REFLECTIONS: My First Jaunt 'Cross Da "Boulevard Of Death".

I was already running/walking long before I took the SFP Track & Field team member sign up sheet from Brother Kent. You can say I was always an adventure punk. One time when I was 12 years old, I decided to go on a trek to the World Trade Center. At that time I lived at 72-11 110th Street in a six-story brownstone in Forest Hills, Queens. It was directly across the street from the Kennedy Building, a skyscraper on the north side of Queens Boulevard.

THE SUCRAM MUCUS BOULEVARD EPIC

Marcus Colon, or"Sucram Mucus"as my friend Doug Botero and I used to joke, had met me by our school, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs. He wanted to join my insanity. In fact, he was already warming up his craziness, when he ran diagonally across Queens Boulevard .... AGAINST TRAFFIC. Remember, this is Queens Boulevard we are talking about. The Boulevard that was dubbed the name, "Boulevard of Death".

I don't remember all of the details, but I do remember it was unseasonably warm that April month in 1979. We walked down Queens Boulevard, passing Alexander's on 63rd Road, and then Queens Center, a still famous shopping center. Back then Queens Center primarily consisted of another, now-defunct, department store, A&S (Abraham & Strauss). We walked, we jogged, we walked some more. Before long the subway was over our heads, and the Queensboro Bridge was directly in front of us. It was a Saturday, so the pedestrian lane of the bridge was open to the public. But we didn't know any better. Heck, this was the first time I had ever crossed this bridge on foot.

In fact, I barely ever going over this bridge at all, even by car. The only time that I remembered by car was one time when my mother was driving into the city. I had to pee real bad and was about to go in my pants (oh shit...err i mean...oh pee).

She bailed me out with a cup and a blanket. The cup was my toilet. The blanket was to cover me while I did it, so that no one stuck on the bridge with us got a free show. To this day, I don't know whatever happened to that cup o' pee.... Cup' O' Pee... LOL. Sounds like Dunkin' Donuts Box O' Joe. LOL...

Crossing the bridge and getting into "Metropolis" was like finding a buried treasure to me. There is quite nothing more spectacular then arriving into Manhattan. The skyscrapers are both wonderful and intimidating at the same time. And I was 12 years old! Hello! Where were the parents?!

We made it down to Sixth avenue because one time I was at the Fifth avenue book fair, and I remembered it stopped at the arch (Washington Square) only. Avenue of the Americas is a very wide avenue, which helped us to see forever. Even on this mildly hot and very hazy day. We got to the Twin Towers & I felt like I had climbed Mt Everest. We rode the lift to the top. It was amazing. Well worth the 12+mile walk/jog/sprint across red lit roads.

Coming back, we hopped aboard the "E" train at the last stop of the train at the time. For some reason I thought it was Chambers Street, but now as I look, it appears that there is one stop further south called World Trade Center (which is no longer there). Is it possible that stop was added after 1979?

Our Lady Queen of Fond Memories

7 days running in a row.
Add another 9 miles to the resume.
Sweat is good.

Every so often, (I admit this only because I am try to be a truthful soul), I have a tendency to let my curiosity get the best of me. I love to think of a question to ask myself, and then figure out the answer for it. I guess that's why I'm an engineer, and I guess that's why I love the computer so much. The feeling of resolution. Ahhhh. Goes down like a nice, crisp, refreshing soft drink on a hot, summer's day.

Tonight, the question was, "I wonder how everyone that I went to school at Our Lady Queen Of Martyrs are doing?" I was a borderline straight A student there. I was also the class clown.
I can and will tell many stories about my fabled and wonderful three years at OLQM, but for this post, I'll just be specific and tell you about two people who I went to school with that seem to be doing well, and that's just great!

Jason Vega. Long time musician. As long as I first met him, and that was in 7th grade. He loved all the rock bands of the time, and he went on to live his dream. I'm sure it's not his only source of revenue. He probably has a 9 to 5 like the rest of us, but I stumbled across his website the tonight ---> http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=21548960.
By the looks of it, he's really enjoying his life and that's great. He's always been a stand-up guy.

Jay, cranking out the bass at Giants Stadium. Most Impressive.

Lisa Shik. Wow. It's amazing how names never leave one's brain. Although, I must admit, Shik isn't something one typically sees in phone book either. I always remembered Lisa as being one of the smart girls in class, and she was always a kind person too. I used to remember her big round glasses she used to wear. Anyway, Googling her tonight produced the most amazing find. I saw an article depicting a woman named Lisa Shik. Lisa Shik from Boulder, Colorado. Well, I became a bit skeptical at first, but when I kept reading on, it mentioned that she moved there some 22 years ago....from NY. Then it said her age. Same as mine.

