My grandmother and mother used to take me to the Loews Valencia on 165th St. Jamaica Avenue. I don’t remember much about our trips. The last involvement my mother had was when she sent me with my buddies and the oldest brother; Vic, Ant and Johnny. Johnny was older; he was about 16 and knew the security guard. We kept the money for food.
I remember the smell of beer and weed. The food was great; the rest rooms were better kept ten I expected. My mother also took me regularly to Radio City Music Hall at Rockafeller Center, for under $3.75 back then. There, and the Valencia were my favorites. The movie we viewed was a Karate flick, where they completely dismembered their victims in mid air. I don’t remember the name.
The last flick I remember seeing was with Ant and Vic. It was King Kong. We admired the gold fish, ate our pop corn, and walked back home. The afros were thick, the velvet black art was popular, Evil Kenevil was on the model Zenith System III, and Fly Robin Fly was the hit, followed by Twenty-Five Miles from Home… Sneakers were only $8.99, for the popular Keds, the Uptown model…
Then it seemed that crime was taking over and the economy was loosing. Radio City Closed down, I kept the program. The Valencia closed. I was just a kid and didn’t know why. Then The Jamaica Tabernacle of Prayer opened up, starting a new development trend that is still booming. We all know Radio City doesn’t have a show with a movie anymore, and the price all over town jumped. The little spot in front of the store, for the man to display a cardboard box with cologne, is worth $400 per month this year 2004.
The Jamaica Tabernacle is rollin’… Community service, outreach, ministry, in beauty… I understand there are historians who would expect other forms of maintaining the edifice. Now, this is me thinking, why don’t you pay for the work to be done? Otherwise, it is still a church. I don’t know about the finances in this church or your church, but as a visiting deacon who visits many churches, even the rich churches have their finances limited.
Santa Monica Church by York College was demolished, but they preserved the face of the building to be the entrance of what I believe will be the nursery. Mario Cuomo was an alter boy there, and I was baptized there. I remember the pews and furnishings had hand carved paws for feet.
Presentation of the BVM Church on Parsons Blvd. once boasted the best pipe organ with music I used to hear when I walked by. I know it’s not only expensive to maintain as an instrument, but the temperature and humidity had to be maintained as well. The pipes are velvet coated from the interior, as you experts know, and for it to work properly, the environment had to be perfect.
I plan to visit the Jamaica Tabernacle this coming month, July. It started about 9 am, praise and worship started when the first person showed up and grabbed the mic. By the end of two hours, the whole choir and band joined in. Then the first speaker was an hour. Offertory was an hour, where you get a chance to eat. I snuck out for a street shish-ke-bob, or a hot Jamaican beef pattie in cocoa bread.
Then the next speaker had about an hour, before the main speaker came out. Pastor Ronnie Davis is a mighty man of God. You may think that’s long. We’d get out at about three or for in the afternoon, but it was a blessing. After all, it is a Sabbath “dayâ€â€¦.
gb My own Valencia Excerpt
My grandmother and mother used to take me to the Loews Valencia on 165th St. Jamaica Avenue. I don’t remember much about our trips. The last involvement my mother had was when she sent me with my buddies and the oldest brother; Vic, Ant and Johnny. Johnny was older; he was about 16 and knew the security guard. We kept the money for food.
I remember the smell of beer and weed. The food was great; the rest rooms were better kept ten I expected. My mother also took me regularly to Radio City Music Hall at Rockafeller Center, for under $3.75 back then. There, and the Valencia were my favorites. The movie we viewed was a Karate flick, where they completely dismembered their victims in mid air. I don’t remember the name.
The last flick I remember seeing was with Ant and Vic. It was King Kong. We admired the gold fish, ate our pop corn, and walked back home. The afros were thick, the velvet black art was popular, Evil Kenevil was on the model Zenith System III, and Fly Robin Fly was the hit, followed by Twenty-Five Miles from Home… Sneakers were only $8.99, for the popular Keds, the Uptown model…
Then it seemed that crime was taking over and the economy was loosing. Radio City Closed down, I kept the program. The Valencia closed. I was just a kid and didn’t know why. Then The Jamaica Tabernacle of Prayer opened up, starting a new development trend that is still booming. We all know Radio City doesn’t have a show with a movie anymore, and the price all over town jumped. The little spot in front of the store, for the man to display a cardboard box with cologne, is worth $400 per month this year 2004.
The Jamaica Tabernacle is rollin’… Community service, outreach, ministry, in beauty… I understand there are historians who would expect other forms of maintaining the edifice. Now, this is me thinking, why don’t you pay for the work to be done? Otherwise, it is still a church. I don’t know about the finances in this church or your church, but as a visiting deacon who visits many churches, even the rich churches have their finances limited.
Santa Monica Church by York College was demolished, but they preserved the face of the building to be the entrance of what I believe will be the nursery. Mario Cuomo was an alter boy there, and I was baptized there. I remember the pews and furnishings had hand carved paws for feet.
Presentation of the BVM Church on Parsons Blvd. once boasted the best pipe organ with music I used to hear when I walked by. I know it’s not only expensive to maintain as an instrument, but the temperature and humidity had to be maintained as well. The pipes are velvet coated from the interior, as you experts know, and for it to work properly, the environment had to be perfect.
I plan to visit the Jamaica Tabernacle this coming month, July. It started about 9 am, praise and worship started when the first person showed up and grabbed the mic. By the end of two hours, the whole choir and band joined in. Then the first speaker was an hour. Offertory was an hour, where you get a chance to eat. I snuck out for a street shish-ke-bob, or a hot Jamaican beef pattie in cocoa bread.
Then the next speaker had about an hour, before the main speaker came out. Pastor Ronnie Davis is a mighty man of God. You may think that’s long. We’d get out at about three or for in the afternoon, but it was a blessing. After all, it is a Sabbath “dayâ€â€¦.
GeorgeBrown19662hotmail.com