Heylivyjr -vol. 5 a continuation, Sitting on my stoop, shootin the breeze

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the picture is not of anyone specific, just meant as an illusion of another time and place.
It is meant to show six people hanging out chatting or "shooting the breeze".

wonder what they were talking about back then.

This post has been edited by ReElectAlGore2016 on Aug 4 2012, 01:30 PM

This thread is a continuation, revival of a few other threads I started on two different places years ago. I named it myself, so figure why not keep using that title.

A stoop is something known in NYC and the boroughs Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx as being a cement three or five or more steps leading up to the front door of an apartment building (at least normally 3 floors or many more) where the people who live gotta walk down and up every time they go out.

And when its not raining or snowing, people in the city tend to sit on the stoop, and talk or wave (and say hey Ben, hey Selma, hey Rhoda, hey Gladys as they either go by or come out of their apartments on "the block".
And everyone talks to everyone, or takes a seat for a while til they gotta go.

Nobody is better than anyone else, everyone makes for good conversation, normally staying away from topics that make people fight (though not always, especially with sports (Hey Bob, my Mets won last night, and Bob being a Yankee fan...well, you get the drift.) It's why its in offtopic and not on the main places.

On the other boards the threads ran for years with someone stopping by at least once a day if nothing else to say good morning or afternoon and maybe give an update on the weather somewhere or something.

So take a load off and have a seat, or lean against the polls, or the railings and all are welcome.
(of course keeping in mind the board this is and all that, not want to ruffle any feathers.)

Maybe even some old friends will somehow hear the thread has nine lives and is up and running again, and maybe they will join in.

And maybe we can have a good game of stoop ball when it gets a little less humid and hot out (where its going to be close to 95 with 95humidity here.

(and the stoop is relatively clean, but dress comfortable, you might find you are going to sit longer than you expected.)

This post has been edited by ReElectAlGore2016 on Aug 4 2012, 12:46 PM

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Stoop ball is something kids played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and 1970s
and to this day
(I myself when I moved to NJ first thing I did was get rid of the wooden stairs, and put in a concrete stoop, after which a number of others followed, though none had really heard about stoop ball and we caught them peering out of windows later on as we played and got another generation into it somewhat.

Takes a little pink spaldeen ball and a baseball mitt, a ball that bounces better than a tennis ball, you throw it at the stoop and come up with a point system, or you can actually play an imaginary type of baseball either alone or with friends, each one being another team (two at a time is best).

You can get the ball to bounce back, or come back in a high fly ball, or rocket back off the edge of each step like a line drive in baseball.

from wiki-

Stoop ball (also spelled "stoopball") is a game that is played by throwing a ball against a stoop (stairs leading up to a building) on the pavement in front of a building. The game is also known as "Off the Point". [1] Historically, it has been popular in Brooklyn and other inner cities. It first became popular after World War II.[2] It has been played and enjoyed by a number of prominent personalities. Sandy Koufax began his Hall of Fame baseball career by playing stoop ball, [3] while Marv Albert missed the city game so much that he once had a stoop constructed at his house in the suburbs. [4] Billy Joel played stoop ball on suburban streets [5]

Stoop ball is a pickup neighborhood game played on the stairs of a residential dwelling by a minimum of two players. The rules [6] are based loosely on baseball. The object of the game is to score the most runs in 9 innings.

One player is the "batter" and the other players the "fielders". The batter stands immediately in front of the stairs while the fielders stand behind the batter across the sidewalk on to the street. The "batter" throws a pink rubber ball (either a "spaldeen" or "pensie pinkie") at the stoop. The ball flies back towards the fielders, who are also facing the stoop. The objective is to hit the ball at such an angle and velocity so that it bounces back in the air as far as possible over the heads of the fielders, therefore registering bigger hits. The number of bases registered by a hit is determined by the distance traveled by the ball before it is fielded, unless the ball is caught on the fly resulting in an out.

The Stoopball League of America holds their annual world championships every July in Clinton, Wisconsin.

In addition to the "baseball rules" or "bounces" variation described above, there is also the "curbball" version, often played in parks. In the "original" version of stoop ball, only one player at a time throws and catches. In St. Louis, Missouri, this game was known as "stepball", where it was played from at least the 1930 to the 1980s. A Portable Stoopball Striker has even been patented. [7]

by the way, the people in the picture just represent anybody

here is a picture of Louis Armstrong, sitting on his stoop, and the kids came by daily when he was in and sat down with him.
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I remember that first picture from when you posted it at the other board. I like it. It is easy to imagine being back in time. Whereas you guys had the stoop, we sat out in the front yard and ate homemade ice. I can imagine you and some of the others from cgcs sitting there shooting the breeze.

I think this will be a good thread, Clay. Maybe some others will feel welcome to come back and visit. And considering that you started the other thread and you and livy visited there so often, yes, that's a great name.

I had never heard of stoop ball until you mentioned it. I bet that was a lot of fun. We used to play out in the dirt and play mud pies. :laugh: Oh, and china berry fights. We'd have our little fort areas and picked china berries and threw them back and forth.

Well, hope others here will join in and feel free to sit down and stay a while. We about to go to a surprise birthday party for a niece, so I'll check in later.

