Coney Island

7 May 2006(moved from Yahoo!360)-The weather yesterday was so spring perfect; 18 degrees, blue skies, sunny, just perfect. Unfortunately us New Yorkers are not the only ones who find it perfect. The entire plant kingdom( specifically angiospermae) think this weather perfect to go into this orgy of flowers and burst all that pollen into the atmosphere wreaking havoc on my immune system. So for two months, the plant kingdom is my enemy. But I digress.

Coney Island has been a quintissential New York institution for over a hundred years as New Yorkers go to the beach in the spring and summer after along dreadful winter. As summer officially begins in three weeks on Memorial Day, the run up to the date creates a growing buzz on the Boardwalk of this famous beach in Brooklyn , a few stops further on the N line. The cast of characters stroll the boardwalk from Brighton Beach, as the Russians emerge from brunch. The Tourists join in as they come in from the N line somewhere midppoint as soom as the first Famous Nathans Hotdog outlet becomes visible. From here on it is a tight warren of arcades, fried seafod kiosks, tarot card readers, freak shows, bumper cars, mini golf, Astroland ferris wheel, and the Famous Cyclone, a turn of the century wooden roller coaster. As you go further to the piers the Hassidims strolling cast long shadows in the afternoon sun. Weekend fishermen, vagrants, lovers, and tango enthusiasts share the part of the boardwalk that juts into the ocean.