Day number 5....

of the vacation---still somewhat at odds with all the free time. Just got an e-mail that included the Bronx Science Year Book of my senior class. Many students lived in the Bronx, in areas that are now all black and hispanic. Did some searching on google maps---looked at the old art deco apartments again. Lots of feeling. But what can I do? To do what---to bring back the neighborhood, to bring back the now seventy something students into their youth---all I know is that these images evoke a tremendous amount of feeling from me. Leave it at that.
 Reports: Saturday evening---good time at La Flaca with bartender and friend Tom, and my waitress friend. Watched the complete Nets-Indianan game---two teams that are very similar at this point. Game was decided in Indiana's favor by one point. Mostly a quiet night at the bar. Nice way of spending Saturday evening.
  Sunday---Cobra was closed, so headed to South Fourth for Jet football watching, around 1. Not a great time, a very nice new bartender had a very obnoxious, bombed out friend there, so I spent a lot of time avoiding him and feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Left around 4, figured that a movie was next---slowly moved towards BAM, got on the Nostrand Avenue bus, and opted not to get off at DeKalb, rather to view the avenue south to Fulton. Found, to my surprise, not a lot of new stores on the avenue, unlike Bedford, one block over, which seems to be crawling with them.Then Fulton Avenue bus to BAM, only to discover that the one  movie playing there that I wished to see had just started, and I was starving. Felt that food was more important, headed to Juniors for a large tuna fish sandwich, and some of the add ons---pickles and coleslaw. All this should have been good except that at this point, Junior's is charging $11.95 for the sandwich, then a dollar tax, and then a tip to the nice waitress--it all came to $15.00---simply for a tuna fish sandwich. Where will it end?  Headed into the city, with the thought of catching a movie in one of the west side movie theaters, when I seemed to get very tired. Decided that rest was the better part of valor, and headed home. Asleep by around 8, but then up around 2, at full force. Well, that is the way I have been sleeping at this point.  Don't exactly know what to do about it.
 Yesterday, Christmas Day---the plan was to see 2 movies. First up was Limelight, made by Charlie Chaplin in the early fifties. Saw it at the Walter Reade, a great place to see a movie. And what an incredible movie it is! So rich with ideas, visions---it seems to cover every aspect of performing :: ageing, dependence and so many other things. Chaplin, wrote, directed, wrote the songs for it--even helped choreograph some of the ballet scenes. And yet the piece is totally ego-less. The man looks at everything---loved the ideas about the irony of fame, public appreciation and how quickly it can melt into oblivion. There is so much feeling in the movie, and Claire Bloom is totally beautiful. I left the theater feeling terribly fulfilled, but what next? It was only about 4,. It was then that I decided that after Limelight, it would be impossible to absorb another movie. I did not want anything to juxtapose with it in my vision. It was getting really cold, I retreated to the apartment, got some chicken at Fairway ( a little too expensive and filling) and stayed home the rest of the late afternoon and night, reading, listening a bit to the radio, and, as usual, "putting things together" in my mind.
  What about tonight? Well, I am really interested in checking out the Nets-Spurs game that starts around 8:30. Where? My gut tells me at the Dive Bar, where I am friendly with a waitress and bartender, but can't be sure. As usual, everything is tentative. Will report tomorrow.