too quick
summer ’09
Posted by joe | more »yesterday/today/tomorrow
The weekends were less exciting to him than were the weekdays. On Saturdays and Sundays, a hollow feeling washed over him and he struggled to make it through those days. Time was spent with the T.V. filling his musty wood-paneled apartment with welcoming sounds, going to the Men’s Club and sitting there alone while the rest of the men were with their families, and going through the weekend paper, methodically. At night he would warm up some old pasta from the night before and check/recheck his lotto tickets while still allowing that T.V. to add some dialogue into the apartment.
Weekdays however, were different. He had a routine that he really enjoyed and with this being Monday, he had five amusing days in front of him. Getting out of his apartment and heading over to the Club was his first priority. At around 8am, the first wave of straphangers would make their way to the subway and this was the first of two highlights of his day. Born and raised in this neighborhood and having left only once, for the war, he had seen the dramatic change to the neighborhood occur right before him. Today’s commuters were composed of twenty and thirty somethings who had little regard for tradition. They seemed to be slightly unconscious to their immediate surroundings…which he found curious. What were they constantly entertaining that made them seemingly exist outside of the present? Life seemed a little overwhelming to the younger generation he thought. Their distracted faces, the way they dressed, the young couples, this all kept him in a stupor until about 10:30am when the parade subsided.
Midday was mostly spent at the Club eating lunch, going over neighborhood gossip, watching t.v., and playing either pinochle or breaking out the cribbage board. Recently though, he felt the need to slip home and try to grab a few hours sleep. Nights had turned into restless endeavours and at his age, sleep was a necessity.
However, once 5:30pm came around, his favorite morning routine started its second act. He tried his hardest to read their faces, seeing if he could decipher those expressions to come up with certain conclusions about their day. He thought about all the meanings of the word “communication”. He was never mistaken as a poet and this form of interaction suited him just fine. Eventually, the procession from the subway to the various apartments came to a slow trickle.
On this night, as the dark clouds started their march over the neighborhood, and everybody made their way home for dinner, he thought it would be a good idea to head to the deli and pick up a few Lucky 5 scratch-offs for the long night ahead of him.
Posted by joe | reply »took a bike ride, found Robin Hood
for a minute
The most difficult part of living in that castle was utilizing all the space. I was alone at the time and passing through those immense empty rooms just shed light on how solitary this life could be if I allowed it. Not to mention my phobia of immense empty spaces. So of course I invited all my friends to live with me. That still left a few rooms empty. So each empty room was designated as studios, mapping rooms, a greenhouse, a giant laser building workshop, etc.
The location was great as well. We had a great view looking west over the East River, an empty lot to the south and a junk yard to the north. The east side of the building faced the street where we could easily load and unload from the building. I wasn’t about to call it a utopia but it seemed like a nice little niche that we had carved out.
I thought that the “trick door” on the south side of the building would be great to keep just in case I decided to turn evil. It would be something that would really get me going by telling someone that the next room over was absolutely amazing . . . go ahead, just walk through that door. In the end, I knew it would only be used to take in the views of the south.
The castle was in a bit of disrepair but I’d figure that we could start on that the next day as it was getting dark and we had no food inside. This meant I would have to leave the grounds and venture back into town . . .
Posted by joe | reply »debatable
Excerpts from 10 conversations that I have recently either been a part of or have overheard.
1. “so the 10 or less line is quicker?”
-in regards to a grocery line
2. “…you’re an artist, your tastes are refined”
3. “would you rather date someone with a head half the size of a normal one or twice the size?”
4. “…so 90’s…”
-in regards to photos of empty lots in an urban setting
5. “…let the audience fill in the blanks…”
-in regards to that anxiety-ridden moment when art leaves the studio and enters the public realm
6. “…pasta or beef?”
-on a recent flight
7. “…this country is based on individualism and the idea of not having to rely on anybody but yourself is still very much alive…”
-in regards to socialism and universal being 4 letter words in the U.S.
8. “…there is no good mexican food in NYC…”
-in regards to the most ridiculous/absolute conversation that constantly presents itself
9. “…i just learned that my new roommates entire country, that is 3 times the size of Texas, has about half the number of people than the 11211 zip code here!”
-in regards to Greenland. Not really debatable but that’s a nice combination of references
10. “…then maybe failure doesn’t exist?”
-in regards to learning from our mistakes
Posted by joe | reply »new/old neighborhood/amenities
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