Dates like these are fun. I remember 8.8.88. That was the summer when I waitressed at Brock's Restaurant in Stamford. We always wrote the date on the top of our food order checks and we had a good laugh about 8/8/88. What a fantastic summer of waiting tables, making oodles of cash and smelling like burgers. Too bad the restaurant is gone and now a soulless Cosi stands in its place. Brock's was dark and dungeness, and believe me the subterranean prep kitchen, walk-in fridge and manager's office were like a dungeon, but they had fantastic burgers and fries, and the staff were like family, fully dysfunctional in their own loving way.
3.3.3 I photographed a wedding in San Francisco City Hall at 3:33pm. That was when I was thinking of going into wedding photography as a business. Liz, who I met by way of my job at the Business Arts Council, told me she and her fiancé were eloping on 3.3.3. I immediately offered to photograph the ceremony for free. It was so much fun shadowing the two of them and their two guests through city hall. The images came out beautifully. People thought that she had been married in Europe because the inside of City Hall is so old world and her dress so elegant. March 3 is also my dad's birthday so that was a fun double-cool memory.
What is in store for today?
Showing posts with label Stamford CT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stamford CT. Show all posts
January 10, 2010
February 13, 2009
Flowers and Proms
Friends keep posting old photos onto Facebook. A walk down memory lane. Here's a great shot of us preparing for the Stamford High School Senior Prom 1987. I think we look cute.
How strange that last night I had a dream about Debbie and this morning a photo of her pops up in my in-box. She's the one in the full floral dress - although that really could be any of us.
August 10, 2008
Ike the Bike on the Angel Island Ferry
I took Ike the Bike on an Angel Island hike today with some friends and my cousin Ben. (Say that ten times fast). Angel Island sits in the San Francisco Bay very close to Tiburon on the Marin coast. Our little group met at the Oakland Ferry which we took to San Francisco Pier 41, then switched ferries to take us to Angel Island. We managed to then hook up with some of my parents friends who were visiting from Stamford, Connecticut. The most amazing thing about this day was that I only knew Ben and by the end I had six new friends.
Here's Ike on the ferry. He is just loving the views. Can you see him smiling? When we got to the Island I left him by the ferry so that he could admire the other cyclists as we hiked.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
August 8, 2008
8/8/8
Today's date took me by surprise considering that it is filled with my favorite number! I remember 8/8/88 clearly as I was waitressing at Brock's Restaurant in Stamford, Connecticut, home from college for the summer. I had to write 8/8/88 on all my food order slips. Wouldn't surprise me if I thought, "the next time the date will be filled with 8s will be in 20 years" and then I probably laughed at the thought of 20 years from then because I was only 19 at the time!
Sadly Brock's is now closed.
So here we are 8/8/8 and I plan on having a fantastic day.
Sadly Brock's is now closed.
So here we are 8/8/8 and I plan on having a fantastic day.
June 5, 2008
Excotic, Eccentric, Free-Spirited Cousin
My home town of Stamford, CT is a little big city and if you're family has lived here for a few generations it is more of a big small town. Plus, you're probably related to a third of the population and at least 10 people on your street.
This morning I went for a walk in my parents' neighborhood and passed the houses of numerous cousins. It is suburbia so people generally aren't out and about but this morning I noticed a tiny little sign that said, "Used Books" on one of the street signs. There in the driveway sat two teenagers with a folding table and chairs and a few used books, maybe 10 total. Very random selection at that.
I pursued their books, which were well chosen library cast-offs and since I was their first customer they offered me a free one of my choice. Good thing since I didn't have any money. After chatting with them briefly about the smell of used library books I said, "I think we're cousins". After exchanges of last names it was clear that we were related this way and that. Very small town conversation.
The guys held on to my book while I completed my walk and when I returned their mom was hanging out of the garage saying, "Amy Kweskin stopped by to say hello?" Then one of the guys said, "Yes, she's here now." This was followed by the obligatory conversation about what I do, "I'm between lives", where I live, "I'm between homes" and why I'm here, "I'm slowly making my way across the country back to San Francisco." The guys were so impressed that I had lived in London and was returning to a cool city like San Francisco. Made me feel like the exotic cousin which is quite an achievement amongst a family of exotic, eccentric, free-spirits like us.
This morning I went for a walk in my parents' neighborhood and passed the houses of numerous cousins. It is suburbia so people generally aren't out and about but this morning I noticed a tiny little sign that said, "Used Books" on one of the street signs. There in the driveway sat two teenagers with a folding table and chairs and a few used books, maybe 10 total. Very random selection at that.
I pursued their books, which were well chosen library cast-offs and since I was their first customer they offered me a free one of my choice. Good thing since I didn't have any money. After chatting with them briefly about the smell of used library books I said, "I think we're cousins". After exchanges of last names it was clear that we were related this way and that. Very small town conversation.
