exhausted this morning....

from all the posts that I have been reading that are trying to come to terms with the incidents in Charlottesville---once I process them, what then? One can have opinions, but how does that stop the bigotry and violence? It's an impasse, that I can't quite cross. Jack, in Cllinton Hill, is having another program in their "reparations" yearly project on Friday, and maybe some serious discussion will come from that. Also, as it looks now, I will be spending a decent amount of time Saturday in the Bronx, first with a march-forum at Jerome Avenue and 167 street, and then probably at the Bronx Documentary Center for a discussion ---I also hope to give out some flyers for the march on September 9, there.
  Last night: duality: First the BAN meeting---more planning for the aforementioned march. In addition, I made commitments to presenting for BAN on Thursday evening at the Tenants coalition, to get their support, and the possibly on Sunday, to do a practice walk for the march, or at least participate in some of it (it is a long march). I get so many e-mails, regarding actions that need to be taken, I feel almost exhausted by the choices I am asked to make. Should I go to Brooklyn Court tomorrow to support a Caribbean tenant who is in danger of being forced out by her landlord?  That is a lot, added to what I have already committed to, including this afternoon (more about that later) --and yet I know that this is important, and I probably have the time. I won't make my decision until tomorrow, depending on how I feel, and what else is happening. Oh, cityboy, what happened to the days where the most important decision that you had was simply what movie to see? They are long gone, I suppose, and with the trip to LA for my niece's wedding not that far away, well it seems like time is closing in. Calm down, cityboy, I guess you have to take it one step at a time.
   After leaving the meeting, I went, as quickly as I could, to Douglass Street in Brooklyn to meet a birthday party group that had assembled for my friend Ben. The bar, Three Brews, is located on Douglass between 4th and 3rd, (a former no man's land, but not any longer), It is a large, roomy space with a nice outdoor place to "hang". The vibe was as far away from "anguished"  as you can get---lots of easy chat, couples, etc--you know what I mean. Amazing how many bars there are in the area, and this one is so big. But I enjoyed myself, had a good conversation with Ben, his wife, Jess and a friend, Caitlin--totally apolitical all about the plays that I had seen this summer and the plays that were coming up--Ben is going to New Haven to begin a tour of Small Mouth Sounds, a play that was much praised two years ago. Nothing political or about the state of the city was spoken--we were in a totally different zone---as it seemed were all of the other bar-goers. After leaving, I walked Ben and Jess back to their apartment a few blocks away, we did get into some city problems and they seemed sympathetic, but I was struck at how different the world I had entered in the bar was.
  I left them about 11:00---had to walk about seven blocks to the subway; the air was soothing---it was a beautiful night, and believe it or not, I was not really tired---I could have walked all through Fort Greene is necessary. The walk towards the arena on fifth avenue was quiet--a nice Park Slope walk, surrounded by the blocks full of brownstones (now very expensive) that line the side streets. Did I want the night to go on forever, to forget the commitments that I had made to BAN---to just deal with the "romantic" aspects of being alive at the moment? Possibly, but this morning it is back to the current reality which is definitely still with us.
   Plans for the rest of the day: Hit Brooklyn around 3 or 3:30. Drop off some flyers at Molasses, an all day book store in Bushwick, a place where I think they would be very sympathetic to the march. Then maybe at a few more place, all try to talk to McNair, who manages the Starr Bar a few blocks away and try to talk about the after party of the march. After that, head to Greenpoint to visit Light Industry, an independent film center where one of the graduates of the Friends class of 16, Ewen works. They also might be interested in taking a few flyers for the march. Is that enough? Will report tomorow...