I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
Edgar Allen Poe

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
- H. L. Mencken

Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
-Bertrand Russell

What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
-James Branch Cabell

June 12, 2017 - 10:57 a.m.

Sunday in the Village with Brianne

I'm starting to write before the WFUV Question of the Day is over, that counts as a success. Now let's see if I can finish before 10:30. I used to finish these things in 20 minutes; now it takes an hour. I've gotten better at it but that's led me to increase how much I write. Of late I've been fighting the notion that I should write at least a thousand words. The Chronoklepts were at it again; it's already 10.

Yesterday I wrote about being lonely then went off to play with Brianne; I try to live a life of irony. This was a play date, we had no plans. She came in from New Jersey and I came down from City Island. We met at Penn Station. Thanks to the drawbridge over the Hutchinson River Bridge being up I was late. The 1:48 bus caught up with the 1:28 bus. The lead bus didn't even stop. They had to put some spacing between them. Such is life on an island. Every cloud has a silver lining. As the bus was late I had time to go to Lickity Split for an ice cream cone. Ice cream is good.

Thank god there are cell phones. Brianne and I can never find each other when we meet. Thanks to the phones we found each other. Genetically Brianne is half Italian but her skin is all Irish. It was sunny and me being me I asked her if she had used sunblock. She forgot it. Being me, I carry sun screen on me in the summer so we both girded our UV armor. I like to think of myself as a swarthy Mediterranean type but not enough to let myself burn. I also had my big summer hat; the one you see me wear at festivals.

Like I said, we had no plans. Brianne was in town to do a photoshoot for a musician. If you need a photographer contact her, Art and Photography by Brianne Dougherty . She's my partner in The Budgiedome music so she understands but music and photography.

She had four hours before meeting the musician but as we had no plans we walked in the general direction of where they were meeting. My plans of stopping at the Salvation Army to buy a suit were foiled by it being Sunday and the Salvation Army being a Christian organization. I really should have thought of that. If I weren't an idiot I would have. We walked through two old haunts of mine; the first was Chelsea, the site of the market research job from hell. A Popeye's opened since then. I used to walk down to 14th street for Popeyes after work. That was only after Kenny Rogers Roasters closed. That was my first chicken choice. You know that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer becomes addicted to Kenny Rogers chicken? That really happens. It was so good. I have no idea why it went out of business.

Then we went down to Christopher Street in the West Village. I used to go there every month for the Christopher Street Coffeehouse. I wanted to go in and say hi to Mark, the pastor, but a ceremony was going on in the sanctuary. Still it was nice walking through the old hood. I have much better memories of the Coffeehouse than I do of the market research job from hell. You might have guessed that by the "from hell."

We stopped for something cold to drink on Hudson Street. I had expensive iced coffee. Brianne had an expensive Arnold Palmer. We then went location scouting for the shoot. I know the neighborhood well and showed her a block I thought would work. I love how random bits of information that have no personal relevance can stick in our brains and prove useful for others. Yet I can't remember the direction of traffic on the avenues. I actually needed those when I drove in the City.

And that's what we did for hours. We walked and talked and sat and talk. I do plenty of walking and sitting but rarely spend so much time totally engaged with somebody. It's a rare person that I want to spend that much time totally engaged with.

I had planned on going to Trader Joe's then coming home to make dinner but I realized that would be too late so I went for my go to cheap meal near Trader Joe's; the $5 chicken zinger fill-up at KFC. The AC was out. I almost walked out because of that.

Today I'm going to see Dougmore's CD release show for Outerboros. Dougmore is Doug Goldstein of Cricket Tells the Weather's project. Kate Copeland produced the album and is in the band. That's how I know Kate. I misgenred them the other day; I said there were folk/rock/pop. Their official designation is Cosmic American/Psychedelic Folk/Bluegrass Dream-Pop. That's much more accurate. Damn cool. They are at Rockwood 2 at 8 PM. I'm going with Dan. I have dates two days in a row. Too bad my dates are always with gay women and straight men. No, that's not fair, sometimes I do things with married woman and gay men too. Notice the missing demographic.

Tomorrow is John Platt's On Your Radar. I'm expecting to see you there.

I didn't finish this by 10:30 but 10:55 isn't bad. Now to make breakfast.


I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.





Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018



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Horvendile June 12, 2017
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