more of July 19th
Walked from the Vernon/Johnson stop to Laura’s building.
She had advised me to walk straight in and turn right.
About a week ago, we had discussed the plan. “Really, they’re supposed to call me and buzz you in, but if you don’t want to deal with the hassle, you can do that. Their turn-over is so high. I see people down there all the time that I have never seen before. Just walk with purpose. Can you do that?”
I laughed. “I’ll act like I live there. ‘I know exactly where I’m going. I’m going to apartment 11-B. Where I happen to live.’”
Unfortunately, it did not work out so well in practice. I panicked at the end of the lobby, finally taking a gamble on left instead of right. Which was wrong. I zigged when I should have zagged.
“Sir? Can I help you?”
Now that I drawn so much attention to myself by trying to sneak past security, they scrutinized me a bit more as they called Laura to confirm that she did in fact know this incredibly nervous, tall gay man in her lobby.
She signed off on me and security waived me up. “Just check in with us, sir.”
Once Laura came back from her trip, we would walk out of her building on some adventure or another. She would waive to the people at the desk and give them a big smile. “Good afternoon,” and when we were out of the building, she’d whisper, “I’ve never seen that person before in my life. See? Just like that. Big smile, waive, they’re like, ‘I guess she lives here.’”
I called my Mom to let her know I had arrived safely and made a few other calls. Called Laura.
“You have probably guessed that I’m at your apartment.”
She gave me a phone tour of the apartment.
“First, do you see the bookcase?”
”Yeah.”
“Ok. Good. Now, look on top of it. Do you see plants?”
“Yes.”
“How do they look? Do they look lush and healthy like Patrick’s been watering them or do they look like they’re not doing so well?”
“They don’t look so well.”
“Well at some point, you should think about watering them. I would make that a priority.”
I laughed.
“How about the plants on the balcony?”
“The plants on the balcony look great.”
She gave me a via-satellite tour of the apartment.
“Lean out the window.”
“… ok.”
“Do you see that bridge?”
“… yes.”
“Over that bridge is Brooklyn.”
“Oh neat.”
“Now, get back in the apartment. You can stop hanging out the window.”
After a few minutes, she said, “I’m going to let you go. If you have any questions, call right back.”
“All right.”
I was actually feeling exhausted, so I tried to take a nap but couldn’t. Made a few calls. Got in touch with Laurie.
Ten minutes later, Laura called.
“I was disappointed when you didn’t call. You mean you don’t have ANY questions?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Oh all right.”
“I called Laurie. We might be catching up. Her sister’s flight’s been delayed. So I’m catching up with her in the East Village.”
Said goodbye to Laura.
Rode the train to the East Village where I met up with Laurie outside the Virgin store. I looked around in there a bit while I waited and then went back outside. Gradually, I started to hear someone call my name.
“Will! Don’t keep walking!”
I turned around. “Laurie!” Big hug.
We walked around Virgin and talked for a bit.
“I can’t really spend money on CDs these days,” Laurie said.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Your leases are overlapping. How’s that going? Are you all right?”
Laurie said that it looked like everything would be fine. She was moving from Park Slope to Williamsburg, Brooklyn at the end of the month.
She had had a crazy day at work. She works for the city in the Department of ... um... somethingsomething. She was calling all these businesses around Grand Central where the steam pipe burst to see if everything was ok or if there was anything the mayor could do.
From what she told me, it seemed like the initial reaction was "Oh my God, the mayor!" and quickly became, "Damn straight, the mayor's having someone call me!"
Left Virgin. Walked to Trader Joe’s for wine.
“You were right the wine is so cheap.”
There were caricatures on the top of the wall with word balloons coming out of them.
“Now that Trader Joe’s has come to town, New York really does have everything.”
My favorite was: “I’m saving so much money at Trader Joe’s, I can finally afford that one-bedroom apartment.”
Laurie and I walked to the East Village where she gave me a tour.
I was starving. And I never admit to being hungry. Because first you admit to being hungry and then predators are circling you, thinking you’re weak and will be easy pickings.
All I had on the plane was sunchips. I asked if Laurie wanted to eat somewhere and, after a few tries, we popped in a health food store. Laurie had yogurt, and I had a nice hummus sandwich. We walked to Thompkins Square park and ate on the grass.
“This is such a lovely picnic,” I said.
Told stories.
After dinner, Laurie took me on a walking tour of the East Village and Greenwich Village while we waited to hear from her sister.
I saw the locations of one of Andy Warhol’s Factories that is now a Chipotle and a flower shop. Progress!
Returned to Thompkins Square park and sang songs from Lou Reed’s Transformer and Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
We tried to list all the songs on the latter album.
“We’re missing one,” I said.
“Are we?”
“Yeah, it’s … shoot. Is it the one that goes, ‘I could do with the money / You know that I could.’”
”’Star’ I said that!” Laurie said, mildly annoyed, which tickled me. Like, Buddy if you are going to sit there. And accuse me. Of missing a David Bowie song, you damn well better be able to back it up.
“No no. There’s another one… it’s the one that goes, ‘We don’t want to talk much / we just want to play / and then move around like tigers on Vaseline / Well the beat it comes out better on a stolen guitar / you’re not messing with the Spiders from Mars.”
“Oh yeah. ‘Hang on to Yourself.’”
We eventually heard from Laurie’s sister and her old roommate. They were back after a four hour delay on their flight.
