Jamaica Calling

Not the one with palm trees, the one at the last stop of the E-train. Jamaica Queens. Pay phones two by two – leave that cell at home!

I had to go there for a work thing. Jamiaca is deep into Queens, far from Shea, and was pretty groovy but what struck me were the pay phones. They were still there. Clusters of them, restaurants that served pizza and fried chicken. And pay phones, no waiting.

Guy’s Laundromat. I dug their logo, humanizing the Maytag. Open mouth smile.  Open 24 hours. Makes you want to wash your underwear at 3:00 Am just do so; see what it is like, for the experience. I'll give you a call during a cycle. Then you can fold at dawn.

 

 

 

Nearby Guy’s was this make-shift memorial in front of Jackson Hewitt, between a 99 cents store and a bodega/deli, votive candles amassed. No pay phone in this shot, but there’s a poignancy I felt worth it to note: an apparent tragedy is the only explanation for the visible compassion. Is there any more human gesture of compassionate thoughtfulness than a candle?

 

 What a bright and clean pay phone. I love the suddenness of the phone off the hook. They can trace pay phones too – the calls are coming from inside the kiosk, get out of the kiosk.