The guys held on to my book while I completed my walk and when I returned their mom was hanging out of the garage saying, "Amy Kweskin stopped by to say hello?" Then one of the guys said, "Yes, she's here now." This was followed by the obligatory conversation about what I do, "I'm between lives", where I live, "I'm between homes" and why I'm here, "I'm slowly making my way across the country back to San Francisco." The guys were so impressed that I had lived in London and was returning to a cool city like San Francisco. Made me feel like the exotic cousin which is quite an achievement amongst a family of exotic, eccentric, free-spirits like us.
June 3, 2008
Consistency at Home
As my East Coast tour continues I'm now in Stamford, Connecticut at my parents' house. Every time I come home I notice little bits of changes in Stamford - mostly construction. A house is bigger or missing, a shopping center has new stores or has been painted. Otherwise it always looks pretty much the same. I guess that's what is nice about coming home - consistency.
November 29, 2007
Nostalgic for Stamford
My friend Lori sent out an email to her friends listing all the things that she misses about Stamford, CT from yester-year. It spurred a flurry of emaling activity. Since I have many Stamford readers (I can only assume) she has given me permission to share the list. Please add some of your own in the comments section.
SHOPPING
Bedford Records
Shoetown
The Horsey rides in front of Sears in Ridgeway.
Gimbels,Card Coop, Party Palace,Caldors, Woolworths, JC Penny
Pants And...and a store called Countdown for fabulous striped shirts, also in the shopping center that's now the Sheraton.
Buying an Album for $6.99 at Record World in the mall.
Bramberts 5&10
Remember the jeep in front of Banana Republic?
When Abercrombie & Fitch was a geeky store
Palmer's grocery store on Hope Street.
Franklyn and Simon clothing store playing with the toys at (where bed and bath used to be on high ridge)
B&G store at the town and country shopping center
B&G (now Planet TV)
Genovese
Shoe store on Bedford street where you could ride the mini carousel.
Pottery Barn next to Brock's
Art Explosion in the mall (I think they used to have dirty cards in the back)
Andrea's Craft Center on High Ridge (that's where my favorite birthday party was)
Ticket Tron outlet
Putnam Deb. They had a fish tank and a cool area in the back that looked like a space ship!
2 different kids clothing stores - 1 in the Newfield shopping center near Cerbones and the other was on Bedford street (I think), where you earned points with your purchases that could be redeemed for toys
Shoe store in the Friendly shopping center where you could choose either a red or blue Nike swoosh and then when Velcro became an option
Sears in the Ridgeway shopping center
The way Ridgeway used to be with Gimbles, 40 Boutiques and Baskin Robbins
Sols Toys Store, before it became Baby & Toy Superstore
Having Bloomingdales in Stamford
SCHOOLS
When King and Low Heywood were separate schools and not coed.
When Willard Convalescent Home was Willard elementary school
When Trinity Catholic was called Catholic High.
UCONN Branch on Scofield Town Road
When Rippowam was a high school the 1st and 2nd times
Westhill Halloween parade around the horrible blacktop track
Westhill pep rallies getting canceled due to rumors of rumbles
Riverbank Elementary School in North Stamford (now the Mead School)
The entrance to Westhill from the Southbound side of Long Ridge.
The first Bi-Cultural Day School behind Agudath Shalom
The student parking lot that was in front of Westhill
LANDMARKS
Cove Beach before landscaping
When Summer Street and Bedford Street became One way roads.
The Korean War memorial on that property was a rotting piece of wood with a few names on it- now much more respecful.
The old train station
Before the Sheraton Hotel on Summer Street there was a shopping center
The "nature center" was better known as The Stamford Museum
Camp Jaycee on Briar Brae Road
The rated X movie theater and the prostitutes that used to hang around
The hotel on summer street kept changing names Hotel Stamford Plaza, the Tara, The Westin
Before the Stamford Town Center.
The old Turn of River library on High Ridge Road, with the little attached house in the back for the kids room / and having to use the card catalog to look things up
Ice skating at Landmark and then eating at The Ground Round
Before there was a traffic light on Vine Road by the entrance to TOR - and you could speed down Vine from Newfield all the way to High ridge
Lord & Taylor parking lot as make-out spot
The horse stable on Newfield Ave. across from King School.
After the skating rink closed- Stamford had a giant Christamas tree in that spot for a few years.
When the cool thing to do was drive laps around the parking loop outside Friendly's. Then, when the cops cracked down- we all moved across the street to Burger King parking lot- not as glamorous.
Hanging out at West Beach after track meets (because there was nowhere else to go except Friendly's & Burger King parking lots)
When Scofield Town Park had a pool set up in the summers- 2 feet deep.
