Between the Bridges in Broad Channel

Between the Bridges: Summer Ending Musings

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Peter Mahon in Arts // 0 Comments

As the summer of 2015 comes to and end it is once again time to temporarily change the street signs along Cross Bay Boulevard to read “Bourbon Street” (or for all you Channel Cajuns out there, “Rue des Bourbon“) as, for just one weekend, Broad Channel transforms itself into the French Quarter to “Laissez les on Temps Rouler” (Let the good times roll) –  celebrating our town’s Mardi Gras Labor Day 2015 weekend in support of the Broad Channel Athletic Club culminating in this coming Monday’s Mardi Gras Labor Day Parade along Cross Bay Boulevard starting at 1:00 p.m.

The last breath of any summer season is a sad time although some, like John Steinbeck, have attempted to make the transition from summer’s warm embrace to the frigid kiss of a pending winter less arduous. In Travels with Charlie: In Search of America, Steinbeck wrote, “What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?”  Personally, I think that Steinbeck was full of himself. I guess he never heard of “snowbirds” also known as “Florida Groupies!”  Warm good! Cold bad! Bottom line….winter sucks!

Speaking of winter, the market price of a barrel of crude has once again dropped well below $50 and that decrease is readily reflected in the per gallon price of home heating fuel. Now might be a good time to “top off” your home oil tank as the price of fuel oil will surely rise again as the fall/winter season draws closer. I checked with a free Internet service (CODFuel.com) that provides a list of several oil delivery services that deliver to our area here in Broad Channel and found prices currently ranging from between $1.750 and $1.80 per a 100 gallon drop.  (Note: last year at this time the price was slightly more, approximately $3.00 per gallon.)

I recently came across a story suggesting that Nessie, Scotland’s beloved Loch Ness Monster, may be dead. According to the story there have been no “confirmed sightings” of the Scottish Beast in the past two years. Veteran Nessie Spotter Gary Campbell stated “It’s very upsetting news and we don’t know where she’s gone.”  That got me to thinking…what about our very own Jamaica Bay Jamie? We know Jamie was first spotted swimming about the bay back in 2003 and then went missing until 2006 when she appeared again. Many thought Jamie lost to Hurricane Sandy but in March of 2013 Jamie popped her head above the waves on Jamaica Bay once again.

Don’t be too quick to dismiss Jamie as a figment of someone’s overly fertile imagination.  I would remind you that back in July of 2010, a large white pelican was sited and photographed in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Preserve presiding over a group (gaggle?) of Canadian Geese near the “A” trains tracks.  Additionally, just a few weeks ago, a Central American Kinkajou was rescued while sleeping in a tree in Broad Channel adjacent to the wildlife preserve along Cross Bay Boulevard.

So is it that farfetched to expect that another confirmed sighting of Jamaica Bay Jamie will soon be reported in our local media?  I think not.

Broad Channel, why would anyone want to live anywhere else? Contact Information: Email –rtbetweenthebridges@gmail.com