American Style
Linus Gelber
Jess and I go adventuring in Red Hook on a chilly sunny thrilling day. I've got in mind to take her for a stroll by Erie Basin, and she's got a slightly-freaky destination in mind, one she found on a roadside attraction site.
Starters: lunch and plenteous coffee at the tiny, delicious and just-so Homemade, on Van Brunt Street. Later we'll get chocolate-covered key lime pie on a stick at Steve's Key Lime Pies. In between, we amble.
The stop Jess has in mind is the garage of Red Hook neighborhood pinion Ralph Balzano. In a small standalone building clad in tar paper and festooned with flags, fish, and seafaring paraphernalia (tiller wheels, lobster buoys, floats, an anchor, trinkets), Ralph and his friends keep a horse carriage and a few restored vintage vehicles, as well as the memorabilia and flotsam of a lifetime spent in New York City. We're curious about the joint, which is a private residence, and eventually a guy parked nearby offers to take us in for a glance around.
The cars are nose-to-tail, surrounded by signs, and posters, and pictures, and derelict machines, bits of finery, odd clothes and the thousands of things that you find and would love to keep for their beauty or momentary joy, but you don't have any place to put them. Happily, Ralph did have a place to put them, and it's here. We're in for just a few minutes before it's time to go, and although we could have explored for hours, the few minutes are enough for a sweet taste in memory.
I don't remember the make and model of this car, but it's a late-'50s Chevrolet, if I'm recalling right. There's a Buick and an El Camino in there, but I don't have time to take notes.
This image has been spotted as high as #384 on the Flickr daily Interestingness charts.
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