After being stopped by an NYPD squad car on my morning walk to the Staten Island Ferry and told to drop my paddle bag and step aside while the officer inspected it (yes, paddle bags do look a bit like rifle bags), I was then stopped inside the ferry terminal while the bomb dog went through my gear. To top it all off, as the group was returning to our take-out site on Staten Island north of the Verrazano Bridge, we were approached by three Coast Guard vessels, two NYPD boats and a helicopter – not to mention several rescue vehicles on the Belt Parkway. After repeated interrogations, they finally let us proceed under escort across the channel and past the bridge. The Coast Guard eventually explained that they had received a call of bodies in the water.

I’m not sure if the level of scrutiny I received that day left me feeling safe or violated. I guess that is the proverbial fine line of law enforcement.


Lunch at Norton Point. A raw nasty day – first taste of fall.

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