Wednesday, October 12, 2005

ROUND ROBIN CHALLENGE - VILLAGE

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK - GREENWICH VILLAGE

One of the first adventures of my life took place the summer I graduated from grammar school in the late 1960's. As a reward, I traveled to New York City and stayed for several weeks with my Aunt and her family in Hollis, NY.

I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. New York City had to be the most exciting, stimulating, thrilling and dangerous place for a 14 year old girl.

My cousin Eileen, four years my elder, and had just graduated from high school. I adored her. She had a steady boyfriend Allen and a cool best friend named Mona Lisa (I kid you not). I was totally smitten with them and for those two weeks they absorbed me into their lives. I felt so grown up!

They showed me their New York. Which included the wild and wonderful Greenwich Village. We went to a place called Cafe Wha? Can you picture it? A little old country girl from the sticks at the Cafe Wha?

For fun, I found my first journal (the Bible) and this is what I wrote about that day

"......went and blew our minds. It was fantastic. The Wha? was sensational in every aspect! The stage was a horse shoe type and it has strobe lights around it they went crazy in the middle of it and the effect was maddening. I had a drink called a tiger we all had them and pretzels - cool beyond description."

And yes, there were pictures

Preview.

 

When I tried to come up with some ideas for an image to photograph for the challenge this week I thought of finding a tall building that I climb and look down on Ft. Wayne. No go.  I thought if I were in Kentucky I could find that Indian village of tee pees that are used as a road side motel! But I am not in Kentucky. I even went to the Fort in down town...but it was a fort, not a village. I was getting desperate...until I remembered that crazy wonderful day with kids so much older than myself accepting me as one of them. In Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village on a July day so many years ago.

* The band was called Rhinoceros and upon looking them up on the Web....The guy must be John Mars!!!

The other Round Robin participants..........

Carly......Ellipsis

Karen...Musings from Mavarin

Sara...Photographic Memories

Mary...Alphawoman's Blog

Dorn...Through the Eyes of the Beholder

Betty...My Day My Interests

Kimberleigh...I Shaved my Legs For This?

Aunt Nub (Liz) Fool's Paradise

Maryanne...My feelings are real

Chris...It's all about me I think

Derek...Derek's Photo of the Day

Mary...Hunybea's Open Journal

Renee...Timeless Calligraphy Studio

Marie...Photographs & Memories

Robin...These are the days of our lives

Rose...WAIT-NOTYET-/

Cosette...Pandora's Bazaar

Robin...MidlifeMatters

Steven...sometimes photoblog

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm afraid I had a dress almost exactly like that madras one!

Great entry.  I'm trying to get mine up but the FTP space isn't working.

Anonymous said...

How great you got to see the city and that is a perfect age to see it. I am always overwhelmed when I go there too, no matter what age. It's great fun! I love that picture. And your memories are so much fun.

Anonymous said...

Funny, My first thought of Village was Greenwich Village.
But I had no photos of GV.  
Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories of GV.
I think this is a perfect entry for Village!
~Marie

Anonymous said...

Lucky girl!
xoxo

Anonymous said...

I lived in NJ when I was 14 and the greatest thing in the world was going into New York, particularly the village. To this day there's not many things I enjoy more. Just two years ago we went, had lunch in the courtyard of a French cafe (where ironically the bartender was Irish with a thick brogue!). We walked several blocks to Washington Square Park and watched the mimes and people having a great time. I never tired of going there.  

Anonymous said...

Now, that would be the experience of a lifetime for a 14-year-old girl.  I've got to hand it to your parents...they were awesome to let you go!  Very cool!  Lisa  :-]  

Anonymous said...

So, who was the band?
-Paul

Anonymous said...

By my reckoning it's 1967 or 68. Isn't that the Velvet Underground on sage? I see Lou Reed but not Niko. Hmmmm. Ask Mona if she met a guy from Boston at the Green Derby in New Rochelle on New year's Eve that year.

Anonymous said...

Oh Mary!

I have always wanted to see Washington Square Park! Fabulous entry. I love the photo, it is a nice step back in time. Wonderful!

Always, Carly :)

Anonymous said...

Wow...those guys look so much like the Ramones. Maybe Rhinoceros is who they copped their look from.

Anonymous said...

Very cool & of my home...I'm from NYC & live in a suburb of it now, so this brings wonderful memories, past & present flooding into my mind.  Thanks for sharing!  And jeez...those are spitting images of the Ramones!

~Aunt Nub~

Anonymous said...

wow cool pics of old times. Great entry

Anonymous said...

Awesome pictures!
--Cosette

Anonymous said...

Cool, cool, cool!  I love it! - Karen

Anonymous said...

A great adventure during a wonderful time and something you will always remember!
Tess

Anonymous said...

Loved those pics; it brings back vivid memories! Grammer school in late 1960's?
Jeez, I finally found someone older than me in J-Land!
I am so happy right now that I could just get up there and uh....uh....
dance with the village people!
Ready...set....YMCA!
(sorry) over enthusiastic, I guess...
Maryanne

Anonymous said...

Well, you have managed to do it again! You have brought back long forgotten memories right up in my face. As a young police officer I worked at the 9th Street PATH (HudsonTubes) Station that is across the street from Trudy Heller's and just down a block from Wahington Square Park. I would walk there  to relax on my breaks just to get out of the subway tunnels. I also did patrol at the Christopher Street station in the heart of the village. At that time I knew some of the best places to listen to the bands, the poets, and the comics. Thanks for the memories as Bob Hope would say. Regards, Bill.

Anonymous said...

Mona Lisa?  What kind of parent would do that?

I LOVE the Village.  Spent a very memorable Halloween there one year.

~~ jennifer

Anonymous said...

aaah, the Washington Square Park initiation to the Village for a teen !   my first trip to NYC, I was 16 .   aaah the good ol' days .

Anonymous said...

Grand old New York! I didn't get there until I was 21, but I'll never forget my first look at Manhattan. The world never seemed the same after that summer.  This year, my own 21-year-old spent the summer there as an intern, and he can't wait to return.

Thanks for bringing back some magical memories!
:)

Anonymous said...

Your wonderful memories reminded me of my first stint in New York. I was 18 and at the time I thought it was even better than L.A. Some of the current musicals on Broadway were"Hair" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"- - so you can imagine what a helluva long time ago that was!!

Anonymous said...

Terrific Memories!
I remember driving to New York with a friend when I was 17. From Philly; Dad`s car; no permission!
Went to "Birdland"!   Wow!
V

Anonymous said...

This entry is amazing on so many levels.  Photos, memories, your actual 14-year-old writing.  Wow.  Everyone is so beautiful in the picture - and so warm and happy.  Treasured memories.  I always love traveling through time in your life. :)