Wikipages Blog

I enjoy a bit of spookiness and the macabre. That’s probably why I like to explore graveyards.

I find them fascinating. I like to see how long ago people lived and how old they were when they died. If they’re buried with family, the lavishness of the gravestone. It just paints a story of one life that’s now… over.

I wandered around in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Astoria, with my boyfriend Ben. Quite a cool place. It’s right near a highway, but it’s huge. And has some very old graves.We went through a few winds of the path, where the graveyard borders on a forested area. And we heard an odd sound in the underbrush. I jumped! We edged nearer to the forest and heard it again. A faint, but distinct… clucking!

We peered into the woods and saw the creatures making the sound. A whole herd of chickens! Feral, it seemed. Hens, roosters. Dozens of them! We also saw a pheasant with them! Feeding peacefully among them like one of the herd.

There was some feed on the ground, as if someone regularly feeds them. A chicken-loving gravedigger, or the ghost of a farmer. It was just the oddest thing to see this big group of chickens, clucking away in the middle of a graveyard. Pretty spooky stuff!

I always get a bit depressed when September comes around. It’s not as if I haven’t been working full time all summer or have to go back to school. But that sinking feeling comes every year around this time.

I decided to ward off the feeling in a place that always feels like summer. That’s right: The Beer Garden. Possibly my favorite bar in New York. I had a house guest from Australia staying with me, so I had to show off the local hangout. My favorite part of introducing others to the Beer Garden is seeing their face when they step out the bar door into the courtyard. That look of wonder.

Of course, the bar was packed as usual. Even though it was a Wednesday. It’s the unfortunate byproduct of the Beer Garden’s growing popularity. Now even Manhattanites make the trip out to Astoria (all ten minutes) to participate in the outdoor drunken merriment that is the Beer Garden. Meaning all summer, lines wrapped around the block. My Australian friend declared that there must be dozens of other Australians there, since it just seems like the sort of place Australians would be. We enjoyed a dinner of kielbasa and (for me, the vegetarian) barbecued portobello mushroom and fries. You really can’t go wrong with a huge courtyard, barbeque, and alcohol.

But as we were enjoying the drinks and food of the outdoor courtyard, something sad happened. I got cold. Yes, summer is over. Well, at least that means October Fest is on the way!