Greenwich Avenue, anyone? all the local normal stores (Marks Bros., Caldor) replaced by upscale chains
When there was a Methodist church right off of exit 33 - it burned down.
All the old Victorian houses on Summer street - before they got knocked down
St. Joseph's hospital
When Motor Vehicles was downtown on Magee Avenue.
Does anyone else remember when Summer street was paved with Cobblestone?
When Brennan Golf Course was called Hubbard Height
Noelle's where Kinkos in now (actually I think where supercuts is)
The first JCC - where the Yeshiva is now
The first JCC on Newfield - a little house by the duck pond
Olin Corps headquaters on Long Ridge Road
When there was ugly oil tanks down past Crabshell restaurant - where the Avalon apartments are now.
RESTAURANTS
The "open door" (sabias)
Mustard's restaurant next to the movie theater at Landmark
The Sitting Room - now Bull's Head Diner
Fried chicken from Redi Rooster, nothing else like it!
Star Confections, which was an old fashioned soda shop across from the Mall, now an Avalon project
Haagen Daas Ice Cream at the entrance to Landmark
Dimitri from the Century Dinner on summer street.
The Japanese hibachi restaurant on Main Street in what was then a "bad" section of town magic shows at burger king
Allens deli on high ridge
When Mario the Baker shared it's building with a tailor and was only 1/2 it's size
Colony pizza
When we had South Pacific chinese on High Ridge (where Kinko's is) Also at one point Hunan Garden and when someone got shot there.
South Pacific had those light fixtures made out of blowfish.
The Farm Shop
Mayflower Deli in the Town & Country Shopping Center (now Sheraton Hotel
Liz Sue bagels was the ONLY bagel shop in town
Country diner (which is now parkway diner) had jukeboxes at very table
The Quarter Deck, then Sunrise Pizza, now Fio's
Friendly's BEFORE it got renovated.
Eating at the lunch counter at Woolworth's on Hope Street
Brock's and the famous salad bar
Remember when Chimney Corners was a restaurant? They had the best popovers!
The restaurant 19 March street
When Baskin Robbins burned down next to Ready Rooster and all I could imagine was the bubblegum ice cream blowing giant bubbles
Ben and Jerry's in the Newfield Shopping Center
EVENTS
The Pink Tent Festival
When Springdale Volunteer Fire Dept used to have a parade down Hope Street.
Stamford Thanksgiving parade pre balloons--and marching in it with the Cloonan band MISC.
"the Moonies"?
Listening for school closings on WSTC when 1400 WSTC AM was a locally owned and operated radio station with its studios on Prospect street ( now it is corporately owned and the studio is is Norwalk)
There were 2 other supermarkets on high ridge besides A&P, shopwell and grand central Ridgeway movie theater
The murder in the Bloomingdales parking lot
Boppers
The Teen Life Center
Bowlerama
When the park on Scofieldtown Road was a dump?
Arnie's Place - arcade in Westport
Old McDonald's Farm - amusement park in Norwalk
SHOPPING
Bedford Records
Shoetown
The Horsey rides in front of Sears in Ridgeway.
Gimbels,Card Coop, Party Palace,Caldors, Woolworths, JC Penny
Pants And...and a store called Countdown for fabulous striped shirts, also in the shopping center that's now the Sheraton.
Buying an Album for $6.99 at Record World in the mall.
Bramberts 5&10
Remember the jeep in front of Banana Republic?
When Abercrombie & Fitch was a geeky store
Palmer's grocery store on Hope Street.
Franklyn and Simon clothing store playing with the toys at (where bed and bath used to be on high ridge)
B&G store at the town and country shopping center
B&G (now Planet TV)
Genovese
Shoe store on Bedford street where you could ride the mini carousel.
Pottery Barn next to Brock's
Art Explosion in the mall (I think they used to have dirty cards in the back)
Andrea's Craft Center on High Ridge (that's where my favorite birthday party was)
Ticket Tron outlet
Putnam Deb. They had a fish tank and a cool area in the back that looked like a space ship!
2 different kids clothing stores - 1 in the Newfield shopping center near Cerbones and the other was on Bedford street (I think), where you earned points with your purchases that could be redeemed for toys
Shoe store in the Friendly shopping center where you could choose either a red or blue Nike swoosh and then when Velcro became an option
Sears in the Ridgeway shopping center
The way Ridgeway used to be with Gimbles, 40 Boutiques and Baskin Robbins
Sols Toys Store, before it became Baby & Toy Superstore
Having Bloomingdales in Stamford
SCHOOLS
When King and Low Heywood were separate schools and not coed.
When Willard Convalescent Home was Willard elementary school
When Trinity Catholic was called Catholic High.
