Sunday in the park with Santería

So.
I, as do many other folks, jog in Inwood Hill Park, as well as Fort Tryon Park. The hills are huge and it is a great work out. Well- on one of my first jogs in the park I winded myself on a hill and had to take a breather -stopping at one of the outlooks. I paced a bit and walked around. I decided to go onto the little outlook and look over the edge.

Just then, I heard a crow in a tree, and I noticed about 40 crows all looking at me. It was creepy. Then I noticed they were not looking at me- they were looking just to the left of me. Glad that I wasn't the focus of their hungry eyes- I looked down and there on the ground was half of a chicken tied to a tree branch. Now I say half, and I mean it. There was half a chicken tied to a tree branch, and the other half was no where to be found.

I asked a friend about it, and he told me that some people practice Santería in the park after hours, and this was part of what they do. Well of course this prompted a bunch of research on my behalf as I wanted to understand exactly why I may be finding half of a chicken tied to a log on my morning run.

Well, now this morning I went running in the park and I came across two guys taking pictures of something. I slowed down to see what it was. This time it was a living chicken. A big fat red hen, that was kinda beat up and looked like it had escaped the other chickens fate.

I can only assume that these are from Santería rituals performed in the dark after hours. That, or the recent Renaissance Festival in Fort Tryon is short a few chickens......

But anyway...

From Wikipedia:

"Santería also known as "La Regla de Lukumi," is an Afro-Caribbean religion derived from traditional beliefs of the Yoruba people of Nigeria."

Now, this religion has faced much controversy over its practice of animal sacrifice. In fact, in 1993 the issue was taken to the Supreme court when animal rights activists targeted the group saying their sacrifices of animals were cruel.

On this subject Wikipedia then states;

"The Supreme Court ruled that animal cruelty laws targeted specifically at Yoruba were unconstitutional: the Yoruba practice of animal sacrifice has seen no significant legal challenges since then."

I do have to say, I'm not fond of thinking that up in a public park there are people killing chickens at night.

But I guess I am also a bit confused as to why the pieces of the bird or the entire bird would be left there in plain sight where people can find it...

But all the same- this is certainly an ongoing practice in the neighborhood, and if you see half a dead chicken on your morning run--now you know what one explanation may be.

So in the words of Sondheim;

"Into the woods to go to the [Renaissance] Festival-! Into the woods! Into the woods! Into the woods-Then out of the woods, And home before dark!"

Have a safe jog in the park.

New York City Department of Parks & Recreation:
General Park Hours; Parks: Sunrise to 1 AM, Playgrounds: 8 AM to Dusk.


UPDATE:

So I went running again this morning, and who should I find on the path in front of me by the Dog Walk? My little red hen. But she didn't look so good. A few days in the park had made her weak and she was just sitting on the asphalt path with her eyes half closed while lots of green flies swarmed her. It was awful. I came close enough to her that she became alert, but then she just closed her eyes again as if to say " there ain't a thing you can do that could be worse than what I already went through."
The fact is she will probably die in the park.
I couldn't really allow that, so of course I run home and call 311. Sylvia answers and I tell her all the info. Then she tells me it may take up to 5 days to respond. What?? Really? Five?!
Okay,, well that is about all I can do other than trying to take a hen home with me and nurse it back to health in my bathtub or something.

So. The red hen is still there. On closer inspection it looks like someone ripped her tail out. It's pretty awful. I hope she gets some help.

So yea. I couldn't find any of the park people there.. oh but get this.. FIRST I went to Fort Tryon's Cloisters museum and asked the security people if they could help with the situation and locate the park people. They said "We have nothing to do with the park."
While that is all well and good, and I respect that. I also think it is a slightly miserable and self defeating stance on the situation. For instance-- you have nothing to do with the park? Therefore, I assume that park has nothing to do with you? Ok. Say the park suddenly can't afford to have it's grounds kept up, and is abandoned to the same extent as Inwood Hill park. I think the cloisters would find themselves in a bit of a pinch when bum encampments spring up in the land around them that they have 'nothing to do with'.

That is a bit of a rant, but it just sounded so silly when it came out of his mouth.

So anyway-- some park person within the next five days will probably find the hen- dead or alive- and then probably euthanize it anyway. It's sort of sad.

Review: Capitol Restaurant

I went here for breakfast a few days ago.

I usually like to eat at the Park View Cafe on Dyckman, but I figured it would be nice to try something different.
Capitol Restaurant

4933 Broadway, New York, NY
(212) 942-5090

So,, first things first. The place is called "Capitol" Restaurant. Now I don't know if they just chose the alternative way of spelling "capital" to be cute,, like when people spell 'shop' as "Shoppe" etc.. or if they named it for the nations Capitol , or if they named it after Jupiter's Temple in Ancient Rome; the Capitōlium on the Capitoline hill... but whatever the reason..

