picked up my check...

this morning---had a craving for tunafish on a bagel. Tried the new bagel place on 23rd between 3rd and 2nd---right near the library. Was about to order---could not see a price sign, but then asked one of the bagel makers what the tuna fish would cost. He said (in a very normal tone) 9.50. I walked out--who are they kidding---and that did not count the added tax which would have brought the price to around $10.45. Where will this end---will we be eating out of cans soon.?  Ultimately I went to the diner on 23rd and 2nd,  a very reliable place. There, a tuna sandwich and a coffee cost me $10.50 (I had hoped for less) That and my generous tip of $1.50 brought the fee to $12.00, but at least I could sit and read and have some coffee. But again, where will this end? Amazing how few people are distraught over this. Confront a public advocate runner? Why not? There is a heartlessness to this that is very upsetting.
  Yesterday, after the library, did go to the Museum of the City of NY. Some great pictures of Jackie Robinson---including one of him where you can see the scoreboard of Ebbets Field, and the NL teams that were playing each other on that day. Really brings back memories. A nice exhibit about a few families living and working in China town as well. Payed $.25 for my admission. Not fooled by the inflated prices that are put in a very good place to see, but are "suggested". Yeah. The entitlement of New York Cities not for profits continues.
 In the evening, went to La Flaca for food. Good thing I did. Bobby, my friend the owner, is going through tough times and need a sympathetic ear---which I gave to him. Hope he gets it all together---girl friend problems, business problems--, and remembers that he created La Flaca, and it is a great, welcoming place.
Today, not sure after this---another "structureless" day---War and Peace is playing at the Bunin, should check some of it out, but the big plan is to go to the Friends basketball game at Grace Church this evening---should be over at 9, after that, maybe go down to Burp Castle and see if my friend bartender Erin is there. Have not seen her in a while---should check in with her.
 Will report soon.

a day of freedom...

that is, no work at Friends and no sessions, but at the moment I am feeling a little stranded. What to do? Have some plans, in the afternoon, take the free time and visit the Museum of the City of New York and look closely at the Jackie Robinson exhibit. Should be meaningful.When I started watching baseball in 1951 (what a year to begin!) he was already established, and the Giant Dodger rivalry was in full, intense swing. That was, of course, the year of the playoff and the "shot heard round the world", in other words, the great home run by Bobby Thomson that gave the Giants the victory and took them to the World Series. Yes, quite a beginning year for a neophyte baseball fan. Anyway, the exhibit should bring back memories and refresh my sense of history.
Yesterday, did go to Friends to see the basketball game---a good one it was---Friends pulled out a victory in a tough game, One more game to see, maybe tomorrow around 8, After that, tired but had a nice meal at the new diner-restaurant on 17th and 3rd. I like it because they have two televisions,  so you can sit at the counter and watch sports. The prices are "2019 resasonable" and the ambiance is nice. A nice alternative to a bar if I want a little privacy--staff is friendly. Then headed home, went to sleep fairly early--then woke up around 4, feeling very "chipper", that is the body was extremely relaxed---no discomfort anywhere---still the "bowel" problems continue.
  Am toying with the idea of finding a space to write this summer---sitting by a computer and maybe writing down memories from different times in my life. Kind of a free association like the first paragraph of today's entry. Need to be out of the house to do it. Think about it.
  That is all for now---three day holiday week approaches--will report soon.

what is going on?

Stomach problems continue--bowel movements repetitive---seem to happen all the time---will see my doctor on Monday, and get the results of blood sample--but even if the blood sample is all negative (and I expect it will be) what then? Yes, I know, take the colonoscopy, but could it be something else?  Would love to come up with some kind of answer---let's see what happens.
  Just read talkin broadway press releases. It seems that over a million theater projects are happening in the city in the next two months. Amazing! Are there enough people to see them? Lots of reduced prices being offered, but they are still very high. Seeing Bonnie's Last Flight,by my friend Eliza on Saturday---maybe something else during the weekend, not sure. Then my friend Christina's play is opening at the Bushwick Starr in a few weeks---must see that. And so many other "possibles" It is all a bit overwhelming.
My body is tired today. Had a long day at Friends and then two sessions at two different libraries after that. Can't believe it, but in that intense snow and rain, I hiked from Saint Nicholas and 160th street to Amsterdam and 145th street---because the Amsterdam Avenue bus was slow. Then grabbed the first sandwich I could find at Hamilton's (the coffee place, not the musical) and headed home. Slept most of the time after that.
  One session today, then possibly (I hope) my body will be up to going to a Friends basketball game.
After that...?
 Still have not come to terms with the Hopkins "problem". Was all set to make reservations when private police force on campus came up. My first impulse was to dump the whole plan, then on second thought, felt that I should go down and participate, but I would like to talk to people on campus about the issue as well, maybe even show my support to the student protesters.
 So there is a lot on my mind. How will it play out....? More reports soon.

