New Year's Day -- 2009

2009 started with a hail of bullets -- apparently a longstanding tradition in my neighborhood.

So, at 11:58 p.m. someone down the street emptied a clip into the air. Someone else joined in. And someone else. And someone else. At midnight, I drank a glass of bubbly with my roommate, listened to the shots and watched fireworks as they topped the trees between me and Manhattan. The fireworks stopped at 12:20 a.m. So did the gunplay.

And 2009 was off to the races.

Moments of clarity

It was a beautiful day today. The sun hid behind low clouds and the temperature was in the shirt-sleeve range so I caught the train up to 96th Street on the West Side and walked downtown. At 66th Street, I shrugged off my pack and sat in one of the chairs under a tree.

I was filled with life's joyous love, so I spread my arms, threw back my head and ... found myself looking straight up a pigeon's ass.

Clarity hit.

"Keep moving."