Dec 20, 2008

Outside the Austen House, looking out to the Narrows, just when the snow started mixing with a torrent of ice pellets. It was gray and beautiful, but here it looks like a scene from the trailer of The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which I’ve never seen because I can’t handle movies about demonic possesion. I’ve heard it’s very good, though. I started volunteering at the House today. I’m starting out doing data entry, but I also edited a transcript of an audio tour of the house. The accent of the woman on the tape was peculiar. We were sure she was making up words as she went. But the good thing about editing a transcript of audio tours is that there are plenty of pauses, to allow visitors time for walking. If you didn’t know, Alice Austen was a documentary photographer during the late 1800s to early 1900s. She is notable for capturing immigrants who landed in New York. I really like her work, I think she’s a fascinating figure and I love anything that involves the history of the city. But I’m volunteering, because she’s from my neighborhood, and back when I was a pothead kid, the rocky beach beneath her home (Penny Beach) was my favorite place to smoke up. I’d watch the ships come in, cars merge on to the Belt Parkway and stare at the city skyline until I got the hungry and walked up Hylan Boulevard to the Convenient Store, where I’d buy Little Debbie Fudge Rounds for a quarter. I still go there and watch the Narrows, but nowadays, I just bring a few White Castles. This is my way of saying thanks.

Outside the Austen House, looking out to the Narrows, just when the snow started mixing with a torrent of ice pellets. It was gray and beautiful, but here it looks like a scene from the trailer of The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which I’ve never seen because I can’t handle movies about demonic possesion.

I’ve heard it’s very good, though.

I started volunteering at the House today. I’m starting out doing data entry, but I also edited a transcript of an audio tour of the house. The accent of the woman on the tape was peculiar. We were sure she was making up words as she went. But the good thing about editing a transcript of audio tours is that there are plenty of pauses, to allow visitors time for walking.

If you didn’t know, Alice Austen was a documentary photographer during the late 1800s to early 1900s. She is notable for capturing immigrants who landed in New York. I really like her work, I think she’s a fascinating figure and I love anything that involves the history of the city. But I’m volunteering, because she’s from my neighborhood, and back when I was a pothead kid, the rocky beach beneath her home (Penny Beach) was my favorite place to smoke up. I’d watch the ships come in, cars merge on to the Belt Parkway and stare at the city skyline until I got the hungry and walked up Hylan Boulevard to the Convenient Store, where I’d buy Little Debbie Fudge Rounds for a quarter. I still go there and watch the Narrows, but nowadays, I just bring a few White Castles.

This is my way of saying thanks.



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