a strange and.....

fascinating night. Began with a trip to Franklin Avenue Brooklyn, to a bar called The Drink for a benefit for lawyers representing immigrants. Wanted very much to contribute, but when I arrived there the place was packed, and I saw no one that I knew. Very little room to move, groups seemed comfortable with themselves, so I decided to leave. But to go where? Maybe a bar that I had noticed on Labor Day on Rogers near Park Place, but decided to go with a bar-restaurant that I knew: Soda, the oldest bar on Vanderbuilt and an easy place to be. This meant a long walk from Franklin to Vanderbuilt, about 5 blocks, some of them very long, but, despite the cold, I did it. Only to find that Soda was closed, actually locked shut, so I went to my second choice, Plan B, a sports bar a little closer to Eastern Parkway. Glad I did, the bar tender was very cordial, made me feel at home, and while watching the football game, I met an interesting couple, Sarah and John, who lived in the neighborhood. Had a long talk with them, very productive, a good time was had by all. Around 10 I took the subway back to Manhattan, if the weather had been nicer might have walked around a bit, though the streets around Prospect Heights were pretty empty ( well, it was cold)  Coming home on the subway, felt a sense of excitement---a feeling that I had invented an interesting evening and could do it again. Love the idea of moving around the city and letting things happen spontaneously. Yes, a sense (even in these days) that everything was possible.
   Figured that I would go to sleep immediately, and that is what I did, but I awoke around 1, and found myself incapable of getting back to sleep.Why? Maybe the coffee they made me at Plan B was strong---but maybe I just did not want to sleep. Then I began to fantasize directing a production of West Side Story---trying to explain to the dancers that there were no steps for them to do---all the steps were life. How to do that--how to get back to the power and rage that I experienced when I watched it originally. How to translate that into today's dancers. Thought about breaking them down, interacting---stripping down everything to make them build from the beginning. And of course, as I did this, I thought about Robbins, thought about how West Side Story sits in the middle of Bells Are Ringing and New York export, Opus Jazz. Bells was directed with great efficiency---but no attempt to shape the material to Robbins's "genius"---then the groundbreaking West Side Story, and the NY Export, where the dancers never touched each other---contact seemed to be blocked, a strong comparison to West Side where there was so much physical contact between dancers and the love scenes between Tony and Maria had incredible physical being. Was this a dream I was having, or was it real thoughts in real time? Not sure, but then my mind went back to today's reality, (the Presidency, etc,) and what that meant. Did not get much sleep until around 4:30---worried that today I would be tired, but it does not seem so at this moment. No work today at Friends, possibly tomorrow, but no requests yet. Will go to the Christmas Assembly there anyway, and see all the alumni returning, etc.
   Should have one session tonight, then not sure,but tomorrow morning at 5 I will leave for the Whitney for Sibyl's solstice celebration. It would arrive just when my SS money is coming in, have to take it easy today. Also a house warming party in the evening in Williamsburg----if I don't work I should be able to do all of it, if I do---well might be tired. We will see, as the holiday approaches.