Too long

[redbird]

I just spent four hours going to and from the radiology place in Yonkers to get my old films. Yes, the buses are less frequent on weekends. But this is why I wanted to do that, so from now on I can go to the West Side, and use up far less time. Three buses in each direction, one of them instead of a subway and incredibly slow for the first mile or thereabouts.

For reference: Yonkers is the city just north of New York. There are bus connections between the Westchester "Bee Line" system and NYC transit, and in fact the systems are sufficiently integrated that I can use my unlimited-ride metrocard on the Westchester buses as well.

On the other hand, the receptionist at the radiology place was helpful and efficient. Also, on the way up, I noticed a little bit of parkland labeled "Tail of Van Cortlandt." It's tucked in next to the street, just south of the actual Van Cortlandt Park; I suspect the nice plantings, benches, and names are all recent.

Comments

Yonkers, Van Cortlandt, and all the rest

[peoppenheimer]

You are resting now, I trust. I was born in Yonkers General Hospital and brought home to an apartment in the Bronx, in a part of Riverdale where young families who could not afford to live lived, known to the sanitation workers as Corn Flake Hill because of the family size boxes of corn flakes that seemed to be the only thing the residents could afford to feed their children. I used to go frequently to Van Cortlandt park. There was a year, roughly from when I was 9.5 to 10.5 years old, when I took buses and subways down to Central Park (alone!) and walked to The Museum, where I spent the day. Sometimes I had managed to earn $0.50 for admission to the planetarium; I dreamed of the day when I would have $10.00 for an annual membership to the museum and could go to the planetarium whenever I wanted.

Here in the Valley of the Sun, people drive cars, and children have scheduled play dates their parents drive them to. Until recently, almost no one walked, and there was almost no public transportation. Most places are pedestrian hostile. Growing up in New York had some advantages!