New York You know it better choose one. I got up last Saturday completely ruttified in my guest room world and read my email. My cousin in NYC emailed me back and "called my bluff" that I wouldn't come see here if she had Yankees Bosox tix. I had told her for years just get the tickets tell me when and I am there. I got a ticket to LaGuardia Sunday morning and off to insomniac city I did be go. It was just what the Dr ordered an old fashion adrenaline shock to the system and soul. She had to work for 1/2 days b/c of my late notice but it gave me a chance to be that stranger in the crowd I like to be every now and again, no pretense nothing at stake just being me Tennessee in the city. I
I took a cab to 42nd where she works and dropped off my backpack and out into the appple I went. I cruised past Leomas hotel or what was and then into Grand Central. I hadn't been to the city since they excovated the ceiling, in fact the only time I had ever been there I don't remember even looking up that much, which was a mistake, the old light fixtures the unbelieveable stain glass and archetecture it is a truly sensory titilation. I stayed in there wandered in and out of nooks and crannies among the masses and vendors and just felt alive, which is important I think. The food vendor court was even amazing, Italian, bistro, chinese, jewish, middle eastern, of course Pizza, Indian, Pakistani, amazing smells and everyone of course as is the case "busy". After my head and nose stopped spinning I funneled into some line and had a cup of Indian curry Chicken soup. It was awesome. That might be the greatest NYC feeling in town Grand Central that is. So after some fortification down 42nd to Time Square which I guess becasuse it was Monday was rather tame, not as sleazy as I remembered it from ten years ago, no peep shows etc. but just as cheezy and amazing in all it wonderful advertising cheeziness. The exposure you get everyday to your product is probably second to none in Times square, I then walked down old Broadway and a couple of streets off it to see what was happening, I went in the Lunt Fontaine so fucking cool, If you are going to do shows maybe that should be your focus, I am not into Musicals but there were dozens of plays and visual art shows going on, the place is just electric with creativity. I hung out in Bryant park for a while and just chilled with some ice coffee, read a rag and felt envigorated, stylish goodlooking people everywhere, I also got a kick and wanted a hit of the the graying Rasta guy in a suit who strolled to the middle of the park sat down on the lawn pulled out his wallet and lit a 1/2 a fatty and plumes of his stanky kind billowed toward me. He took a couple hits brushed himself off and went on his way, it was pretty funny, after that I strolled into a pub and had a Sam Adams in honor of my Bosox coming to town and headed back up to the Daily news. An awesome afternoon alone but not lonely.
My cousin and I took a cab back to her place in the Lower East Side near the River and met up with my other cousin and had a bottle of wine and some awesome fresh cheeses from Little Italy down the street. Both my cousins are great women and they chatted me up and pushed me through some of my divorce crud. We later walk down 8 or 9 blocks through ethnic cornocopia of people and the amazing grafitti covering everything and I am truly blown away at what might have scared me years ago but hell I am with two women cousins who assure me it is safe and my provincial little mindset subsides. They are showing me areas that just 7 or 8 years ago was nothing but drug dealers and hookers and now it is full of little pubs and boutiques very cool but not like mall boutiques and pub still tagged up with graffitti and but very cool little businesses and lots of young people out everywhere. The people were so outrageously nice and you see how that New Yorkers ultimately pedestrians have such an easy time meeting people and hang out. You see the same people in the pubs restaurants trains in your neighborhood and everyone seems familiar. The phenomena of no eye contact and no southern chit chat is just that during their day they truly have no space the have no social down time the niceities are bullshit, but after hours at the pub they want to meet and chat. On the street, on the train etc the have places to go and no space to do it, I can't imagine having no down time or drive time on a physical level. It is humanity up on you constantly during the work day. In the city people are bumping and grinding their way around you through you dodging the human maze and trying to make deadlines just like everybody else in the world only they have what amounts to about 17 million people working on Manhattan alone during the day. On that little fucking island it blows me away. Nightime is the right time, its awesome because only about 1 million people live on Manhattan the rest are from everywhere. So around 8'oclock most people have gotten off the island and people get their space back. We at at a place called Schillings really cool place with old tile floor metal ceilings antiqued mirrors and they make their own wine a chianti is what it seemed like. It is a French/ Italian place the food was excellent especially the toffee bread pudding and thats saying a lot from someone who things New Orleans is second to none in getting your eat on. The wine was really decent in fact that is what it was Decent, the three wines they make and very inexpensive and named and rightly so, Cheap, Decent, and Good. Nothing great but certainly decent and there were good looking people there having a great time, I loved it. We then stopped into some basement bars with no signs dark with the Ramones blaring, couldn't have got much better. In fact I go to the first bar and order a Stoli orange and soda for Wendy and a glass of Cab for Margie and a Macallan for me now anywhere else in the world including Nashtown that is $30 plus, the bartender says "let me think, uh give me 20 bucks" I was like this can't be the city of the giant sucking sound that is pulling at your wallet. By the way the Stoli was half and half, I had a high ball that was filled to the brim two cubes of 12 year old Macallan and big juice glass of Cabarnet. That being said on the way back to the table, the barkeep says "oh Yea its happy hour til 10:30 the second drinks are free, about $60 worth of highend drinking for $20 bucks and a five dollar tip. Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment. My cousins M boyfriend is an architect as is she and they hooked up with us at the next stop, he was with a childhood friend with a thick Brooklyn accent, He hadn't seen Morgan in 10 years and we learn he had been in LA for the last 10 years. So"what are you doing in town" assuming he was some flunkly with a rididculous Brooklyn accent he says,"Yea Yea I just heyuh doin uh moofie" Ok great like which one are you involved ,thinking that he is a grip or something" He says "oh yea yea I wrote and produced this little movie called "The King" we go William Hurt in it, I dink its putty good yea yea. We are having duh peh meer at the" so and so theatre "and deen its opening across da country Joon da firs" Taken aback while in Bryant park I had read the whold write up with huge picture of William Hurt and pretty damn good review from a non to easy Arts and Leisure section. Yvonne says it happens to her all the time people you can't believe some of the people that are making a huge living in the arts either with the amazing discipline or just flat talent. Doing something many of us dream about but either just dream and don't do, or kid ourselves etc but New yorkers do it. Even if it is this lil pitcha with William Hurt they wrote. It was a cool night the first one and we floated home hopped up on liquor and talked about why the fuck don't we do it we always say we are going to etc etc ya da ya da, at least she does have a couple have finished screenplays and plays in the desk drawer I am just fucking blogging. Eh what the fuck! I love how the F bomb floats in the Big Apple air. More about Tuesdays and Chinatown and Katz deli, later.