On days when I did things worth writing about I want to write about philosophy and politics. On days that I did nothing shy away from philosophy and politics. I have some issues that need addressing. Not today, as much as I want to address them I went out yesterday and saw people. I am no longer a hermit. I’m still a crab, at least a Cancer. I was born in July. I’m not a tumor. I should keep this going; I just need to come up with two more.
The previous paragraph might seem like a tangent but it isn’t. No matter what the apparent subject, this is a personal blog and so about me. That is an unfiltered glimpse into my mind.
I’m the guy that goes out every night to hear music. That’s the first thing people think of me. I’m the guy with scores of friends, my therapist is amazed. I think she’s just surprised that anyone would even talk to me. No, I’m not running myself down, that’s a joke son, just a joke. Yesterday was the 19th and the last time I went out or saw a friend in person was the 7th. I didn’t even have a conversation with anyone till the night before. The only thing I needed my voice for was talking to Google. Last night I made my way to the far end of the desert.
That is one of the great displays of pure moviemaking. It could not exist in any other medium. It doesn’t require context. It is self-contained perfection. Even broken into pieces on my small laptop screen I couldn’t stop watching. Seeing in at the Ziegfeld in 70mm was what you find when you look for awe inspiring in the dictionary.
OK, back to my display of impure blogging. There are no mistakes, it’s art.
In the midst of this desert Sophie Buskin sent me a message asking me to come see her at Rockwood. It came when I needed my meds adjusted. I was not in a good mental space. I figured I probably couldn’t make it and had too much anxiety to check my calendar. Then I switched to Prozac and the mist began to lift. I realized that I had nothing on my calendar and could probably make it. I looked, I could. I felt well enough to ask Dan to go with me. Then I discovered that Carolann was going. I love it when a plan comes together. Neither Dan nor Carolann could meet me for dinner beforehand and I was now feeling well enough to ask Sophie to join me for pizza at Rosario’s. She wasn’t sure if she’d get there early enough so I just played it by ear.
It takes only 45 minutes to get to Rockwood from here. It’s a straight run, the D train to the F. I gave myself enough time to get pizza first. I got to the D train and they made an announcement. The D was running only to 34th street. The F wasn’t running, at least not on the F track. Both Google Maps and the MTA app said I should leave the D station and walk over to the 4 train. I didn’t want to do that. I took their other suggestion, Take the D to the end then switch to the R then walk up from Prince Street. My ETA was no so late I didn’t have time for dinner. I texted Sophie to let her know.
I thought I outsmarted Google and the MTA app when I took the Q from 34th not the R. That let me switch to the 6 which leaves me closer to Rockwood and the Q runs express. It was only three stops in total. I had outthought it but then I missed the 6 by seconds and had to wait 7 minutes for the next one. That got me to Rockwood just when Google said I would.
When I got on the 6 it took a minute for the doors to open. There was a guy standing in the door staring at me. He looked like Aasif Mandvi. The last time I saw someone that reminded me of Aasif it was the first time I saw Scott Wolfson. When the door opened fake Aasif said, “You don’t like Trump?” He knew because I was wearing my “Impeach Both of Them” hat. I left my Mets cap at the Martindale Chief Diner in Hillsdale. I went to buy a new one this week but Modell’s and they other sporting good stores on Fordham Road only carry Yankees gear. I am a stranger in a strange land.
I told fake-Aasif, “no” and he replied, “I’m Muslim and I work for him.” Then I was on the train, he was off, and the doors shut. That’s for the best as I didn’t want to argue. That’s life in the big pomegranate.
I didn’t arrive early enough to eat dinner first but it was still well before Sophie’s set. I watched the previous act, an acoustic duo. They did a cover of a Jackson 5 song, don’t ask me which one. How pointless is that? An acoustic duo highlights lyrics, not a Jackson 5 strong suit. Doing their song as a ballad simply stripped it of whatever value the song had. It was not done with irony. I could appreciate irony.
I get to be scathing when I don’t even know the acts name. I don’t have to worry about them reading this and feeling bad. I don’t want that. They were nice people with talent, they just made a mistake. Even that was in my eyes. Others seemed to enjoy it.
Sophie was joined by Kirsten Maxwell. My blogging life would be easier if I didn’t know people named Kirstin, Kirsten, Kristin, and Kristen. At least she’s the only Maxwell, smart of me.
Thanks to the subway Carolann was late. What’s odd is that I got a text from her saying that and asking me to save her a seat. When she arrived she was surprised I saved her a seat. She said she didn’t ask me to. I showed her the text. It was a text that I sent her back in July. I’m an idiot. At least it worked out for the best.
I think this is my first time seeing Sophie perform outside of a showcase. I met her two NERFAs ago. She’s starting to play out more. I went because she was one of those people I took an immediate liking to. She triggers the fun section of my brain. Some people have an easier path to becoming one of my people that others. So know what I noticed this time? That she has a beautiful voice. That happens to me a lot; the quality of the voice is the last thing I listen for. She fits in my brain in the area zoned for weird. Damn, she should play with Scott Wolfson who also has a beautiful voice even though he’s not zoned for it. Kirsten has a beautiful voice but everybody knows that. It’s the talk of the town. Even I’m not so dense that it hadn’t penetrated.
This was just what I needed, an evening seeing friends on stage while sitting with friends. I hung out with Carolann and Dan for quite some time after the show and we were joined by Sophie for a while. Then Carolann headed back to civilization aka Brooklyn and Sophie headed out with her friends. Dan and I went to the Diner for dinner as I never got to eat. I did another one of my favorite things, had breakfast for dinner at a diner with a friend after a concert. The Remedy diner makes excellent French Toast. This might become my regular dish there.
After dinner I walked with Dan up to 14th street where he could catch the L to Brooklyn, Williamsburg I not civilization, and I could take it to Union Square. Dan is clearly a better person than me; his train came immediately, I had to wait 8 minutes. Then I had a long wait for the 4. Then I had to deal with an unpleasant subway person. He came on the crowded train with his bicycle. He was listening to music with one ear. The other earbud was out. He kept nudging me with his bike. None of that was the problem. The problem is that he felt the need to sing along with the music, and to seeing along loudly. To make it worse he didn’t know most of the lyrics. He seemed to just shout out a two-word Spanish Phrase over and over again. When he got to instrumental breaks he’d sing air guitar. All this was off-key. The rest of the passengers were sharing looks of commiseration with each other. One woman decided to get in the act and complaining to herself/praying very loudly. “Jesus Christ, please make it stop. I can’t take this. I have to get off this train. …. ” At the next stop she literally ran off the train and back on the next car. I get off the second to last stop. The singer was still on the train when I left. I could hear him as I walked down the platform.
Tonight I’m off to the Met game. My ticket is as my PO box which is on the way but the post office closes at an awkward time. I will try and grab something fast to eat before I had out to the game. I don’t have to rush, I just can’t take a leisurely meal Maybe I can buy a Met’s cap someplace. It’s too expensive at the game.
choisssssss
Wise Madness 