Numinous

Numinous (adj.) – Origin: English – Definition: Describing an experience that makes you fearful yet fascinated, awed yet attracted.

I’m not afraid of heights.  Yet, every time I rise above the clouds, my stomach turns.  I ask myself, “Why am I up here?”  Every time I stand at the edge of a drop off, I think, “Good Lord, what am I doing?”  I have flung myself from an airplane, jumped off the side of a mountain, jumped off rooftops, and bridges.  What was I thinking and why would I do that?  What is this fascination?  Why does anyone do it?

It’s crazy, but jumping from a plane or from the side of a mountain was way less scary than hanging Christmas lights from my roof, or washing my 2nd story windows.  I have heard that it is because you are so high in the sky that you can’t really grasp the full spectrum of where you are or what you are doing.  When you are on a ladder, or within view of the ground, you can actually feel how close you are and understand the consequences … or something like that.

I have only done it once, and it’s true, it does not actually feel like falling.  I guess that’s because you are traveling at about 120 miles an hour and you can’t actually go any faster and unlike being in a car or a plane, you do not have a chance to see things pass by you but only to feel the wind.  I have a video Skydiving in Venezuela and it’s such a rush re-watching it. It was definitely a numinous experience.  Something that I would be attracted to do again, and yet wonder… during the entire event… why oh why was I doing this?

“I guess everyone has a bird urge when they look down heights, a desire to jump, without wing or buoyant sail. Fear of heights is fear of a desire to jump.”
― Amruta Patil

“People who are saying that they are afraid of heights are usually not actually afraid of heights. They are afraid of falling, which means it’s a synonym for losing control.
So they have to get in touch with the definitional belief to find out what’s really going on.”
― Bashar

From a past post – another heights fascination.  Though I would be less likely to Canyon again.  It felt more dangerous than skydiving.  Again perspective.  The ground was so darn close.

Canyoning in Venezuela – (2 more links you can view) 2nd link , 3rd link – Scared, hot, cold, falling, jumping, sliding, wet.  Energy, Exhaustion and Emotion.  Rushing water. Drowns thought. High-low-tired-wide awake.  Heart racing.  No worries only the moment. No thinking only moving.  Laughter. Fear. Laughter. Memories.

Heights:  CEE; stine; pensivity; crazy; kathy; jade; archyde; matrox; tadra; yahya; simplicity; guamanchi;

ALLLLLLLLLL Aboard – Brooklyn Transit Museum

Ok I’ll admit this song is a bit dramatic for this particular blog, but I do love it and I do love trains AND I did just travel across the U.S. by trains so it still seemed fitting.  It also seemed fitting to visit the Brooklyn Transit Museum in .. ta da.. Brooklyn.  I was told it was only an exhibition that was going to be running for a couple of months.  During my stay in New York I decided I should catch it before it moved out.  I expected to visit this museum and would be in and out in about 45 minutes max.  almost 3 hours later I finally decided to leave.

The museum houses about a hundred years of transit memorabilia. You need to enter through an outside entrance that takes you beneath the sidewalks as if you were entering any old subway.  Once inside you travel through a gallery that takes you step by step through the history of the tunnels and trains of New York and much of it is set up like a1930’s subway station.  There are conductors that demonstrate some of the older train components and you can actually walk through trains from many different eras that sit on a “live” rail.  there were stationary, life-size bus frames from the same era that children could climb through and pretend to drive as well as a learning center that did not happen to be open when I visited where “students” create crafts and do activities related to the subway system.

As you will note from the photos what I found most interesting were the signage from the various periods and eras.  Sadly many of my photos didn’t turn out due to inside lighting so I don’t have many of the actual trains themselves but maybe this blog will entice you to actually visit this museum.

Another interesting historical feature I was at once intrigued and amused with was the ‘Miss Subway’ exhibit on display. (Maybe this is the part that is only going to be there for a few months. I’ve added a link as these pictures I took also didn’t show up very well.

From 1941 to 1976, the MTA hosted its own beauty competition: Miss Subways plastered images of the winner on trains and buses (often placed near ads as a way to draw more attention to them). Decades later, photographer Fiona Gardner and journalist Amy Zimmer sought out former competitors, shooting portraits and recording their stories. The New York Transit Museum hosts an exhibit devoted to the contest: In addition to displaying Gardner’s photos, the show features vintage postcards of the winners and audio of them relating their experiences.—Amy Plitt

I can’t imagine now how a contest like this would rate, but for me it was a very compelling look at a certain period of time regarding thoughts, dress and attitude.

After visiting it I think it might (or must) be something that will be around for quite awhile due to its size and subject matter, I just can’t imagine it being removed any time soon.  Did I mention I sort of LOVE trains?

“My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I’ll not be knowing,
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
No matter where it’s going.”
― Edna St. Vincent Millay, The Selected Poetry

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New York Transit Museum

http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-york-transit-museum-brooklyn

The New York Transit Museum is a museum which displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, commuter rail, and bridge and tunnel systems; it is located in a decommissioned Court Street subway station in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City. There is a smaller satellite annex in Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan.

Hours: Friday hours 10:00 am–4:00 pm  –  See all Address: 130 Livingston St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (718) 694-1600 Train Travel Videos –http://www.huffingtonpost.com

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