Wanderings

I stepped on the M5 at 42 St and the MetroCard machine broke- so I got a free ride. That's a great feeling- sticking it to the government! I got off at W. 8 and walked down to Houston. What's the deal with the digging- still? Note that the new street lights are similar to those of the 70s but they're not the seperate curved arm. Still walking, on Bowery theres a homeless guy with a skirt. He's so out of it, he doesn't know what the fuck is going on around him. It's about 35, but for all he knew he was in Florida with 105 degree weather. Another day, another hobo in a skirt.

14th Street

In my opinion, 14th is one of the few "real" streets left in the city. There's always something that reminds me of the days before Giuliani cleaned up and the hipsters took over. Yesterday, narcs raided a hole in the wall clothing store near 7th Ave, with one guy in cuffs. Then there's the two black guys selling baby turtles on the sidewalk near a muni meter. Don't forget the guy sitting on the milk crate outside the 6th Ave station screaming obscenities to anyone walking by. Or the street vendors selling DVDs of every intrest, sunglasses for 7 bucks, incense, and drugs. The Waverly Job Center adds to the character of the street, bringing pimps and crack addicts in from the surrounding neighborhoods. And who can forget the "DVD stores" aka porno shops. It's like being in Bloomberg's wealthy society with a dash of Dinkins and Koch thrown in. That is what our city needs.

Thursday on the A

11pm, Thursday night at 14th St on the downtown 8 Av express. The doors open and the conductor runs out of his booth and asks "are you okay?" I turn around and see a businessman, probably in his late 40s, hand to his temple screaming, "the sonova bitch! the sonova bitch got me!" He had blood running from his forehead and staining his neatly pressed white button down shirt. Two or three straphangers had gathered round, including a homeless man mumbling obscenities. Then, two transit cops come strolling over and inquire what happened, only to recieve the same answer the conductor did. The fire department hustles over clutching first aid kits, gloves, and axes. They wave away the conductor, who closes the doors, and we roll away. And I was the only person in the car to even look up from the paper.

Queens in the 1970s

The 7 Train at 46th

My Grandpa, the grill master.

Little Neck Bay

The End of Summer Around Town

So, naturally, I grab the camera and wander the Boroughs.