167th anniversary of Bay Ridge Brooklyn New York

[georgecraigmanning]

The Secret, by Byron Preiss
verse 10/image 12
K.I.S.S. reveal
George C Manning

How I read verse 10...
In the shadow of the grey giant (Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge)
find the arm (bridge deck) that extends over the slender path (The Narrows).
In summer you’ll often hear a whirring sound (Pigeon Park),
cars abound (intersection of 95th Street and 4th Avenue).
Although the sign nearby speaks of indies native, the natives (Native New Yorkers) still speak of him of hard word in 3 vols
(Fort Hamilton Library).
Take twice as many east steps as the hour (22), or more (several), from the middle of one branch (Fort Hamilton Library) of the v (vestibule). Look down.
And see simple roots (Gelston Fort Hamilton Free Library) in rhapsodic man’s soil (Carnegie), or gaze north toward the isle of b (island of birds).

My interpretation of BP’s wordplay...
‘Grey giant’ is the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. ‘Grey’ because that’s how Canadian co-authors Kelly and Mann spell ‘gray’.
‘The arm that extends over the slender path’ is the bridge deck that extends over The Narrows, the tidal strait separating Brooklyn from Staten Island.
‘In summer you’ll often hear a whirring sound, cars abound’ is Fort Hamilton Triangle Park. Unofficially named Pigeon Park by the locals because of the expansive number of pigeons that live there. In summer when the babies leave their nests, they are fully feathered and the same size as adults. The ‘whirring sound’ is the sound that their wings make. ‘Cars abound’ because Fort Hamilton Triangle Park is basically a traffic Island between 4th and 5th Avenue, two extremely busy roads.
‘Indies native’, ‘hard word’, 3 vols’, ‘branch’, ‘simple roots in rhapsodic man’s soil’ (more on this later), also perhaps the image of a lion in the woman’s robe (universal symbol of library to every ‘Native’ New Yorker) is the Fort Hamilton Library (1- Fort, 2-Hamilton, 3 vols-Library).
‘Twice as many east steps as the hour’ is 22 steps, ‘or more’ is several.
‘The middle of one branch of the v’ is the middle of the library (branch) where there is a vestibule (v). This is important because there is a placard on the wall in this vestibule which I will discuss later.
‘Simple roots in rhapsodic man’s soil’ is what’s written on that placard.
‘The isle of b’ is the island of birds.
In 1981, Fort Hamilton Triangle/ Pigeon Park was basically a traffic Island paved entirely with cobblestones and covered, often literally inch by inch with birds. A Native New Yorker calls a traffic island, an ‘island’.
Furthermore, image 12 leads me to the exact same locations.
Let me explain...