middle school play

a cut version of Thornton Wilder's the Skin of Our Teeth was performed by the seventh and eighth graders very inventively. My friend Shayna did a great job with the look and the pacing of the play---kids were, on the whole, very alive with it. Glad that I came, afterwards, quite by surprise, ran into Desiree, a graduate from 2009, whom I have not seen in a long while. Good to see her---not a lot of time to talk, but maybe the three of us (she, Shayna, and I) can get together sometime soon. Kind of amazing, I was wondering if I ever would run into her again, and there she was. I will be at Friends tomorrow, and talk to Shayna further.
  Afterwards, went to the Quad and saw a film from 76 entitled, Next Stop Greenwich Village. It is part of a Jeff Goldblum retrospective, even though his part in this is very small. It is a film written and directed by Paul Mazursky and takes place in 1953---the locations and scenes are very truthful---a nice evocation of an all Jewish Brownsville circa 1953, and the west village at that time.Lenny Baker, an actor who died much too young, in 1983, played the young man, Larry Lapinsky, who leaves home in Brooklyn to become an actor in the village. Also good performances from Ellen Greene (really good work!), Chris Walken and Lois Smith. I did not see the movie when it came out---I think the reviews were kind of negative, but it is really a beautiful movie, with a great screenplay that moves easily from scene to scene, and has very well fleshed out characters. I was totally immersed in it last night---really glad I decided to see it.
 The rest of the night was just at home---some fitful sleeping and then off to get my blood taken at the Ryan Health Center in preparation for another visit with my doctor next Monday. Got a lot accomplished. Not sure about this evening---after a session I am free; will I be tired? We will see, will report soon.

lots of action...

since last post--where to begin. First, the "difficult" news. Hopkins wants to have a private, armed police force for its campuses. I find this repugnant. Hard to think of the campus that I spent four years on being inhabited by armed police. So yes, I know that times have changed, but still---the campus and the surrounding neighborhood have always been safe. Around the medical school and hospital it is a little different--but still, a police force cut off from the rest of Baltimore---not right. So here I am, asked by old friend to attend the reunion coming up when this happens. And one of my classmates (no named mentioned) is very for it. There have been many strong protests on the campus and maybe during my day at Homecoming, I could meet the students who have been protesting this and show my support. And at the dinner...? Well, we will see---I will call Jeff, the classmate who has been talking to me on the phone soon and discuss this with him. Its only fair, I don't want to touch base with him in March and then bring it up. But do I still want to go? Yes, in a way I do---but let's see how it plays out.
 What else---well the talkback with the brother of the man who killed himself after being destroyed by three years at Rikers was very revealing--the guy was very "cool" and articulate. I was surprised and impressed by how many students attended---now we will see how they carry this through. Also, there was a solitary confinement "experience" that I took, along with many other students---it was terribly "depressing" (not really a goo word for it) and I could not even complete it. Again, I was impressed by how many students allowed themselves to go through it.
  Chaperoned the debate club at Friends to Dalton---did not become a judge, so spent a lot of my time reading, but a good experience all in all. Friday and Saturday was a long day.
 Last night---with friend Clint and Kim, went to the mufti version of The Day Before Spring, an early musical, all but forgotten by Lerner and Loewe. Quite revealing---some wonderful songs, even if the plot was extremely predictable. Had a good time and went to a nice irish bar afterwards. A long day, but at the end I was not tired.
 Finally, today I will see the middle school play at Friends--I know a lot of the students in it---and then...? Not sure. Will report soon.

