Commentary: I'll Walk and Show You Photos

You make up stories to go with the photos

Fulton Street on a chilly spring eveningPhoto byTammy Remington

Everywhere we walk, we’re surrounded by stories. Whatever direction we look in, there’s another one unfolding. Or one that just unfolded. So here’s what I propose. I’ll show you the photos I take when I’m out walking and you tell me the stories that come to mind when you see them. And, me being a writer and all, I’ll chime in from time to time.

For example, what do you think was happening in the Bout Fight club as I paused on Fulton Street recently to grab that shot?

Can we get any odds on how long that cannabis shop will last?

Here’s a juicy one. Who tossed that deck of tarot cards on a Harlem sidewalk and why?

Feeling....unlucky?Photo byAleXander Hirka* - Used with permission

Did they get a bad reading? Something they couldn’t face? Or did a client grab them and fling them on the ground, demanding a refund? I want to know why that deck of tarot cards was out there on the street.

Any wild guesses?

Let me ask you this one, then. What does it mean that the random card I selected from the sidewalk was The Star? Hmmmmm?

Not saying anything with this, just showing the card that called to me from the sidewalk.Photo byTammy Remington

Speaking of random cards found on the sidewalk, do we suspect that five of clubs carries any special significance? 

I’ll tell you a story now.

My friend, Dennis, picked up a curious habit as a teenager in Florida. He began collecting playing cards he found on the sidewalk, in parking lots, on streets and saving them to put together a complete deck of 52. The rules are that he has to find the card. We who might be tempted to pick up that five of clubs and mail it to him in Santa Fe are discouraged from so doing. Dennis is now in his mumble-mumble (40s) and has something like 48 of the full deck collected.

Can anyone use a spare five of clubs?Photo byTammy Remington

So I can’t send him that card — assuming he still needs a five of clubs — but I can send him a photo which gave us a chance to chat.

Your turn (the tarot cards were just a warm-up).

If you look carefully, you’ll notice that inside that stairway down to the J and Z trains there is a Beauty Health Spa. In fifty words or more, tell me how a Beauty and Health Spa wound up tucked into a subway stop stairway? Go wild. Tell me about the kinds of people who frequent such a place. Introduce me to the owner and his family. 

More Fulton StreetPhoto byTammy Remington

This next one stopped me in my tracks. Talk about stories stacked on top of stories. Wow! What building recently got demolished so that at least ten stories of windows suddenly let in sunshine for the first time in who knows how long? It doesn’t look like an office building, not with all those differently lit and covered windows. Who lives there? I want to visit you! Before the construction next door gets started.

I'm guessing this is not a subsidized building. Too bad.Photo byAleXander Hirka* - Used with permission

The ubiquitous outdoor dining sheds that shot up like mushrooms after a rain during the pandemic are beginning to get thinned out. The city has gone through and dismantled many that were disintegrating on their own, just not quickly enough, but some establishments have other ideas. Some of these babies are here to stay. Let’s pause to invent the phone calls that the owner of 44 Bedford Street made to ensure this gem stays intact.

Not exactly outdoor dining but built to last.Photo byTammy Remington

Before calling it a night and leaving you to work out the stories that I know are jumping around in your head right now, here’s a sure sign that the pandemic is over. At least as far as young people who want to dance are concerned.

Not everyone is hiding indoors!Photo byTammy Remington

And just to keep the fun going, I leave you with these random shots taken in the past week or so around the city.

Now, get busy on those stories!

Where was the original Roxy?Photo byAleXander Hirka* - Used with permission

The shadows of the trees are at least as interesting as the artPhoto byAleXander Hirka* - Used with permission

This would be such a great place to live....until the next Superstorm Sandy hits.Photo byAleXander Hirka* - Used with permission

This was fun. Let’s do it again.