Not too way back I discussed that for years now I’ve been unwittingly driving proper previous not solely a ghost practice station however a monument to Accomplice conflict veterans. Properly, yesterday morning I discovered myself in that very same spot as soon as once more. So I figured I’d go try the monument:
Even I, a strident bicycle owner, typically really feel self acutely aware about exhibiting as much as sure locations by bicycle. I suppose this the ability of cultural conditioning–one way or the other arriving at a cemetery on a diminutive bicycle is inappropriate, but arriving in a gas-guzzling Cadillac is respectful. “Will I be turned away?,” I questioned absurdly to myself. Rehearsing the alternate in my head, I went on to clarify to the imaginary safety guard that I used to be merely there to go to the monument to the individuals who bravely fought to protect the Confederacy and the establishment of slavery, although it occurred to me that this is able to most likely go over much more poorly than the bicycle.
“Ah, no matter, I’m sporting black, I’ll be high quality,” I finally determined–although whereas I preserve that the bicycle is on no account disrespectful, it’s troublesome to make the identical argument for the shorts:
The monument is the largest obelisk within the joint, and I’ve seen it earlier than, although till studying that plaque I simply figured it was for some wealthy man or one thing:
Right here’s the inscription:
In accordance with a doc on the City of Greenburgh’s web site, the monument commemorates “40 Accomplice veterans
who got here to New York after the Civil Struggle and have become effectively revered residents within the New York Metropolitan Space:”
Whereas I’m not a kind of individuals who have left Twitter in a huff, do I exploit it lots much less now than I used to, principally as a result of I noticed it was principally simply making me irritable. One of many extra irritating points of Twitter is what individuals consult with because the “tradition wars,” and also you’ll see individuals saying stuff like, “America is headed in direction of one other Civil Struggle!” This virtually sounds believable till you cease taking a look at Twitter for a number of days and notice how silly it’s–and it appears much more silly if you’re standing on the grave of somebody who fought in and survived the precise Civil Struggle. It’s not that historical past can’t repeat itself; it’s extra like historical past doesn’t repeat itself in a approach that’s handy to individuals’s Twitter narratives, and oddly we’d all most likely all be happier if we spent much less time taking a look at our telephones and extra time taking a look at graves and monuments. Graves and monuments put issues in perspective, whereas social media solely distorts them.
I suppose every little thing appears tinged with the supernatural if you’re standing in a cemetery, nevertheless it was troublesome to not really feel as if the place of the solar at this second was extremely important one way or the other:
It was just like the monolith in 2001:
And regardless that it’s a totally completely different film, I wanted I had my Employees of Ra with me:
I used to be particularly aggravated with myself for leaving it at dwelling since I used to be even driving a motorbike with a pump peg.
Alas, with no hope of discovering the Ark of the Covenant, I continued my trip, which took me previous one other cemetery I trip by very often:
I questioned if this cemetery additionally contained any monuments which may make some individuals immediately really feel uncomfortable, comparable to a mausoleum full of people that married their underage first cousins.
Truly, now we have the same memorial right here within the Bronx:
You’ve acquired to know your literary historical past and/or your New York Metropolis landmarks for that one.
As for the bike I used to be driving, it was the Normcore Bike:
Whereas the bike has been operating very properly for fairly a while, now that it’s my major street bike (in the intervening time) I felt it wanted a bit of one thing additional:
And so I modified the tires:
Whereas fairly gentle and (ugh) supple, I’d discovered these tires to be a bit dainty for on a regular basis use, and so I put them on my elder son’s observe bike since there’s lots much less damaged glass on the velodrome. (I imply we’re speaking Kissena so after all there’s damaged glass, there’s simply much less of it’s what I’m saying.) Nonetheless like a moth to the cliché I can’t assist myself, and so I figured I’d strive them on the Normcore Bike, and I gotta say the bike instantly felt quicker:
Although as quickly as I get a flat I’ll begin railing towards supple tires once more, as a result of that’s what individuals like me do once we’re not complaining about change on the whole:
The actual fantastic thing about the Normcore Bike is that it’s simply as dwelling within the countryside as it’s locked to a chainlink* fence:
*[Don’t worry, it wasn’t locked to the actual chainlink part.]
