Stratton Park Message Board

Hello Everyone: At the picnic the subject came up about where we learned to drive or practice driving. Two people came up with the same place and I was amazed because it was the first time I heard of it. It was actually a pretty safe place to practice, at least they wouldn't kill anyone there. I'll let them chime in on the place and their experience themselves. As for myself, my Dad would take me over to the E.J. Korvettes (Was that really 8 Jewish Korean Veterans) parking lot on a Sunday morning or evening when there was no one there or to the Orchard Beach Parking lot (but not in the Summer), it was to crowded and I probably would have hit someone. I recall my original trepidation of dealing with the El under Westchester Ave. Never hit those pilars but had some close calls. Oh yes, and then there was the parking the car fiasco, what a hassle. Especially, in the wee hours of the morning and not being in the greatest condition to be cruising the blocks up and down, back and forth for what felt like an eternity. And, then there was nothing beter than finally finding a spot and stepping in a dog turd. Oh, what a night. Not very nice after a long night out and wanting to hit the hay. Sometimes, the the next morning I'd completely forget where I parked and would have to walk the streets to find the chariot which by the time I found it I was tempted to put it on fire. And, some of the private home owners resented having folks park in front of their houses, as if they also owned the street. I had a friend from Parckchester, Owen McPike, who parked his car in Stratton Park and when he went to get his car the next morning he couldn't drive because someone, allegedly the homeowner, tarred his front window. Needless to say, he never parked there again. How about, the alternate side street parking, a few times I got double parked in and had to wait a few hours until the cars moved over to the other side. In the late 60's my Dad became so frustrated with the parking search he rented a, thread through a needle space, in someones driveway for $20 a month. That was so great not to go hunting for parking anymore. Who ever said city folks weren't good hunters. By the way I now live in Hoboken and the parking there is worse. In fact, I just had my car towed yesterday. Somethings never change. Have a great day, looking forward to some interesting posts on this. Love, Peace and Happiness. Matt Keenan

Matty...I used to worry about those El pillars too, but then I found out every third one was made of rubber...

JohnT

hello dear friends,
i happen to be one of the 2 ladies who told matty, the unusual place that i learned to drive. i learned at st raymond's cemetary! the old cemetary off of the bruckner,past gifford ave. the cops never came by,only st ray's security,which came by after midnight. so i learned from a friend's boyfriend. we went driving a few nights around dusk.
at this time the gate was low on the highway side. so some people would go there at night as a dare.i was not aware of this at the time. so my girlfriend and her boyfriend were in the back seat of the car praticing their kissing,as i drove up and down the same bumpy road. it was getting dark (st raymond's closed at 5) sort of cloudy,about to rain.keep in mind i just watched night of the living dead a few days before. well some young couple were making love in the cemetary, at the same time. need i tell you, i made the u-turn to close to the gate, saw the guy who was looking to scare someone who had been sent there on a dare (we never were totally sure about this,but it sounded good at the time). i beeped & scared him, he ran thru the graveyard,scared the 1/2 naked couple a few feet away. i'm screaming in the car,the 1/2 naked guy runs away,leaving a hysterical girl. my friend danielle starts screaming, because i'm yelling about ghosts. her boyfriend jumped in the front seat & drove us all home. the next day, we heard that a certain mt.saint michael's student left his girlfriend in the cemetary. from then on, i took driving lessons at orchid beach or st ray's cemetary during the daylight ! true story. maybe thats why i still to this day "do not" have my drivers license.

John, great to hear about the rubber El pillars. I remember one night when we drove Mike "Louie the Lip" Mulrow nuts, trying to figure out which was the first pillar to start with to get to the third. Not sure if he did figure it out.