UCONN Branch on Scofield Town Road
When Rippowam was a high school the 1st and 2nd times
Westhill Halloween parade around the horrible blacktop track
Westhill pep rallies getting canceled due to rumors of rumbles
Riverbank Elementary School in North Stamford (now the Mead School)
The entrance to Westhill from the Southbound side of Long Ridge.
The first Bi-Cultural Day School behind Agudath Shalom
The student parking lot that was in front of Westhill
LANDMARKS
Cove Beach before landscaping
When Summer Street and Bedford Street became One way roads.
The Korean War memorial on that property was a rotting piece of wood with a few names on it- now much more respecful.
The old train station
Before the Sheraton Hotel on Summer Street there was a shopping center
The "nature center" was better known as The Stamford Museum
Camp Jaycee on Briar Brae Road
The rated X movie theater and the prostitutes that used to hang around
The hotel on summer street kept changing names Hotel Stamford Plaza, the Tara, The Westin
Before the Stamford Town Center.
The old Turn of River library on High Ridge Road, with the little attached house in the back for the kids room / and having to use the card catalog to look things up
Ice skating at Landmark and then eating at The Ground Round
Before there was a traffic light on Vine Road by the entrance to TOR - and you could speed down Vine from Newfield all the way to High ridge
Lord & Taylor parking lot as make-out spot
The horse stable on Newfield Ave. across from King School.
After the skating rink closed- Stamford had a giant Christamas tree in that spot for a few years.
When the cool thing to do was drive laps around the parking loop outside Friendly's. Then, when the cops cracked down- we all moved across the street to Burger King parking lot- not as glamorous.
Hanging out at West Beach after track meets (because there was nowhere else to go except Friendly's & Burger King parking lots)
When Scofield Town Park had a pool set up in the summers- 2 feet deep.
Greenwich Avenue, anyone? all the local normal stores (Marks Bros., Caldor) replaced by upscale chains
When there was a Methodist church right off of exit 33 - it burned down.
All the old Victorian houses on Summer street - before they got knocked down
St. Joseph's hospital
When Motor Vehicles was downtown on Magee Avenue.
Does anyone else remember when Summer street was paved with Cobblestone?
When Brennan Golf Course was called Hubbard Height
Noelle's where Kinkos in now (actually I think where supercuts is)
The first JCC - where the Yeshiva is now
The first JCC on Newfield - a little house by the duck pond
Olin Corps headquaters on Long Ridge Road
When there was ugly oil tanks down past Crabshell restaurant - where the Avalon apartments are now.
RESTAURANTS
The "open door" (sabias)
Mustard's restaurant next to the movie theater at Landmark
The Sitting Room - now Bull's Head Diner
Fried chicken from Redi Rooster, nothing else like it!
Star Confections, which was an old fashioned soda shop across from the Mall, now an Avalon project
Haagen Daas Ice Cream at the entrance to Landmark
Dimitri from the Century Dinner on summer street.
The Japanese hibachi restaurant on Main Street in what was then a "bad" section of town magic shows at burger king
Allens deli on high ridge
When Mario the Baker shared it's building with a tailor and was only 1/2 it's size
Colony pizza
When we had South Pacific chinese on High Ridge (where Kinko's is) Also at one point Hunan Garden and when someone got shot there.
South Pacific had those light fixtures made out of blowfish.
The Farm Shop
Mayflower Deli in the Town & Country Shopping Center (now Sheraton Hotel
Liz Sue bagels was the ONLY bagel shop in town
Country diner (which is now parkway diner) had jukeboxes at very table
The Quarter Deck, then Sunrise Pizza, now Fio's
Friendly's BEFORE it got renovated.
Eating at the lunch counter at Woolworth's on Hope Street
Brock's and the famous salad bar
Remember when Chimney Corners was a restaurant? They had the best popovers!
The restaurant 19 March street
When Baskin Robbins burned down next to Ready Rooster and all I could imagine was the bubblegum ice cream blowing giant bubbles
Ben and Jerry's in the Newfield Shopping Center
EVENTS
The Pink Tent Festival
When Springdale Volunteer Fire Dept used to have a parade down Hope Street.
Stamford Thanksgiving parade pre balloons--and marching in it with the Cloonan band MISC.
"the Moonies"?
Listening for school closings on WSTC when 1400 WSTC AM was a locally owned and operated radio station with its studios on Prospect street ( now it is corporately owned and the studio is is Norwalk)
There were 2 other supermarkets on high ridge besides A&P, shopwell and grand central Ridgeway movie theater
The murder in the Bloomingdales parking lot
Boppers
The Teen Life Center
Bowlerama
When the park on Scofieldtown Road was a dump?
Arnie's Place - arcade in Westport
Old McDonald's Farm - amusement park in Norwalk
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