Evening, gang, and welcome to Day 19.
So, about four years ago, I decided to drive to my hometown of Rochester, NY.
I got up early on the 21st of June (ironically, that’s the summer solstice) and hit the road. My plan was to get up to my old neighborhood and spend the day visting my past.
I drove north on Route 6, hooked up with Highway 81 North and then headed west on Route 90.
By the time I got to my old neigborhood, I felt like I’d entered a time warp. Suddenly, I was back on my bicycle, my Sting-Ray model with a banana seat, driving up the side of a steep hill aptly named “Alan’s Rise” and down towards Charing Cross Rd.
I knocked at the door of my childhood home and told the man who lived there that it was my first time back in the neighborhood in about 45 years. It took all the restraint I could muster not to ask him if I could go up and see my old room, but instead, I settled for taking some pictures in the backyard.
I was having a great time, and then I realized that it was only 1pm. What was I going to do anyway? Drive around for a while and then maybe watch a summer rerun or something back in the hotel?
That’s when I got the idea to run up – and over – to Buffalo, NY, a place I hadn’t been since I was 10 years old when my dad took me to the see old War Memorial Stadium where The Natural was filmed.
For those who don’t know that area well, Western, NY (particularly Buffalo, which is right on Lake Erie) is famous for its snowfall. In fact, Buffalo’s annual average snowfall is approximately 100 inches or nearly 8 1/2 feet! Yep, it’s enough to make you think about taking up island hopping – and fast!
Anyway, I mention it because on that June day, the mercury rose to over 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and I walked around old War Memorial just as I had with my dad in the early 1970s. (Note: I found out later that I was actually walking around the stadium at an alternate site. The original structure I saw as a kid was torn down in 1989, with the new one built in 1992, incorporating the original entrances from the old stadium.)
As the temperature rose, I ran around town some more, stopping in the revamped downtown area, visting the hockey arena and other local landmarks.
As I headed out of town, though, that’s when I saw these guys. Yeah, there they were, three firefighters sitting and watching the world go by like three little kids hiding from the heat.
Fire Company 19, downtown Buffalo, NY and those three young fire eaters hiding in the shade of their house, watching the world go by like a trio of lakeside heroes.
You’ll laugh, but I’ve always regretted not stopping and talking to them. I’m not even sure what I would have said, but the thought of a conversation with three young firefighters on a sweltering afternoon in a city best known for its snow, wind and cold was just too good to pass up.
In the end, though, I realized that the “I am a camera” philosophy, made famous by British novelist Christopher Isherwood was the best course of action. Sometimes, simply documenting the world and watching it go by can be a pretty cool experience.
And it certainly was that hot summer day in the shadow of Fire Company 19.
See you tomorrow for Day 18.
JFish
@Copyright 2025 by John L. Fischer