Category: Coffeehouse #2 (Page 1 of 2)

It’s tucked away on a little street, only one block long,  around the corner from two bustling through streets. It has a yellow awning and a large window, often folded open when the weather permits. These days you can’t pull your car up along side it; there are stained wooden boxes, filled with earth and flora, blocking the way.  Three steps of brick, flanked by a delicate iron rail and yet taller plants, lead into the front room. A long, sandy, rustic marble bar stretches from the entrance to the kitchen, with gladiolas or allium bulbs in a large glass jug of water, extending a greeting. Clay tiles and stucco walls give a feeling of being near the sea. The wall opposite the bar is lined with wooden furniture adorned with ceramic hens, flowers and candles. There is a large pot of fresh tree branches looming over the end of the bar, that deters some with it’s tickling leaves and invites others with it’s picnic like scene. Past a recessed marble counter which serves as a station for service, two chestnut doors hiding the bathrooms and two somewhat hidden steps, is the core of the infrastructure.

The courtyard is almost completely green with ivy on one side, save for the roses dotting it, usually in pairs or threes. An adjacent brick wall is decorated by a wooden table, at which I have had many memories, now topped with more long stems and wide flowers in painted ceramic or handmade vases. Between these two walls is a door that goes between two buildings and has only been around for a few years. It leads to an annex in the address next door. This rented storefront is a long, narrow space, with a fortified center area housing refrigerators and sinks. Clay icons can be found set in the stucco walls, and shelves tower above almost everywhere.

In the back of the aforementioned courtyard, there are four doors along an opposite brick wall, which all lead to a carriage house that is now over two-hundred years old. This excuses it from the horribly cracked tiles and slightly uneven floor in the kitchen area downstairs, which is mostly used for ironing these days. However the adjacent dining room is still used for dining, but only by the cooks these days. The second story is called the library, justly so. There are books on all four sides of the room and they are of all kinds, truly. Cookbooks, photo books, fiction novels, historic writings and of course, an encyclopedia. There is also a cabinet with wooden doors displaying small miniature scenes of soft clay. The third floor were bedrooms long ago, but now it is an office, one office with many desks and computers. Sometimes I wonder what it was like when it was a home.

Next to one of these four doors to the house, tucked away in the corner of the the courtyard, are large cement steps lined with wax candle lanterns and little trees and bushes. The steps lead to a patio, or a terrace of sorts, over looking the courtyard and providing a bridge between the carriage house and the street-facing apartment building. The tiles on the patio give a feel of being on vacation, maybe in the Mediterranean. The plants and bistro lights complement each other so subtly, the plants shading the lights a little and the lights illuminating the colors of the plants. I like every space but this one is perhaps my favorite.

On the matter of “It Had to be Murder”, I am very curious as to who Hal Jeffries is. Is he a photographer? A ex-cop? Also, how did he get hurt? I find it funny that only so close to getting his cast off did he get into all this mischief. How did Sam become to be so endebted to Hal?

One place that I remember distinctly  is the place were I spent the majority of my childhood, my neighborhood. The only place I remember living until now. The neighborhood was always filled with people of all kinds; Playing different types of music that surprisingly sounded great together; The best thing about this neighborhood  is the sounds the children made while running around playing on the streets no matter the wether. I also remember describing to people that the buildings does not in fact look exactly the same, but that you had to look closely because everyone both people that did and didn’t live there didn’t see the slight differences that gave these buildings character of there own while also setting them apart from one another. From being a slighter lighter color or having cracks in the wall these buildings have a different story to tell while also giving the illusion of being as unique as I thought everyone who lived there though they were, but I soon same to realize that maybe I was the only one who saw theses differences. Although these are observable differences there were some things that never changed. The way that people greeted you on the way to school every morning and when you come back in the afternoon. The way that every Saturday early in the morning there was already people awake and in the streets with their music playing. The way that nothing about how the people acted or the way that they lived their lives ever changed but the things around them did without them noticing.

After finishing the story I only have two questions about this story and the are

What happened to Mrs.Thornwald?

Also maybe it was not murder, but how or why did that become the go to conclusion?

one place I remember in detail was Roosevelt island you can see a lot of people playing soccer. the field was beautiful water near by the weather was great. looking around people are jogging and working out. the field was packed with people.

Is Sam Jeffries’ caretaker?

where was Mr. Thorwald heading, was he leaving the country?

One place I can remember in detail is Van Cortland Park, you see a lot people there everyday. If you look around you see people playing soccer and football, or baseball. Often you see people working out, jogging, or even sitting in the stands. You could see the last stop of the 1 train and the 9 bus passing by. There’s a playground at the front of the entrance, a skatepark at the left of that playground. Also, there’s hiking/biking trails, a pool, and bbq area. Once it hit 7, you can barley see anything at the park because there isn’t much lighting around the park.

The questions I have is- 1. where was Mr. Thorwald heading, was he leaving the country?

