I previously wrote
of how I found inspiration in the film
The Warriors (1979)
for a variation on Apocalypse World's implied setting that I felt more
comfortable running with. I have since read the book that the film is loosely
based on, also called
The Warriors, published in 1965. I will probably not take too much out of the book - it
is powerful, and more raw, but also full of content that I would be
uncomfortable playing with, and I am glad did not make it into the movie other
than through implication.
I was, however, impressed with the further details about the journey itself,
from the confab in Van Cortlandt Park, in the Bronx, back to the gang's home
turf in Coney Island. So when, towards the end of my visit to New York City
(where I visited MoMA, and did other things besides), I ended up with most of a day to myself, I
decided to have my own pilgrimage after The Warriors.
Originally, I planned to simply take the subway up to Van Cortlandt, look
around a little, see some landmarks from the film, then take the subway all
the way back to Coney Island, then head back to take my bus. However, I
realized that this would mean spending most of the day on the subway, with
little else to show for it. So instead I decided to spend a little bit more
time in the Bronx, and possibly take a detour to Queens to make use of my complimentary MoMA PS1 ticket, and then return to Midtown Manhattan to catch my bus. That
is not what happened.
Instead, once I got to Van Cortlandt Park, a short search online showed me
that the scene at the start of the movie was actually filmed in Riverside Park
in Manhattan. Having already arrived at my destination, I decided I would walk
around a bit to get a better idea of the feel of large forested wilderness
sliced through by motorways that comes out in the beginning of the book.
So I walked, and walked, and saw some wildlife, and took some pictures, and
continued to walk, and had to double back because you could not cross through
the public golf course (first in the nation!), and then went down a path that
I hoped would eventually let me cross over to a different path down, to
continue with my plans.
A long while later, I found the first meaningful map I had seen in the entire
park, referring to South County Trail. "South County", I asked myself? Using
the GPS-powered map on my phone, I confirmed my suspicions - I had managed to
exit NYC and enter Yonkers, a city familiar to anyone who had ever had to fill
out a New York state tax return, or used the train through Westchester County,
the County of which I was in the Southern Trail. The first way out that wasn't
back was into Yonkers.
I started seeking a local restaurant that looked inviting online, when I realized that time was
pressing, especially considering how far I was from my starting point now. So I took a loop through Yonkers, climbed one of its famous seven
hills, and found another entrance into Van Cortlandt. This led into a bit of a
maze of paths, again unmapped, which, with the help of my trusty phone, I followed back towards the subway station, and then down to Midtown, where I had
to rush around to eat a late lunch and then to make it to my bus, out of breath, but otherwise on time.
While this wasn't physically too similar to the journey in either
version of The Warriors, I unexpectedly found myself emotionally close
to this feeling of being suddenly removed and disconnected from my "home", in
this case, the area of the bus station from which I had to go back to my
actual home Upstate, and rushing back there through parts unknown.
These types of accidental experiences are the ones I treasure most. You
can't entirely plan them. You can put yourself in a starting situation, and
open yourself catching them as they come. In life, in travel, in role-playing
games.