Thursday morning---

a long day to follow--I will go to Friends to participate in a discussion about the prison system, a dialogue that is going on all week, and then two sessions. Would like to do something after this, but I have a feeling that with my sleeping habits--a lot of ups and downs---I will be tired again. Also, tomorrow I have a short but full day at Friends followed by my chaperoning the debate team. Going to Dalton, a high school that I have never entered before---should be interesting---the team, under my chaperoning, will also be there all day Saturday---so it is a pretty full commitment. Then on Sunday, I must attend the 7th and 8th grade play,directed by my friend Shayna. It is The Skin of Our Teeth, by Thornton Wilder---ironically, in my second year at Camp Music Land (1959) I appeared in the second act of that play. Not terribly interesting, according to my parents, but Shayna's is an adaptation, and it sounds very ambitious.
 Ah yes, summer of 59, two romances one with Kate and one with Louise ( a little less interesting). Lots of energy that summer, better than the summer before at the same camp---also the summer that I, one of the leading actors of the group, was given a very small part in the camp musical. I still remember that, and also some songs from it. I was made to play a narrator, actually one of two (a greater indignity) who stood on the sidelines as the other characters lived through their narratives. Still, I survived--probably because I was obsessing about Judy, the Science senior I wanted so much to be involved with that fall and winter (It did not happen).
Last night, conceived of a short piece built around my first look at the families attending Yom Kippur services in Baltimore my freshman year at Hopkins. Kind of "Gatsby" like, which means the performance and vision of Gatz that I saw on Friday is still resonating with me. Will I put it to paper (or whatever one calls this blog)? Not sure. Still, enjoying writing today's---shows you how my mind is racing and how I can put that to use.
Next blog? Not sure, maybe Sunday---check it out!

it has been a long time.....

last post was last week at this time. Lots of work at Friends---some commitments there over the weekend--and lots of other things as well.
Gatz on Friday---arrived at 3:15, just as the party scene, which I had loved in Boston when I saw it there, was over. Sat in the balcony for the first part--felt fine, really knew what was going on-then at first afternoon intermission moved down to a side "private" place in the orchestra. Great place to see Gatz from---with no one next to me, was able to muse on my feelings about the play, the people in it, and the whole thing. The first part before the dinner break ends with Gatsby finally encountering Daisy--an awkward moment that sets everything up for the rest of the book. In this production the tension that the two feel, both sensitive and erotic is slighted a bit, and I did not know what to expect in the second part after the dinner break. But the second part was much stronger, thanks in part to an exceptional performance by Pete Simpson, playing Tom Buchanan---he really found the animal in the role, and in doing so, made the performance of Jim Fletcher, playing Gatsby much stronger. The scene in the hotel that ended part one of the evening part was intense and vicious--and set the tone for the tragedy of the rest of the evening. Sitting by myself I could feel the pain and sadness of the ending, yet understood the impossibility of a Daisy-Gatsby union. Scott, who played Carraway, gave the final moments a much greater power, then he had done previously. I left the theater feeling that something had really hit me hard---lots of thoughts about it, and where I stand in the life of the characters, on the next morning.
Not much on Saturday, pretty tired after two sessions and so spent most of the evening at home---not what I expected, but it happened. Sunday was fun---a stop at Cobra and then watching the Super Bowl at La Flaca, an ideal place for it. Lots of people there I know and like and enough space for me to experience the game by myself.
The rest of the week has just been work---yesterday on my way to the library on 160th and Saint Nicholas, decided to take the D to 155th street and walk west. Not a great idea, since the road on 155th was blocked. As I got off at the station the memory of many trips to that station to see the Giants at the Polo Grounds, returned to me. I could see it all, the turnstyles the men selling score cards, and just the excitement I felt as I got ready to see the game. All this took place between 1951 and 57, yet the memory of the trips and leaving that specific subway station was incredibly strong.
 Walking south on eighth avenue was like a trip into the older, poorer Harlem that I remember---only at about 149th street does one get a sense of change---a coffee spot seems to emerge out of nowhere. Then I remembered that Bradhurst Avenue, one short block west has been rebuilt with a lot of luxury houses, and that this shop must service those people. Finally made it to 145th, only to find out that the C and A trains were late, so back out again on foot another 13 blocks to the library. Wow! I am tired now!
Not sure about this evening---will depend on how strong I feel after a few sessions, will report tomorrow or soon.