2. Why is Sam helping Jeffries with his work?

A place I know really well, is probably every Barnes & Nobles I’ve ever been to but the  one I’ll mention is the one on Court St. It’s the one that has the most sentimental value to me. So when you first walk up to it there are two french doors and in the glass you can see another set of doors but in between those doors there are tables full of books, whichever new or popular books that are going on at the moment. So after you pass that and actually walk into the store there are books everywhere, on tables and shelves and stands, every literary person’s dream. The first floor I’ve never paid much attention to because my genre is not on the first floor, it’s on the second floor. So you go up the escalator and when you get off there are two sides one that is more kids related and the other is for teens and adults. My side is the teens and adult section more specifically the romance section. There are very big windows that show the outside as well as the store balcony. My section has 3 rows of romance teen books and each section has different sub genres. There are the paranormal/mystical books, then there’s the realistic romance books. Then there are the adult romance books that follow the same shelving order. Those rows are always secluded and there’s floor space on the left side to sit and read. I consider it my favorite place because I can spend literally 3 hours and have it feel like it was only 3 minutes. I love my Barnes & Nobles trip.

When reading “It had to be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich i had some questions but the questions i still had after reading were, what happened to Jefferies because in the end they mentioned he was a  cast?, How old is Jeffries?, What was or is his profession because he has a good eye?, who was the woman that opened the trunk if Mrs. Thorwald was dead?

A place I know in a great deal is my building in Queens. 6 stories, a red-brick building that looks very old. Brown-burgundy doors that need to either be replaced or repainted, with a primer this time. As you enter the lobby, you will see old, dingy black and white checkered tiles, that bleach could not make the white bright. Lights are relatively bright, shining yellow light. There are matching mirrors on both sides of the walls with gold trimming. When you walk in, to your right, there are stairs that lead to five apartment doors. Next to it, there is a small section for the mailbox and a place to drop off packages at. It was recently updated by USPS, about time. To your left is the elevator that is seriously in need of renovation, and next to the elevator there is another set of stairs that led to five more apartments. Going up to the elevator and reach the fifth floor where I live, there are four apartments on your right, two in the middle, and another four apartments on the left. In my living room, two windows overlook the backyard of my building. One of the windows has a fire escape stairs on it and I always see birds and squirrels eating on it, enjoying the breeze and food. On the other side, there is another building that my landlord owns, and it looks identical to my building. Some windows are damaged due to Hurricane Sandy that happened in 2012. You mainly see big, crooked trees sway back. Grass that needs mowing and trash that residents throw through their windows, need to be picked up. You can also see a street that many schools buses drive at. My old middle school and a house are on the same side as the street. Nothing too exciting to see

What happened with the wife and where did she go?

How did Mr. Thorwald know where to look?

If you look out the window from the living room of the apartment where I live you won’t see much going on. It is a quiet neighborhood unless some noisy car passes by blasting their music. When you look straight ahead, there is a nice house that was just renovated by the owners. Most of the time they are sitting in the stairs of their home or watering their plants. Right next to this house is an apartment, there is not much action. Though years ago, from the kitchen window you could see an old man every morning staring out his window for quite a while. Next to that building, crossing the street, there is a big church. Nothing really goes on unless it is Sunday and people go to church or are on line certain days to get food. I live in the fourth floor, therefore when you look down you are able to see a little of what goes on. Down by the entrance there is usually nosy neighbors from the first floor with their chairs out just chilling, staring at anyone who walks into the building making it an awkward situation. A lot of people in the building have dogs, you will usually bump into one of them. But at night it gets dark and quiet with only a few people having their lights on, not many cars pass by either.

My remaining questions after reading the story are: was there really a murder or did Jeff just see things out of boredom? Who exactly is Sam, why is he willing to do anything Jeff says even if it means risking his life? Where did Boyne come from at the end if Jeff wasn’t able to communicate with him?  How did they conclude with the theory of murder?

The one place I can describe greatly is the old apartment I used to live on when I first came to this country. It was a fifth story building, brick colored with the fire escape stairs poking out from the front windows of the building. The building was in between to other cream colored buildings with the same fire escape feature. There in a big glass door with a lock which makes the entrance of the building and to the right, there is an intercom with buttons and numbers next to it indicating the bell from each apartment. Once you go in, there are mailbox slots in the walls, 10 on each side totaling 20 apartments. Afterwards, there is a mini stair of 4 steps which leads to another glass door. This door is unlocked and when you open it, it will lead you to a long narrow hallway. Midway through the hallway, there is one apartment on each side. The apartment doors are all burgundy with gold numbers painted on indicating apartment # 1-20. On the end of the halfway, you will find two apartments next to each other and on the left side of the apartment, there is a stair going down of 3 steps which lead to the Emergency Door Exit. Above those 3 steps is the major stair leading up to the 2^nd floor. This stair is located right above the Emergency stairs and left side from the apartments. This staircase is 10-12 steps long which goes up to every floor in the building. Each floor has four apartments; two apartments facing each other horizontally. The stairs went up until it reached the top of the building.

This apartment building has been my home for over 15 years and it is located in Astoria, two avenues down from Steinway, the most commercial Avenue in Astoria. The people and the environment is so quiet and peaceful.

Some questions I still have are, who was taking the place of Mrs. Thorwald on the farmland when they went to interrogate her about the trunk? What happened to Mr. Jeffries after Boyne found out that it was true his suspicious? Did he become a hidden spy or detective? What happened to Mr. Jeffries that left him immobile? What was the conviction of Mr. Thorwald for killing and cementing his wife’s body?