On Saturday Bruce and I visited Coney Island for the Siren Festival. It was geared to the younger crowd but still was amusing even though we did not stay for the music too long. We left it to the background for the most part.
Instead we visited the sideshow and the Coney Island Museum. The sideshow was mostly sophomoric humor but it had a little of the old fashioned "carny" atmosphere. We saw "Chewie" the Wolfman who supposedly had an incredibly rare condition where hair grows all over the body. He had hair on his face all right but his hands were smooth! It was so obvious that this was makeup. Then "Chewie" did a "death defying" tightrope walk -- about three feet above the stage. On his way back, the MC increased the tension by putting a mousetrap under the tightrope. Wow, how scary, if Chewie slipped he might end up with the mousetrap attached to the seat of his pants!
There was a snake charmer, a woman who brought a large albino python onstage and struck a number of erotic poses with the serpent. She looked remarkably like the woman who had "power over electricity." Then there was the contortionist/sword swallower, a young lady who had some interesting abilities. Finally there was the "blockhead," the MC himself who somehow drilled a hold in his head or up his nose, without shedding a single drop of blood. Then he licked the "snot" off the drill. It was adolescent and weird, perfect for Coney Island!
The Museum is small and has some photos and artifacts. There were 3D photos of the Mermaid Parade, shimmering and changing as you looked at them from different angles. There were the woven rolling chairs that people sat in as they rode up and down the Boardwalk. There were also some ancient beach chairs and picnic coolers. I remembered the plaid one from my childhood; we must have had something like it, perhaps a thermos.
There was a movie that you watched while cranking the handle. Bruce looked into the viewer and was repulsed because it was a short film of an elephant being electrocuted. Ugh. I'm glad we don't consider that a form of entertainment today. I decided not to upset myself, and avoided that item.
There were posters on the wall describing the various parks. Bruce had a story from his childhood about Steeplechase Park, and the artifacts corroborated his tale. At the entrance to Steeplechase Park there used to be a system of blowers under the grating, and as women entered the park a blast of air would blow their skirts up. A dwarf dressed as a clown would smack the lady on the backside with a slapstick. This was all in fun and probably 99 women out of 100 laughed it off.
Not Bruce's mother. This time, the supposedly keen eye for "which woman with the severe and pinched expression will not relish any monkeyshines" failed that little clown, and Bruce's mother charged after him in a fury. Bruce was a small boy at the time and had the distinct impression that if she caught the clown he was going to be a dead man! She was gaining on him and he leaped over a barrier to escape from her. I always got a major chuckle out of that story.
In the glass case devoted to Steeplechase Park, there was a photo of a woman with her skirts blowing up, and also one of the slapsticks. I told Bruce that might be the very one that almost got the clown eviscerated!
After viewing the museum we were tired and caught the bus home. This Saturday, if it doesn't pour, there's supposed to be a sand sculpting contest, and I would sure like to see that.
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