What would ewe do?

In the case of one feisty ovine headed for the slaughterhouse, the answer is run like the devil through the South Bronx. The sheep, nicknamed Lucky Lady, made a break from a live market. Workers at the Velvet Touch storage facility on 133rd along with some of New York's finest corralled the animal.

Lucky for Lady she is now n the custody of the Center for animal Care & Control that will be sending her to a farm sanctuary upstate rather than the dinner table. My hat is off to you, Lady. Sometimes courages brings great rewards.

Don't Get Left Behind Either

I don't often cross-post things to my blogs, but this week I saw a show that knocked my socks off. My friend Liz, to whom Body of Lies is dedicated, got me out of lazy mode to go into the city to see No Child-- a one-woman off-Broadway phenomenon written and performed by Nilaja Sun.

Folks, let me tell you, this woman is amazing. She brings to life Malcolm X High School in the Bronx with a minimum of set and a multitude of characters she embodies with both ease and efficacy. No one, from the school janitor to the school principal to the students and the teachers to the security guard to the visiting "artiste" determined to teach tenth grade students the theater escapes Ms. Sun's scrutiny.

Full of humor, pathos, and insight into the workings of the NYC educational morass create a show that is both poignant and funny, tragic and hopeful. I haven't been this moved by a piece of theater in a long time. If you're in New York, run to see this masterpiece. The rest of you will have to wait for Ms. Sun's HBO special.

Plenty of children left behind--by the school bus

Earlier this week the Department of Education (DOE) implemented a new busing plan that left many students literally out in the cold. Many youngsters (even those as young as seven years old) were left with no transportation or a metro card and told to hoof it as best they could. Mind you, if it were your idea for your second grader to take three buses to school on their own, folks would be accusing you of child abuse.

The DOE operates as if it were running a business rather than trying to educate the youth of this city. They're treating individual youngsters as little more than interchangeable cogs that just need to make it to the right hole, with no acknowledgment of the impact on parents and children.

Sorry DOE, saving money at the expense of children's safety is not the way to go.

I'm in a Bronx, NY State of Mind

Someone sent me this e-mail yesterday, which made me think of this blog that I have seriously neglected. I loved growing up in the Bronx, still live here. If you're feeling nostalgic, read on . . .


YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM THE BRONX IF:

You know someone who went to Evander, Dodge, Ursula, Fordham, Rice, Clinton, Walton, All Hallows, Taft, Aquinas, Barnabas, Mt St Michael,
St. Simon Stock, Preston, Helena's, Cardinal Hayes, Kennedy, Truman, Roosevelt, Raymond's, Lehman, Spellman, Tolentine and many more.

You and any other friends who lived on West 228th Street and towards the Yonkers city line, probably went to Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers.

You know that Lehman College is really Hunter College in the Bronx.

You actually think the subway is fun and a very reliable form of transportation.

You went to the fresh meat market on Arthur Avenue with your Dad/Grandmother to buy the fresh chickens and rabbits. (If you were really Italian!)

You've taken the Bx 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 20, 31, 34 or 41 bus, at least once in your life.

You agree that the Grand Concourse has too many lights and no parking!

When people ask you where you're from you tell them the closest train stop.

You don't go to Manhattan. You go "downtown." You say downtown and Expect everyone to know that this means Manhattan.

You assume that everyone knows where Tracy Towers is.

You never realize you have an accent until one of your new neighbors tells you it's cute.

You're the toughest person you know; your best friend is a close second.

There was at least one pizza place about 1 block from your house.

You curse....A lot! With no guilt whatsoever!

You were sure Son of Sam was looking for you, so you wore your long dark hair with a scarf.

You went to Orchard Beach and walked all the way to section13 which was the best section.

You went to Rye Playland at least once a year.

Your friends came over to hang out on the porch/stoop or in front your house/apt building.

You've been to the Bronx Zoo & Botanical Gardens on class trips.

You shopped at Alexander's on Fordham Road.

You call it the Stadium, not Yankee Stadium.

You used to go to Fordham Road to buy jewelry and household appliances.

You bought a slice of pizza AND a soda for $1.00.

You still don't understand why people are crazy enough to drive to the Stadium for a Yankee game, when you can take the 4 or the D train.

You know that Riverdale is really the Bronx.

Every year when you were little around Christmas time you would go to see the houses on Pelham Parkway......only if your parents had a car.

You know how to get on a bus using the rear door.

You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.

You know that the Bronx is the best borough of all, except for maybe Manhattan....maybe!

You went to #6 parking lot at Jones Beach.

In high school, you cruised the strip on Central Ave in Yonkers.

You had to take city buses and/or the subway to get to high school, unless you went to Spellman & you got your own special bus.

Your mother would yell your name out the window when it was time to come home.

You played stick ball and stoop ball.

You rode horses in Pelham Bay Park or Van Cortlandt Park.

When you say "New York" you mean the "City". The rest of the state really doesn't exist.

You know what a bodega is.....you secretly wish there was one where you live now.

Jaywalking is imaginary. It is an important skill you were taught when learning how to cross the street.

You went sleigh riding at the Van Cortlandt golf course.

You knew New Jersey sucked before the phrase came into vogue.....

You know it is really the "Liberry" and not the Library.

You know what a Spaldeen is.

You kept your bike underneath the stairway on the first floor hallway
of
your apartment building.

Your fire escape was the closest thing you had to a back yard.

You've played Ringaleevio & Kick the Can around your apartment building.

You have a great sense of humor.

At 16, you used your fake ID to get into French Charley's on Webster Ave.

You know that the Pelham diner is one of the best diners in all of New York City.

During the summer, you went to the public park to play in the sprinklers.

You know that all people from places outside of the Bronx don't know what they missed out on.

AND YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM THE BRONX........IF THIS EMAIL MADE YOU A LITTLE NOSTALGIC, & YOU WISH YOU COULD BACK & DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN. BUT YOU KNOW THAT IT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME EVER AGAIN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!

You were privileged to have been there at the right time and place!!!

Weren't we all blessed????? THE BRONX HAD IT ALL!!!! Weren't we lucky to grow up there?!?!?!?!

Happy Thanksgiving

Welcome to my new blog dedicated to all things Bronx! I am an author and educator, born, raised and still residing in the Bronx. I'll be writing about my experieces living in the Bronx for the past 45 years, inviting guest bloggers to write about their experiences. If you'd like to be one, please e-mail me at deesavoy@mac.com. Please feel free to post your comments. I'd love to hear them. If you'd like to meet me, I'll be signing copies of my latest opus (set in the Bronx), BODY OF TRUTH, at the Waldenbooks in Cross County on Friday, November 25 from 1-3 pm. I'd love to see you there!!

For now, enjoy your turkey.