Bonfire of the Mini-van

The South Bronx has always gotten a bad rap. First it was Howard Cosell during the World Series in the 70's telling the world that , the Bronx was burning. Then came the Bonfire of the Vanities that provided a boom to inflatable tires, especially for those yuppies driving to Manhattan by way of the Bruckner Expressway. Having spent my early life in the "country" part of The Bronx, Throgs Neck,  and then spending 4 wonderful years teaching in the shadow of Fort Apache (another endearing term) for a Bronx landmark, the police station, I never felt uneasy as I drove or walked around the neigh-ba-hood. 

All these years later and despite Herculean efforts to change the perception of this county, I experienced a Bonfire moment. Driving on the service road of the lower level of the Bruckner, I stopped at a light adjacent to the Hunts Point subway station. With the window up I could not hear but did see the woman in the van next to me, frantically trying to get my attention. I opened the window as she asked "Which way to the Bronx River Parkway"? I told her she was going in the wrong direction and that she needed to turn around and follow the Bruckner to the entrance about 2 miles back. SH#%! she responded but thanked me. The light changed and and she took off not relaxing that making a u-turn from the extreme right lane was next to impossible. I followed her and when she turned right I turned also. As I pulled up along side of her I could see she was in total panic mode, now that she was off the beaten path. This despite the fact that she was on Southern Blvd. a major road. She recognized me and looked relieved. I gave her further directions and off she drove. I'm confident she made it home. As I continued my trip to NYC, I stayed on Southern Blvd. and I must say that as you travel towards the Bruckner at 8:00 PM the side streets are eerily quiet.

My minds eye view of this part of The Bronx will always be colored by the wonderful years I spent there with some terrific people and as for me I'd never say, The Bronx, No thanxs!