Jerome Ave Bronx Aug 2008

Don't bother looking at these pictures. Jerome Ave has intersected my life on several occasions when I lived not far from here. There is no great architecture to be found here, no outstanding food. There would be little of interest for anyone who did not have a personal experience with Jerome Ave. We came to the USA on 12/16/1955 and lived by Shakespeare and Nelson Ave's for two years. It was there that I learned English and simultaneously discovered the great NY Public Library system. I had come from an isolated Saxon farming village and had never even heard of the concept of a library. It was a revelation. It was beyond fantasy. I discovered a German-English dictionary and began memorizing the meaning (and spelling) of thousands of words. The logic of English spelling still defeats me. In subsequent years I again lived near Jerome Ave several times. I have memories of being packed in the #4 train without air conditioning like a sardine in a can. I don't think that I ever fainted from the heat but if I had it would have made little difference. The press of bodies would have kept me upright. Everywhere there were the remains of broken beer and soda bottles. The locals did not hesitate to foul their own nest by throwing garbage every which way. We were so fucking German. My parents would douse their cigarettes and wait to dispose of the butts until they found a garbage can. We would cross the street only at the intersection when we had the light. Why? Because it was the law. Very logical from a German viewpoint.

Jerome Ave, Bronx Aug 2008