Those are some great pics i used to sit on those stoops with some family & friends when i used to live in downtown brooklyn those were some fun days back then sure would love to have them back.

so I am sitting on the stoop on this very overcast Friday morning and what is this I heard yesterday evening

The Monkees are reuniting the end of the year for a 13 date tour(including the NY area) and get this

after years of never wanting to be a Monkee or tour with the other 3 monkees, Mike Nesmith is leading this tour.

For Davy Jones, it is too late as he tragically passed away earlier this year
after many reunions with Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork since the mid 1980s when MTV helped bring them back

one thing they never have achieved was making the rock and roll hall of fame
maybe Mike is going for that

they say they are going to focus on the "Head" album and movie songs, and their hits with a multimedia presentation(guess they will show Davy maybe singing those songs he sang lead on as everyone's favorite Monkee.

But on the other hand, I feel like, hey mike nesmith, where were you all these past year when it would have made a difference to Davy? We know you got mega rich from your mother's discovery patent of "whiteout" (is it that with the internet, noone uses white out anymore?) :laugh:

well, I will still go and see them, but it should have been earlier.

(come on, I see you all singing
Daydream Believer, Last Train to clarksville, I'm a believer,...

remember back in the 60s, Jimi Hendrix opened for the Monkees

It's a shame that Mike Nesmith waited this long to tour with the Monkees, not that Davy is gone. I agree that he should have been there during the past tours. It won't be the same without Davy there.

Gonna have to call it a night. Btw, I see that ap215 commented on this thread earlier. Clay, it looks like there is another person here who enjoys stoop ball. Who knows? Maybe ya'll played close by growing up. Welcome to Clay's thread, ap215.

Why did people stop playing stoop ball in the 80's on up till now? Crime? the internet?Fear?

Probably a combination of all that. Just like here - you don't see as many kids riding bicycles like they used to. Now it's computer games or tv. If you do see them riding something, it's more often an ATV than a bike.

games of imagination and with friends were replaced by video games and the internet and texting and all and kids staying indoors more than ever
(hence the weight problems more and more kids have, sitting and not moving and getting exercise.

the crime in big cities like NYC went down to almost non-existent levels in the 1990s, so that isn't the problem.

Need to get that exercise (and I myself have since July joined a health club and been doing a mile a day in the pool...(and sometimes I am there early when no one else is in the pool, and I have bought with me a little nerf (spongelike) ball
that I have been tossing around getting my throwing hand in shape...in the fall when it cools down, if my knees can take it, will get my mitt and ball and play ball myself if no one wants to play along.
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:.

Remember the kick the can episode of twilight zone...
stoop ball is I think the same thing...staying active, playing games =feeling younger, if not actually becoming young again.

Well, good for you, Clay. The exercise will keep us younger longer. :rolleyes:

I agree that more exercise is sorely lacking these days. Kids do seem noticeably more overweight, due to being less active. Some schools even cut out P.E. which doesn't help, but sugar consumption (especially high fructose corn syrup) is probably a big part of the problem too.

We bought season passes to the local (newly expanded) water park and have been trying to use it at every opportunity. Friday is the best day because it's open late. I love riding the waves in the wave pool in a tube.

It's amazing when you get the kids away from the computer for the day. They can find all kinds of things to play outside to get out of doing work.

:laugh:

I love water parks, especially the ones that have lazy rivers where you lie on a tube and the current takes you around (especially at the parks where you don't have to get out at the end, but can go as much as you want

I love Typhoon Lagoon at Disney (though it used to be better when they actually played Beach Boy songs, but they got cheap a decade or so ago, and took out alot of the soundtrack and replaced it with inferior stuff

closer to me, Dorney Park in Allentown PA is my favorite waterpark


hey pegatha, are you out there somewhere? Know you were a member here in the earlier days.
Thought I saw your penquin on dem. underg.

This post has been edited by ReElectAlGore2016 on Aug 17 2012, 06:47 AM

dang, we lost a big one today.
Scott MacKenzie, singer of the #1 song "San Francisco" in 1967 (if you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair) passed away at only 73.

Makes me real sad...saw him in concert a few times over the years. And talked to him a bit and what a nice person he was.

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=751629
Scott McKenzie of '60 hit 'San Francisco' dies
Aug. 19, 2012, 8:41 AM EST
WENN

Veteran singer Scott McKenzie died Saturday at the age of 73 in Los Angeles. He is perhaps best known for his 1967 hit single "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)."

Bing: Watch video of McKenzie singing 'San Francisco'

In his early career, McKenzie found fame with doo-wop band The Abstracts, which became The Smoothies. They later formed The Journeymen with John Phillips and Dick Weissman.

The Journeymen disbanded n the 1960s and McKenzie declined an offer from Phillips to join his new group -- The Mamas and the Papas. McKenzie later joined a new version of The Mamas and the Papas in the 1980s.

This post has been edited by ReElectAlGore2016 on Aug 19 2012, 03:59 PM

Sorry to hear about that, Clay. I did not know he had been sick - had something called Guillian-Barre Syndrome?

It seems we have been losing some good classic celebrities lately - Andy Griffith, Sherman Hemsley, Ron Palillo and now Scott Mackenzie. :unsure: Loved all those old shows.