-enactor drills and conversation, popcorn, pretzels, chips, and icy cold beverages.

When I saw these two re-enactors, I imagined that they were soldiers from the American Revolution who were wondering what would happen when the fighting was over. Which way would the winds of war blow?

* * * * *

On my way to the event, I passed several buildings with interesting pseudo-heraldic decorations over the doorways and along an outside wall. I've always wondered about these, as they appear on so many apartment and public buildings in Manhattan. Are these symbols designed to evoke majesty, royalty, wealth, and stability? Did the builders copy symbols from European buildings? Did the architect think they lent a certain something to a developing neighborhood? Whatever the reason, these figures make a walk on the West Side interesting and entertaining.

Here are a few examples. I wonder whose crown this is.


In the next item, the rearing lion appears on a shield that is pierced through from left to right by an arrow or spear. Look closely in the upper right hand corner of the image and you'll see the tip of the weapon.


Sorry the next photo is so blurry! See the keys and stars on the curiously-shaped shield? Looks like an eagle or mythological beast is holding the shield. This sculpture is on the outside of the American Museum of Natural History.


And now, my favorite. He looks like the personification of the North Wind or a wicked king. I wonder who the model was?

All photos in this post by Maria A. Dering.
May be copied with permission of the writer/photographer.

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Independence Day. Time to go to the fireworks!