Welcome to the Capitol Restaurant.

I walked in and there was an older guy working. The kind of person that immediately gave you the impression that this was perhaps a family owned enterprise and he was the surly brother. So I sat, and had a tiny glass of water. The inside of the place is small and dark--and I immediately knew that if I had a hang over-- this is the place I would go. It is a bit like eating in a cave. Perfect for those times when you need sunglasses and a 'wet nap' everywhere you go after a heavy night of dancing and pumping yourself full of vodka.

So, I went,, and it has a really basic diner menu. I decided that I would go therefore; with the very basic diner options. I got wheat toast, scrambled eggs, coffee and some home fries-- or hash browns as some people call them.

The food was up nice and fast. But it didn't look like anything too exciting. I mean, it really was basic diner food. If i did go there with a hang over- it would be perfect because when you have a hang over you order the food cause you know you should, but you end up just having the coffee.

So, I mean. The food was fine. It sort of reminded me of the sort of breakfast a mom would make their kid in a rush except with out as much love put into it. I didn't like the hashbrowns.

The coffee was okay though and that made me happy.

Well,,I suppose the moral is- crash here when you need get away from the sunlight and don't go here expecting a sexy garnish for your nice cheap meal or an overwhelmingly upbeat atmosphere. The server tends to you when you need it, and leaves you alone while you eat.

The place is worth the Ink

6.5 out of 10.

The place is really basic and more of a hideaway than a food destination.

I would hold meetings here that need a quiet atmosphere.

UPDATE: NEXXUS SHOES; :-(

Do we all remember the great story of Jason and the Argonauts?

A small quote from the story I find extremely relevant to my day today:

"Pelias jealously guarded his crown. He paid homage to all the gods but Hera, Queen of the Gods, and he consulted the Delphic oracle who who spoke this prophecy, "A hateful doom awaits you to be slain by the hand of the man with but one sandal."

Well-- Now I am that man with one sandal and these prophetic words give me the strength to bringith forth DOOM on NEXXUS shoes.

Yea.. remember the nice review I gave Nexxus shoes? I had gone, and bought a lovely pair of sandals from the store for twenty bucks ( see receipt).

I purchased them on the twenty-seventh of August. I have worn them a total of about.. oh seven times- not including trips to the mail box in the lobby in the morning.

Well, this morning when I put on my sandals to head to the mail box, I took two steps and felt something odd. My sandal had detached from my foot. I took another step because I wanted to give the sandal the benefit of the doubt. But no. The sandal had betrayed me. After searching for weeks to find a nice looking pair of moderately priced sandals/flip flops my dreams were smashed after only 3 weeks of owning them.

Upon closer inspection I could see that the fibers had actually separated after only a few wearings. They had not SNAPPED from a fall, or a misstep. They had literally come apart after only a few weeks. Its like when you buy jeans and the material sort of loosens up? Well that shouldn't happen with a sandal. Maybe after a year, or perhaps even a season of wear and tear.

But three weeks is a joke. Three weeks a is a rip off. Three weeks worth of wearing a nice little sandal and then having it come apart on a trip 25 feet to my mail box makes me take a trip back to Nexxus.

Yes-- OH YES.. I went back. -- I was very nice about it too. I said,, "Hi, you sold me these sandals and they fell apart after wearing them about 7 times or so." I showed him the receipt and he said "Yea, sometimes sandals like these break when you trip in them or turn your leg funny."

--I was not amused as I had not tripped in them or turned my leg funny on my way to get my mail.

I asked him what he could do about it, or if there was a way to fix it. He said "No- you have to throw it out- it can't be fixed ( he said as though he knew from experience...) and we only have seven days to do returns."

I thanked him and walked out of the store and here I am telling you all; Don't bother shopping at Nexxus shoes for your sandals. Go somewhere else. Unless you are the type who enjoys buying new shoes and then having them break at an inopportune time. Yea I didn't pay a fortune for them. But what bothered me is that you can buy ugly flip flops from Old Navy and they wont break for a long while.

I mean, my thinking was-- oh the toe stirrup is made of leather-- that will be nice and strong. Well, I was wrong, Somehow or other it looks like both of the tongs on the sandals either had been slightly lacerated by the machine that made them, or they are just for looks while the core (made of cheap fibers similar to the string on tea bags) is supposed to actually hold the sandal together.

Don't get me wrong-- Nexxus has cheap shoes and nice people working there. But I don't think that it is worth going back there when I now know what happens to some of the shoes they sell. Also- I looked up the sandal online. All the versions of Raggazi Sandals I could find only cost $9.99 at the most. I paid twice that much at Nexxus... ugh. What really stinks is that I knew there was a Payless shoe store I could have gone to just down the street on Dyckman..

Anyway-- Check back on the review I posted for them-- it has been updated.