In 2019, I went to DUMBO’s Main Street Park with a friend. I forget the exact date, but I think that it was in late spring. DUMBO’s Main Street Park is quite pretty and pleasant when it is not crowded. I have posted two short articles based on photos that I took at Main Street Park – one of public fish art in 2008, and another of a cardinal seen in the foliage in 2020. Main Street Park has a grassy knoll at its center, surrounded by a walking path which in turn is surrounded by the East River. Toward the front of one end of the park, there is a “Pebble Beach” – unlike the more famous Pebble Beach, it is known primarily for its pebble beach.
Below, you will find the exact location of DUMBO’s Pebble Beach, courtesy of Open Street Maps.
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On Rock-Skipping at DUMBO’s Pebble Beach
While I would strongly advise not touching the water that encroaches on Main Street Park’s Pebble Beach – one whiff of the water should make clear why – it is a good spot for rock-skipping. Many of the rocks have shapes which are amenable to being skipped. To be sure, the rough river waters – made rougher by passing boats – are somewhat less amenable to rock skipping, but that adds to the challenge.
I doubt that I am much good at rock skipping, but I did partake at Main Street Park more than a few times when I was younger. It had been years since I had attempted to skip a rock, but I was called upon that late spring or early summer day in 2019. I found a suitable rock, took my position, and side-armed it into the troubled waters. It skipped three times. I still had it. I retired from rock-skipping anew, having nothing left to prove.
Photo of the Rocks in DUMBO
Before we left Main Street Park for the next area park, I took a picture of Pebble Beach. The water had risen high enough that a small pool collected between some of the larger rocks, soaking many small pebbles and bricks (bricks?).
This looks like a good picture for the cover of a modern philosophy book, does it not? It could work for an older text too. Recall my specious essay centered on water-based philosophical fragments from the Pre-Socratic philosophers Thales and Haraclitus. This picture has some potential.
