We've Got Mail!   The last year and a half has been a busy time for us personally and professionally. Judith and I married, set up housekeeping, and enjoyed several vacations together, one of which we'll tell you about on the next page. And our business changed shape a little, with SERVENET.COM becoming the structure which supports our computer installation, web design and hosting, and real estate businesses. Meanwhile, you've been reading the Inwood Journal and writing us about your experiences in Manhattan's northernmost neighborhood.

Most of our mail has been from folks who used to live in Inwood, like Russ Doherty, who now lives in Singapore. Russ' comment was typical: "Seeing your pictures of the old hood brought back some great memories." But a few were like Rudy Medina's plaintive mail about neighborhood teens. Rudy, a former professional soccer player moved to Inwood from El Salvador in 1981. He now does social work in "my lovely Neighborhood" and wrote about a problem he observed:

About two weeks ago, a group of Hispanic teens came to Dyckman Fields with two very vicious Pit Bull dogs and two live chickens. To my surprise and to the surprise of everyone else present, this group of teens let the two chickens loose and made the dogs chase them along the soccer field. When the dogs caught them, they killed them immediately. I couldn't believe that these dangerous boys were actually training these dogs there in public in front of children and women etc.

Fortunately, Rudy's experience is not representative of today's Inwood or of the Inwood that many remember fondly. One correspondent, Lenny Berins, now of New Orleans, expressed the prevailing sentiment about Inwood so eloquently that we asked for permission to quote his email, Donna Reed Days in Inwood, in its entirety.

Born in 1947 and raised in Inwood through graduation from George Washington High School, I led an idyllic childhood, characterized by my Mississippi raised wife as Donna Reed/Ozzie and Harriet a la New York Jewish. Nearby Inwood Hill Park in Spring (Click on the photo for a blowup.) Isham Park was part of my daily route from my family home at 535 W. 217th Street to P.S. 98. I relished each tree, marvelled at each robin, fed the pigeons, walked on top of the stone wall, and crushed thousands of berries that seemed to blanket the pavement. What image could be more Norman Rockwellesque than the hordes of noisy children hurtling down the hill towards Seaman Avenue after school on a snowy day? Although I have lived in New Orleans since starting at Tulane University in 1964, New York and Inwood remain part of my life. My daughter graduated from F.I.T. several years ago and continues to live in Manhattan. In about six weeks, she will marry a young man whose mother, coincidentally (or maybe not coincidentally), was raised on Seaman Avenue, attended P.S. 98 and GW, was a member of the same synagogue I attended, etc. No matter how I describe my childhood neighborhood, it is difficult to overcome non-New Yorkers' stereotyped conceptions of an asphalt jungle. In fact, Inwood, at least when I grew up, was almost a self contained small town not much different than thousands of similarly sized places throughout the U.S.

Thanks Lenny, and Rudy, and Russ and all of you who have taken the time to share your reminiscences with us. Your mail is always welcome and appreciated!

But even more welcome are the mini-vacations Judith and I take whenever we can. Here's a report on our most recent trip.

P.S. We're not fond of postscripts, but we want to share with you a recent (8/10/2001) email from Lainie Bernhardt, aka Lady Lainie, a denizen of Inwood. Here, with the gracious Lady's permission, are her thoughts on the subject of *MY* New York:

WOW! I am excited to have read about the park and the way things were in 1947 for Lenny Berins.

I currently live in Inwood and have for almost three years and I feel like it is my little secret town within Manhattan. I've told all my friends of Fort Tryon park, the Cloisters and Inwood park, but so many of them don't want to travel "all the way up there." They just don't know what they are missing!!

I love this neighborhood and I see many friendly faces when I walk to the store or head to the subway. On Tuesday, August 7, 2001 I was so pleased to hear a marching band on Dykman! There was a school marching band with a banner that read "Keep Children Off Drugs." That's the community I want everyone to know exists within Manhattan and in Inwood.

I find New York to be a very friendly place — contrary to others' preconceived ideas — but I especially love that I found a neighborhood that's so welcoming and comfortable and I am proud to call Inwood my home!

Thank you for the website — it was very nice to read!!

Lainie Bernhardt