Wall on St. Mark's Place, Christmas Day.
The gym: closed.
The dojo: closed.
B&H: closed.
Downtown Bakery: closed.
Whole Foods: closed.
I go for a walk. I end up on 14th Street & the Sabbath security guard is out front of the synagogue. ? I ask. It's a Yiddish event, he tells me, & he didn't go home so he was happy to work. Home is Birmingham, & we talk about Alabama. His name is Val. Short for Valentine? I guess. I've wondered for years about Val Kilmer. Nope, Valarian, like the Roman emperor.
I give dollars to everyone who asks. It's certainly been more people of late. One person said he'd been asking all day—it was 3 p.m. by then—& I was the first person who'd responded. A woman was almost in tears. I'd heard the woman just in front of me, someone I've seen around, say "...garbage" but I didn't realize she was talking to this lady. I'm sorry I didn't stay & talk but I was already past by the time I gathered what she'd said.
It was warm. I longed for snow.
I called my mother & my sister. I visited Reve, Maggie's new kitten. I read parts of 3 books & studied Torah. Johnny & I lit the Hanukkah lights.
The dojo: closed.
B&H: closed.
Downtown Bakery: closed.
Whole Foods: closed.
I go for a walk. I end up on 14th Street & the Sabbath security guard is out front of the synagogue. ? I ask. It's a Yiddish event, he tells me, & he didn't go home so he was happy to work. Home is Birmingham, & we talk about Alabama. His name is Val. Short for Valentine? I guess. I've wondered for years about Val Kilmer. Nope, Valarian, like the Roman emperor.
I give dollars to everyone who asks. It's certainly been more people of late. One person said he'd been asking all day—it was 3 p.m. by then—& I was the first person who'd responded. A woman was almost in tears. I'd heard the woman just in front of me, someone I've seen around, say "...garbage" but I didn't realize she was talking to this lady. I'm sorry I didn't stay & talk but I was already past by the time I gathered what she'd said.
It was warm. I longed for snow.
I called my mother & my sister. I visited Reve, Maggie's new kitten. I read parts of 3 books & studied Torah. Johnny & I lit the Hanukkah lights.