have always fascinated me
that is the way I see the world
and the way the world sees me
Stretching across our world,
catching so many brave souls,
May we never forget those precious lives,
May we always celebrate their gentle spirits.
When the Cold War ended, the whole world celebrated. It truly was a victory for all of humanity. That is why it is so sad and disconcerting that we are seeing some of the old jealousies and rivalries flaring up in different parts of the world. The Cold War consumed an entire geneation across the planet and came within a day of ending human history in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Stepping back from the current moves towards a new Cold War is the most important thing the world can do.
This post is taken from my Ebook Horizons which can be purchased on Etsy or from me directly. It is one of several pieces I created about the Cold War. We are not the Baby Boom generation. That is a term invented by corporations to sell products, and by governments to control people. We are the Cold War generation, whether you are from New York, or Moscow, or Brazil, or China, or anywhere in the world. And ending the Cold War without ending human history is our greatest accomplishment.
The Iconic New York Chess & Checker Club on 42nd Street, New York City!
I started playing Chess very young. One of my uncles, from Brooklyn, was really good, and I just picked it up. I went on to play in high school, and briefly in college.
The New York Chess & Checker club was right in midtown Manhattan, and would charge players for the boards. You would meet up with another player, and the loser would pay the tab! Oftentimes the tab would include a coffee or a soft drink.
You could always count on great games and meeting interesting characters, most of whom lived right in the city.
Competitive, egalitarian coffee house chess, right in the middle of downtown Manhattan!
If the weather was ok, after the games, we would walk a few blocks over to Bryant Park and the fabulous Main Branch of The New York City Public Library, a vast storehouse of innumerable books and documents, all available onsite to the general public. Typically (to this day) the Library also would host great exhibits of historical and literary documents which are hard to find elsewhere.
Bryant Park and The Main Library are truly part of the wonders of the world, in my opinion!
If the weather was really nice we would walk all the way downtown, to Washington Square Park, in Greenwich Village, where folks might be playing chess outdoors, or playing guitars and singing songs to anyone who would listen!
Friendship, Chess, great books, exhibitions, music!
A great time in a great city!
The club was established by a Canadian in 1950 and lasted until the late 1970s. It became The Disney Store which I always thought was quite interesting!
I feel so lucky I was able to be part of the chess history of New York City, a city that has produced many incredible players, probably most notably Bobby Fischer. There still are many chess clubs scattered throughout the city, but I think it will be quite some time before another one like The New York Chess & Checker Club arrives.