NYCivic

NOTE: It would be too jolting to jump from our beloved Boomer to Bruno and his buddies in one column, so today I offer some recollections and observations on the opportunity for personal renewal at the change of season.

Try to Remember

By Henry J. Stern
September 7, 2004

Today is the day after Labor Day — one of six days that mark the end of summer. We begin on September 1, the first day that "oysters 'r' in season." When I was a boy, there was a fish store on Dyckman Street in Inwood (in upper Manhattan, not the Five Towns) which displayed that sign in its window. It meant that you could eat oysters safely in months that had the letter 'r' in their names. My first thought was 'how do the oysters know?' but I soon figured out that every month, from September to April, has an 'r', while May, June, July and August do not. With today's refrigeration, that is no longer an issue. Our family didn't eat oysters anyway, delicious but not kosher (no shellfish, period). But for those who savored the tasty bivalve, September 1 was literally Opening Day.

The next marker was the day after Labor Day, after you came back from the long weekend or vacation, when the summer rental ended, when the boat was taken out of the water (we saw a number of them being pulled by cars yesterday as we returned from four days in Wilmington, Vermont). The day also meant certain changes in clothing at the office. Years ago, in white-shoe law firms, the rule was that, after Labor Day, you could no longer wear seersucker suits or straw hats. Legend has it that a young associate at one law firm was fired when a senior partner saw him in the elevator unseasonably dressed. At the very least, the old man made a mental note not to let the young man become a partner. I will not mention the law firm's name because the story may or may not be true, and it has been told about various firms. In any event, one need only hear it once to get the point.

The day school starts has special significance. My first day at P.S. 152, Manhattan, was September 9, 1940. My mother walked me the five blocks from home to school. I was in kindergarten, away from home and my little brother, excited and looking forward to school. Today kids go to nursery school, preschool, day care and pre-K, so the first day of school is not as clearly delineated. I remember my kindergarten teachers — there were two, Mrs. Furman and Miss O'Meara, which, I now realize, pretty well represented the New York City teaching staff in those days. Of my fellow pupils, I am still in touch with only one, Stanley (Falcon) Michels, who went into the same line of work I did, serving on the City Council. When I became Parks Commissioner in 1983, I left Stanley my Clean Indoor Air bill, which passed in 1987 when Mayor Koch adopted it. Back to kindergarten at P.S. 152: at three o'clock each afternoon, my mother came and picked me up. I wonder now if she took my brother with her when she went to school, but everyone who could tell me, including my brother, is gone.

This year, the New York City public schools will open on Monday, September 13. One cannot help but think of the hundreds of children who were murdered in Beslan, Russia on their first day of school, and the threat of terrorism throughout the world. Compared with that, the New York City school wars over educational practices seem less consequential, but teaching children how to read is enormously important in terms of their being able to eventually hold jobs, support their families, and participate in the world of the printed word. You don't hear that much anymore about teaching children to write. I wonder to what extent the second 'r' ' ('ritin') is less emphasized than it once was (Ritalin seems a more important 'r' now). What effect will low writing skills have on today's less privileged youngsters?

The next day we observe is the autumnal equinox — September 22 this year, but varying by a day or so in either direction (9/23/03 and 9/22/02) — when the seasons officially change. As you know, that is when the sun crosses the plane of the equator. When I was at Parks we observed the solstices and the equinoxes by astronomical displays, balancing eggs, and other diversions. The equinox precedes by several days the change of signs in the zodiac: Virgo (you know who she is) ends September 23 and Libra (the balanced scales of justice) starts September 24. This is a good day to join a health club; whichever one comes to mind at this time. Think of President Clinton, and wish him well.

The Jewish holidays provide a number of opportunities to start over. There is Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, the first of Tishri, which this year begins at sundown on Wednesday, September 15. That is a traditional time for New Year's resolutions, as we get another year closer to meeting our Maker. But in Judaism, you get still another chance. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the tenth of Tishri, starting with Shabbat on Friday evening, September 24, is devoted to repenting the sins of the past year. The newly cleaned slate may help you start fresh. Keeping the fast can concentrate the mind, and, hopefully, enable you to get a sense of a new beginning.

You may have wondered why September, whose root is sept, or seven, is the ninth month. That is because, when they started numbering, they began with March, the first month of spring. Two thousand years later, it is probably too late to change, so don't worry about it. There is more detail about this in "The New Year," January 2, 2003.

The marker days may help you get going this pleasant month, when the days shorten, but are reasonably long, the first leaves turn yellow but the trees are green, and the academic year opens, but tests lie far ahead. October 1 is the first day of the federal fiscal year, and starts the fourth quarter of the calendar year, but that accounting date provides little traction for anyone. If you want to improve yourself, your life or your fortune, September is a good time to start.