lost at sea

all day long there was the threat of rain but not a drop fell from the sky. the push and the pull of a perpetual maybe set something off inside of everyone's plans that made them disintegrate. that is, except for renee and i. we met up by the big eagle war memorial in battery park early in the evening under a sunny blue sky with nary a cloud in it. after looking over our goodies (she had those chocolate chip cookies from whole foods again and i brought a bucket but i should have gotten a box), we headed to the govenor's island ferry, which was tucked neatly in the armpit of that big lettered hyper modern looking staten island glass colossus that overwhelms that section of the battery. it was cosy little nook, under renovation, somehow elegant in its deconstructed state. i would never have noticed it. when i step out of the subway, i'm usually headed in the other direction. and the way the traffic swings whenever i look this way, it feels as though there's nothing coming at me but road. i stepped into the wide arched walkway and felt a blast of cool moist air go all the way through me, like an ice cube that drops to the bottom of a glass of warm water, then floats back up to the top. all of a sudden, i was no longer in nyc. the grime, the filth, the congestion, the heat -- it was as far away as a memory. i was about to depart on some grand seafaring trip of some sort. it didn't matter that the ride was only about 15 minutes long.

as we sat in this breezy area and waited, aj appeared. what a coincidence -- if there really is such a thing as coincidence. aj is the negro in the know. he's got his ear to the tracks about most things in general, but he's very much aware of what's happening in the city creatively, on the black hand side. he's the one that sent me an email about this particular event. we bat emails back and forth often enough but here was a chance to hang out and really talk.

nothing like letting your mind wander and allowing yourself to get lost in your thoughts with other creative like minded sorts. such a free and open exchange always shakes something loose. on the boatride there i came up with a really cool idea for renee and i. we talked aobut it in bits and pieces for the rest of the night. it was the salt that seasoned our day.

as the boat let us out on the island, we walked up a hill and past a gate to a lush green wide open space, a veritable sea of grassyness, sprinkled with people on blankets and such. there were markers and an area set aside for a band and short movies that would be shown, courtesy of rooftop films. we ate and lolled around, watching the sky vacillate from a faint mona lisa smile to the verge of tears and back again. as the sun went down, a band played trippy pop tunes as the fireflies lit up the grassyness like fallen and wayward stars. it was magical. i felt as though i had wandered into someone else's liquid acid fantasy. as the music played, a helium filled screen began to expand and float behind them, as though slightly tipsy. i almost wished that we could camp out and stay all night long.

and then it was over. the spell was broken. we drifted onto the boat en masse, like children coming in after dark. the 1 train carried us to harlem and beyond. my new idea carried me to bed.