So what was the article about, you ask?

Lisa Shik, the Registered Nurse, is also Lisa Shik the competitive triathlete! And not just any tri-athlete either. She has been competing in the IRONMAN TRIATHLONS. And doing well, I might add. I kept reading, in fascination (and Lisa if you stumble across this, please know that I am in completely in awe of your strength, and determination) and it denoted that she spends about 14 hours a week training. God Bless. I love running, and biking too. But swimming? I might drown just sitting next to a glass of water. I can swim, but I suck. Plain and simple.
Below is a snapshot of the article, but if you want a better read then just click on the link below...
http://hospicecareonline.org/01_aboutus/news/newsletters/2005_winter.pdf

I was impressed by both Jason and Lisa, and I salute them both. Looks like our elementary school has had a bumper crop of established folks. Not surprising. Most everyone in my graduation class were very nice. Not too many bullies to speak of, and by the 8th grade, I somehow was given a pass anyway.

Running past my old school will bring up some new memories now, to go along with the endless fond treasure trove that I already have.

Footnote: Blogger only accepts 200 characters, so perhaps I'll place all the labels here. Who knows? Perhaps it will help another "curious" joe like myself to find themselves in this vast universe called cyberspace...

Labels: Queen of Martyrs, OLQM, Jason Vega, Lisa Shik, Douglas Botero, Renee Igoe, Jackie Powers, Timmy Cavanaugh, Cynthia Varsos, Billy Galvin, Dawn Kane, Jose Barrios, Julio Vega, Sister Mary Helen, Sister Maria Goretti, Lupe Sosa, Christina Lovecchio, Mr. Moks, Ms. Schifano, Dominique Jezequel, Vicky McKee, Michael Mancino, Eugene Hynes, Robert Sjoberg, Richard Salmon, John Trumpour, Billy Hodge, Mr. Goodwin, Austin Street, Forest Hills, bass guitar, triathlon, Tecla Palli.

Inaugural Training Run: Forest Hills Northside "4"

Course: Forest Hills Northside "4"
Towns: Forest Hills, Kew Gardens.
Distance: 4 miles.
Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2007.
Time: 06:20 am.
Weather: 62F, 79% Hum.
Course Path: (left, center)
Elevations: (left, bottom)











A "blast from my past" is probably a better name to give this course.

I ran past the old apartment where I used to live, past Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, and past one of my first jobs, Spanish Heritage Tours.

The weather was cooler than originally expected, and more humid too. I had some added challenges too. There were many puddles on the path along Meadow Lake, thanks to the heavy rain the day before.

Despite the 7.5 hours of sleep the night before (10:20p-5:50a), it still took me awhile to wake up. When I did, I was still running a bit sluggish and all I kept thinking was how I need to lose some weight fast. No dead animals anywhere today (a first) but as I was going west on the GCP S.Service Road, I thought I had spotted a squashed squirrel. Once I got closer, I realized it was someone who had discarded pink Owens-Corning fibreglass insulation...Stupid me.

The run was fairly interesting except there are cars to watch out for. This is also
not a good course to run in during a rain shower the day of, or day before either.

Passing my old apartment on 72-11 110st, was definitely a "moment" for me.
I decided to use it for the exercise of blocking things out to focus on my running.
I think I did a pretty good job. Notice that big yellow building below? That's the Kennedy Building. It stood right across the street from my bedroom window.
That was 30 years ago.

The good thing about this run is that there is a lot to look at and it's not a boring run.
There will be much better runs, but this one is good to have on fairly cool, dry days.

Pictures from the run:

Glass bldg on QnsBlvd S. & Union.......... Descent down Peartree Rd........... The GCP S. Service Road

Passing Jewel Avenue.................Heading down 69th towards the south of Flushing Meadow Park

Unexpected "lakes" across the Meadow Lake path made for a challenging run...1965 World's Fair

No one was out here this morning.......Ran across this field............. to get to this overpass.

Crossing over the GCP................The field at Forest Hills HS and .....Forest Hills High School

Last place I lived with my mom. 72-11 110th street..........................My room was 2nd flr left center.

My grammar school - OLQM................This used to be S.H.Tours..........Finishing up Kew Gardens Rd.


My first race in 2 months is in 7 days. It's a 3.5 miler in Jones Beach State Park. I am
representing my company. If I can lose 5 pounds and get to 155 by next Tuesday,
I should be in great shape. I will probably skip dinner tonight, which should be easy
since Ileana is going for a colonoscopy tomorrow.

The run, plus the remaining kilometer walk, put me back in the 1000Km club lead again.
This one will be a dogfight for sure.