Gee Whiz...It's Halloween

(Originally published on 10/30/18)

These are definitely times that try men's souls—and women's souls, too. Happily, there are welcome and necessary distractions on the horizon. First there's Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and the—pièce de ré·sis·tance—Christmas. Wait a minute...wait a minute...wait a minute. Some people will be offended by other people's Halloween costumes. And Thanksgiving will be seen by a fair share of folks as celebrating historical misdeeds, not to mention gluttony and cruelty to turkeys. Then there's Christmas with its religious trappings in public places and cries of an outright "War on Christmas." If there is actually such a thing, it's a futile one. The candy canes, wrapping paper, and Whitman Samplers are already filling up the aisles of local stores. In a couple of days, Christmas music will be playing on the radio without pause for the next two months.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Gee Whiz diner in Tribeca.

Look what the tide dragged in...or the sewers dragged out.

Moments after this photo was taken at Battery Park, I spied a rather somber chap paddling a canoe in the distance. He had a tear running down his cheek.

The Bronx is up but the Battery is down, the latter being where the "Best Hot Dog in New York" can be found.

In an episode of The Munsters entitled "Herman the Rookie," the legendary Leo Durocher gets whacked in the head by an airborne baseball. He queries his companion as to the location of the nearest ball field. When he learns that it's eight long blocks away, Durocher employs a bit of logic and deduces that's where the ball first took flight. He then sets out to find the obvious hitting prodigy—the wind beneath the wings of the errant ball—and sign him to a big league contract. And it turned out to be, by the way, none other than Herman Munster. Recently, I cast my eyes upon this impressive line of trophies in an apartment building's window and thought about Leo Durocher and his razor-sharp logical thinking. Who is the wunderkind therein, I asked? Sign that mystery kid up to something.

The quartet was a no-show.

It is said that a zebra can't change its stripes. But a New York City subway zebra board can when a station is closed for repairs. Well, at least the color of its stripes, which go from black to red.

What will they think of next? Traffic signs with drunk drivers in mind.

New York City is a diverse town. Sundry garbage as well...

While on the subject of refuse. Here's a shot of a tourist posing for a picture with a New York City garbage scow as the backdrop. 

Some squirrels have all the luck. This fortunate fellow calls home the environs of Battery Park with a bird's-eye view of Lady Liberty.

Whiskey, you're the devil.

Not really sure how effective this campaign is going to be.

If you look hard enough, you'll eventually find a pizza pie with your name on it.

The George Washington Bridge is always a better visual from afar.

Birds flying south for the winter? No, pigeons in flight to their nearby lair—the W238th Street subway station in the Bronx—where they regularly roost and shower the two-legged on the street below with feathers and excrement.

Daytime moon over a man called Q-Ball's building.

Say it ain't so: Ben and Willard are facing eviction.

(Photos from the personal collection of Nicholas Nigro)