Combined with JJP’s image 12...
The bird represents Ellis Island. Image 12’s bird’s head is a match with the eagles on the Ellis Island ferry terminal, however it has the body of a seagull. Ellis Island’s original name was “Kioshk” or Gull Island when it was purchased from the local Indian tribes.
The most obvious, the Statue of Liberty. Notice the hairline, it’s a match to the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. Also the arched shape of the picture is a match to the Verrazzano Bridge tower.
So, Ellis Island to the Statue of Liberty to the Verrazzano Bridge.
I believe image 12’s church represents Brooklyn by its nickname, ‘The Borough of Churches’, and that the crashing waves represent the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge.
In my theory, verse and image lead me down a short path only several blocks long. I begin at the Verrazzano Bridge at the end of 4th Avenue. I continue walking down 4th Avenue because the woman in image 12 is showing 4 fingers on her free hand.
I stop at The Roman Catholic Church of St. Patrick on 95th Street.
I realize this is not a Russian Orthodox Church like the one in image 12, however...
Perhaps the church in image 12 is a clever disguise. Instead of focusing on the architecture of the church’s exterior, I focus on the interior. After all, studying stained glass windows can’t be done from outside, it has to be done from the inside with the light shining through.
Inside the RC Church of St. Patrick I’m IMMEDIATELY struck by a blue bordered arch on the wall, the exact same shape as image 12.
In the center of the arch is a statue of Mother Mary in a comparable robe, and in almost the identical pose as the woman in image 12.
I’m further struck by the stained glass windows above her surrounding the church. The windows are not only the exact same shape as image 12, they also have dots/circles in the exact upper portion of the rounded arch, furthermore, those dots/circles are the exact same colors as they are in image 12.
What if artist John Jude Palencar used HIS archetype church, Saint Theodosius Orthodox Church, in his hometown of Ohio to represent the RC Church of St. Patrick in image 12? Visually, it’s a perfect match. And if he did, perhaps he drew upon the archetypes, symbols, shapes, and colors inside the RC Church of St. Patrick to create a large part of image 12. Perhaps Palencar’s secret within The Secret?
Exiting the church, I cross 4th Avenue to The Fort Hamilton Library (‘sign nearby’). The entrance door is a reddish brown with a limestone door surround that is a spot on match to the reddish rectangle framed in gray in image 12.
Through this door and inside the vestibule is a placard that reads...
‘In the 1880’s Mrs. Gelstin of Shore Road, with a capital of faith and 5 dollars, donated a collection of books to open the Fort Hamilton Free Library. In 1901 it became a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, and in 1905 with a 1.6 million dollar gift from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, moves to its new building. Fort Hamilton Library became one of Brooklyn’s first ‘Carnegie Libraries’.
Carnegie is probably best known for Carnegie Hall, one of the most prestigious venues in the The world of music.
Bingo! Simple roots in rhapsodic man’s soil.
From the middle of the library’s vestibule (middle of one branch of the v) I cross east on 4th Avenue. It’s EXACTLY 22 steps from curb to curb (twice as many east steps as the hour). I’m at Fort Hamilton Triangle/ Pigeon Park. Here there is an eagle-topped obelisk dedicated to local soldiers killed in World War I.
In summer you’ll often hear a whirring sound from the residents wings and cars abound from the busy traffic of 4th and 5th avenues. This small triangle park is similar to the shape of image 12’s woman.
Or more...Two or three steps from here I’m standing at an oval planter of grass and shrubs at the southern tip of the park.
The last line of verse 10 is the confirmer that This is my dig spot.
‘And see simple roots in rhapsodic man’s soil’ is telling me to look at the library from where I’m standing.
Looking at the library from here, I see 2 acorn shaped lights on each side of the door and an ornate streetlight at the curb. It’s a perfect match for image 12’s 3 ‘water droplets’, especially at night when they’re lit. Following the same optic, image 12’s ‘faceted jewel’ is literally IN the oval planter where I’m standing, representing the location of the casque. The angle and perspective are spot on.
Furthermore, if I ‘gaze north’ from this location, I’m looking directly at Fort Hamilton Triangle/ Pigeon Park (the traffic island paved in cobblestones and covered with birds), or ‘the isle of b’irds.
This oval bordered planter is my dig spot.

Combined with number play...
Looking at at image 12 , I’ve always been bothered by the asymmetry of the birds wings and the 5 panels over the 4 panels in the top of the arch.
The top of the birds right wing strikes me as unusual.
The border on the top of the arch doesn’t continue through it and there is an interruption of the border between the two wings.
The bottom border of the purple panel, the same, however, there is shading where the border would have been, almost creating a line.
The top of the right wing has detailed feathers where the left wing does not.
The effect is that the top of the right wing is isolated. Why?
I count 9 distinct feathers on the right wing.
This is over 5 distinct panels. Why 5?
Below those are 4 distinct panels. Why 4?
9,5 and 4??
So, where would Byron Preiss burry a treasure?..
I say, in my oval planter staring directly at a historic Brooklyn Library with the Verrazzano Bridge looming in the background, a location where ALL the features of image 12 are represented.
The church, with the statue of a robed Mother Mary framed in an arch, the arched stained glass windows with the exact same colorful dots.
The Fort Hamilton Library, with its rectangular red door and limestone door surround, with two lights, one on each side and the ornate streetlight at the curb.
Fort Hamilton Triangle/ Pigeon Park, with its eagle topped obelisk, and its famous ‘Welcome To Bay Ridge’ sign posted in the oval bordered planter, my dig spot.
All of these things are at one location...
95th Street and 4th Avenue, or as a Native New Yorker, like Byron Preiss would say...
9,5 and 4.

Respect ALL laws associated with The Secret.



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