She had advised me to walk straight in and turn right.
About a week ago, we had discussed the plan. “Really, they’re supposed to call me and buzz you in, but if you don’t want to deal with the hassle, you can do that. Their turn-over is so high. I see people down there all the time that I have never seen before. Just walk with purpose. Can you do that?”
I laughed. “I’ll act like I live there. ‘I know exactly where I’m going. I’m going to apartment 11-B. Where I happen to live.’”
Unfortunately, it did not work out so well in practice. I panicked at the end of the lobby, finally taking a gamble on left instead of right. Which was wrong. I zigged when I should have zagged.
“Sir? Can I help you?”
Now that I drawn so much attention to myself by trying to sneak past security, they scrutinized me a bit more as they called Laura to confirm that she did in fact know this incredibly nervous, tall gay man in her lobby.
She signed off on me and security waived me up. “Just check in with us, sir.”
Once Laura came back from her trip, we would walk out of her building on some adventure or another. She would waive to the people at the desk and give them a big smile. “Good afternoon,” and when we were out of the building, she’d whisper, “I’ve never seen that person before in my life. See? Just like that. Big smile, waive, they’re like, ‘I guess she lives here.’”
I called my Mom to let her know I had arrived safely and made a few other calls. Called Laura.
“You have probably guessed that I’m at your apartment.”
She gave me a phone tour of the apartment.
“First, do you see the bookcase?”
”Yeah.”
“Ok. Good. Now, look on top of it. Do you see plants?”
“Yes.”
“How do they look? Do they look lush and healthy like Patrick’s been watering them or do they look like they’re not doing so well?”
“They don’t look so well.”
“Well at some point, you should think about watering them. I would make that a priority.”
I laughed.
“How about the plants on the balcony?”
“The plants on the balcony look great.”
She gave me a via-satellite tour of the apartment.
“Lean out the window.”
“… ok.”
“Do you see that bridge?”
“… yes.”
“Over that bridge is Brooklyn.”
“Oh neat.”
“Now, get back in the apartment. You can stop hanging out the window.”
After a few minutes, she said, “I’m going to let you go. If you have any questions, call right back.”
“All right.”
I was actually feeling exhausted, so I tried to take a nap but couldn’t. Made a few calls. Got in touch with Laurie.
Ten minutes later, Laura called.
“I was disappointed when you didn’t call. You mean you don’t have ANY questions?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Oh all right.”
“I called Laurie. We might be catching up. Her sister’s flight’s been delayed. So I’m catching up with her in the East Village.”
Said goodbye to Laura.
Rode the train to the East Village where I met up with Laurie outside the Virgin store. I looked around in there a bit while I waited and then went back outside. Gradually, I started to hear someone call my name.
“Will! Don’t keep walking!”
I turned around. “Laurie!” Big hug.
We walked around Virgin and talked for a bit.
“I can’t really spend money on CDs these days,” Laurie said.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Your leases are overlapping. How’s that going? Are you all right?”
Laurie said that it looked like everything would be fine. She was moving from Park Slope to Williamsburg, Brooklyn at the end of the month.
She had had a crazy day at work. She works for the city in the Department of ... um... somethingsomething. She was calling all these businesses around Grand Central where the steam pipe burst to see if everything was ok or if there was anything the mayor could do.
From what she told me, it seemed like the initial reaction was "Oh my God, the mayor!" and quickly became, "Damn straight, the mayor's having someone call me!"
Left Virgin. Walked to Trader Joe’s for wine.
“You were right the wine is so cheap.”
There were caricatures on the top of the wall with word balloons coming out of them.
“Now that Trader Joe’s has come to town, New York really does have everything.”
My favorite was: “I’m saving so much money at Trader Joe’s, I can finally afford that one-bedroom apartment.”
Laurie and I walked to the East Village where she gave me a tour.
I was starving. And I never admit to being hungry. Because first you admit to being hungry and then predators are circling you, thinking you’re weak and will be easy pickings.
All I had on the plane was sunchips. I asked if Laurie wanted to eat somewhere and, after a few tries, we popped in a health food store. Laurie had yogurt, and I had a nice hummus sandwich. We walked to Thompkins Square park and ate on the grass.
“This is such a lovely picnic,” I said.
Told stories.
After dinner, Laurie took me on a walking tour of the East Village and Greenwich Village while we waited to hear from her sister.
I saw the locations of one of Andy Warhol’s Factories that is now a Chipotle and a flower shop. Progress!
Returned to Thompkins Square park and sang songs from Lou Reed’s Transformer and Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
We tried to list all the songs on the latter album.
“We’re missing one,” I said.
“Are we?”
“Yeah, it’s … shoot. Is it the one that goes, ‘I could do with the money / You know that I could.’”
”’Star’ I said that!” Laurie said, mildly annoyed, which tickled me. Like, Buddy if you are going to sit there. And accuse me. Of missing a David Bowie song, you damn well better be able to back it up.
“No no. There’s another one… it’s the one that goes, ‘We don’t want to talk much / we just want to play / and then move around like tigers on Vaseline / Well the beat it comes out better on a stolen guitar / you’re not messing with the Spiders from Mars.”
“Oh yeah. ‘Hang on to Yourself.’”
We eventually heard from Laurie’s sister and her old roommate. They were back after a four hour delay on their flight.