My First 35mm Camera

I am trying to do some cleaning up and throwing out.  I came across a small faded print of this self-portrait I shot in the bathroom mirror, I am guessing.  I had used an old 620 roll-film camera I got from my mom, and then I bought a Brownie Hawkeye.  But when I used money from my paper route to buy a 35mm camera, it felt as if I had finally arrived!  It had a rapid-advance film lever that was operated with my thumb, just like the pros and their Leicas.  I bought it, by the way, from Lafayette Radio, which was located here on Long Island, of all places.  I have no idea what happened to this camera, unfortunately.  I kind of wish I still had this.  I am a pack rat, so I have most of my other cameras I owned after this.

When I Get Old...

...will I look like this?  I carved the Jack-O-Lantern early this year and by the time Halloween came around this punkin was looking pretty tired.  And by today this guy was full of fruit flies and there was mold all inside him, and his mouth is not looking so good.  When I saw him I began to wonder if I will look like this when I get older.  I guess if I do, at least I will be smiling...   :-)

The Bible?

I was using the men's room at one of the seashore parks in Rhode Island, and when I went to wash my hands I was stunned to see this tiny "Bible" sitting on the soap dispenser!  What?  I think this is the strangest place to see something like this!  On closer look, I discovered that it is not in fact, an actual Bible, but as it says on the cover "Verses of Comfort, Assurance, Salvation."  Well, if leaving this little book in a men's room eventually is helpful to bring comfort to someone, then all the better.  After looking at it, I left it where it was.

Astronomy Jamboree

I spent the day at the Astronomy Jamboree at Custer Institute in Southold.  It is something that I attend every year.  A day of great speakers on astronomy and a chance to meet up with old friends.  This is Joe Rao, a TV meteorologist who is also an eclipse chaser, which means he will travel all over the world if necessary, to view an eclipse.  He gave a wonderful talk about the history of his fascination with eclipses that began when he talked his father into driving 900 miles into Canada to see an eclipse when he was just a teenager! 

"The Little Nash Rambler..."

I was driving in Glen Cove, and I saw this car, which was parked, flash by out of the corner of my eye!  I couldn't believe it!  It took me about 5 minutes to do a U-turn and then find a place to park, and I hoped the woman wouldn't drive away.  When I finally walked back to talk to her, she said that she had just had her brakes done, and as she was driving along, her brakes apparently came on, and she couldn't move the car!  So she was parked waiting for a tow truck.  I asked if I could photograph her and her magnificent car, and she said "sure."

So this is not a Nash "Rambler."  It is a one-of-a-kind Nash Metropolitan.  They made four of these and each one was named for a particular city.  This one was on display at the New York Auto Show in 1960.  This woman is only the third owner, and the car still has the original paint!  Don't you love that the owner has a matching pink silk jacket?

Marble House

This is Marble House, one of the magnificent mansions on the coast of Newport, Rhode Island.  The most famous of these is "The Breakers," and "Rosecliff" is another.  I believe that this is one of the smaller mansions, but man oh man, it is no slouch when it comes to elegance.  For an American house, it was unparalleled in design and opulence when it was built.  The mansion was built as a summer "cottage" retreat between 1888 and 1892 for William K. Vanderbilt and his wife.  The fifty-room mansion required a staff of 36 servants, including butlers, maids, coachmen, and footmen.  And it was only used six weeks out of the year!

 The dining room, featuring pink Numidian marble, imported from Africa.

This painting is on the ceiling of the front entrance way.

This is the Gothic room, designed to display Alva Vanderbilt's collection of Medieval and Renaissance decorative objects.with a cut stone fireplace with incredible detail, and cut stone in the ceiling.

The main entrance stairway in the front of the building is made of marble, but the light was harsh and I was unable to get a good photograph.  This is the back stairway, used for servants.  But look at the beautiful design and workmanship.

And this is another view of the front of the mansion.  I have wanted to see some of the Newport mansions for years, and just seeing this one was really a thrill.  We will have to come back and see some of the others.  There are 11 buildings all together now open to the public as museums run by the Preservation Society of Newport County.  It is amazing that all of these buildings have been preserved.

It's Gone!

Well, not this toll booth, at least not yet.  We came across the Throg's Neck Bridge and I was stunned to see that the toll booths were GONE!  We haven't crossed the bridge in a month or so, and there was some construction going on, but we had no idea what was coming.  They have replaced the toll booths with E-ZPass transponders which allow drivers to go under the radio receivers at 45 MPH.  And if you don't have E-ZPass, a camera will take a photo of your license plate as you drive away, and then New York State sends you a bill.  I wonder how many will not pay the bill?  But I will tell you this, there is NO traffic backup coming off the Throg's Neck Bridge!  So most likely these toll booths are next on the chopping block!