NEW YORK TRIP DECEMBER 1-8, 2021
Southwest Flight 3414 to Denver, CO
December 1, 2021
First flight
since the pandemic. A week with my family in New York. And like many NY visits,
we will be in constant motion, driving and training our way between Rockville
Centre, Pine Bush, Rochester, NYC, and Smithtown.
Concourse Symphony: Denver International Airport
I can’t do this
right now. I had to end my relationship with these people. Sandy is in a very
uncomfortable situation right now. Cats. Big cats. An actual map. It’s not a
globe. In his presence. That was the catalyst to go ahead and say, “You know
what, he’s technically cheating.” Yeah. I know. I swear he said “intimidation
and jealousy.” So these emotions that I have. I’ve never seen that. I’m sure it
happens. Very large, very fat. Very large, very fat. I don’t like that.
Flight 6505 DEN to LGA (LaGuardia Airport)
The second
flight was delayed due to the Santa Ana winds. Surprised to learn that this
flight is only three hours. I spent more time in the airport in Denver than I
will spend in the air. Chose a seat in the second row so that I can be one of
the first off when we land. Motherfuckers are slow.
Coming into New York
At the Whitney with Vicki
December 2
so glad to find
myself
on the LIRR with
my
youngest sister again
New York’s magic
is instantaneous
we are standing
by the father of
my niece’s best
friend
who also happens
to be
Anne Waldman’s
eye doctor
headed to his
office in the Village
he notices my
purple Ginsberg hoodie
and oh-so-casually
mentions
the Kerouac
School
have I ever
heard of it?
so now he must
know
Allen changed my
life
and Anne my
stalwart supporter
and spirit guide
everything I am
everything I do
thanks to her
outrider wisdom
and unyielding
passion
he tells us his family
moved
from Brooklyn to
Rockville Centre
he misses the
free concerts in Prospect Park
doesn’t say why
they moved
there is a brief
discussion
of cataract
surgery
lasik and PRK
and then 20
people with luggage board the train
I try to move
aside
but end up
directly in the way
of a guy in lab
coat and mask
who yells at me
to move
and complains
bitterly
about my
stupidity
I am thrilled by
his rage
the efficiency
of his honesty
having suffered
two decades
of
passive-aggressive pussies
who would rather
suffer in silence
than reveal
their true feelings
about anything
we find a seat
and I explain to
Vicki
how my first
failure
led me to
Ginsberg’s collected
Whitman’s Leaves
of Grass
Anne, Boulder
this poet’s life
which grabbed
hold of my t-shirt
to pull me into
the future (the now)
the path
selected me
we emerge from
the underground
and she leads me
to The Curious Garden
a decommissioned
elevated train
otherworldy
oasis of innovation and imagination
with an unparalleled
view of The Village
the experience
set off by
Kate Hudson’s
feet
100 feet tall:
Blade Runner
foot fetishist’s wet dream
this
transcendent path
the setting for
our
confessions,
worries, tears
a pact is formed:
I’ve got your
back
and you mine
from this point
forward
loved ones stay
a
certain age
in the mind’s
eye
how/when did she
turn 40?
how is it
possible?
not my little
sister
powerful
protective
mother bear
type-A
party girl
downtown Mount Rushmore
Andy, Keith,
Frida, Jean-Michel
heart, lung, and
fallopian tubes
dangle from tree
branches
ancient railroad
ties
and the most
spectacular
view of The City
plus The LittleIsland
gobsmackingly
mindblowing
Roger Dean
fantasy
dropped onto the
east side
of the Hudson
River
at Pier 55
proof of
vaccination required
to enter the
Whitney
Lee Krasner,
Edward Hopper,
Kiki Smith,
Joseph Cornell, and all
Who knew there was any such thing as feather butterflies?
time for dancing
and Jay De Feo’s
Rose
Vicki is amazed
by
Liza Lou’s
kitchen:
feminist take on
housewife servitude
in the form of
thousands of beads
adorned by the
poetry of Emily Dickinson
I am blown away
by
Pepón Osorio’s “Angel: The Shoe Shiner”
too sacred to
photograph
and amused by Oldenburg’s
plushie cigarette butts
how to describe
the universes contained in
decades of
Jasper Johns
a retrospective worthy
of a 91-year-old master
overwhelming
enough to cause my sister
to wonder at his
process
I am pleased to find
Richard Avedon
& Frank O’Hara
whose footprint
becomes a tribute
to his singular genius
and too-brief walk
around NYC
purchase a
pretzel for Vicki
and a bacon egg
and cheese
prepared by
Alec, smile beaming
from the window
of his food cart
at the corner of
Gansevoort & Washington
I tell Vicki the
sandwich is unbelievably good
like tasting
almost anything while stoned
except I’m not high no that’s not right
I’m wasted on my city
I have a moment
as we pass the Flatiron
building
weeping with joy
to be on these streets
falling for
every big booty, goth scowl
and insane
utterance
the faces of the
crowds
in my dreams
and me always
walking against
traffic
I trail behind
Vicki
as she talks on
the phone
soaking it all
in:
Andre the Giant
Has a Posse
Diane von
Furstenberg
mobile COVID
tests
sometimes two
tents
on the same
block
love every
puddle
every odor
every everything
I’m home
Road trip with Greg
Rochester to Smithtown, Strong Island
December 6
.
Pre Emption St.
Cayuga Lake
wine slushies
TAUGHANNOCK
FALLS
Pennsylvania
Pursue
Your Happiness
Jay-Z/ Grateful
Dead mashup:
“99 Problems” /
“Scarlet Begonias”
Clifton,
PA
back window
Save
a deer
HUNT
A PEDOPHILE
side window
I
HEART MY CAT
December 7
Long Island Railroad
to Penn Station
overhear two
conductors
talk about how
as the train
came in to
Rockville Centre
a passenger was
attacked, choked
and they tried
to grab his phone
6th Avenue Symphony
Oh hell no. Oh
hell no. Here’s the deal. This woman is 80-year-old batshit razy. She gonna
drop that shit in your lap. Wanna know why? Wanna know why? You know why they
scared? ‘Cause she prob’ly done heard that shit. Just a way to cop out. So
thank you, truly. I know I know. I don’t wanna see you. I genuinely don’t wanna
see you. Slap ‘em down. It’s an awkward position for you.
With Barbara Lynn Cantone and Colin Poellot
With Barbara Lynn, my best friend since 10th grade
