Relief

I'm still coming off of the stress and anticipation of Election Night.  It was not at all clear to me that Obama would win. A beloved colleague of mine at hippie college tried to placate my fears by sharing her spreadsheet of electoral vote patterns and projections that suggested that Obama had the odds on his side and Romney would have to beat the odds. I held on to the spreadsheet like a baby blanket until it was absolutely certain that Obama won.

We New Yorkers are so very fatigued. First the hurricane, then the Presidential election, followed by a snow storm. So many people remain without power all over the greater New York area.  Over 40,000 are displaced from their homes. I have stayed out of the City to avoid straining an already fragile infrastructure. We can contribute donations to families in need at the college, where they will be transported down to Long Island and Brooklyn.

It's going to be a long road back.

Bone Dry

 
I cannot conceive of the damage Hurricane Sandy has cast upon our city.  My words cannot do justice to the damage. See for yourself at the NYTimes link of pictures taken by people all around the city and beyond. 

The Con Ed Power Station on 14th Street and C had two massive explosions. Just a few blocks away from our building. No electricity or cell service below 26th Street or so.

Our building was not flooded. The basement was bone dry. Unbelievable, since the water was at mid- car height just a block away on Ave. B.

Is this the new normal for New York City and the surrounding region?  Last year we had a snow storm in mid-October, the year before that it was Hurricane Irene.  Mother Nature keeps bitch slapping us...maybe it's time to listen. Watch out New Orleans, we may soon be writing songs about meeting each other down by the levee...we just gotta build one first. Or order one from Amazon. 

Zoning Out

So Hurricane Sandy is due to arrive tomorrow...I think. I can't really get a handle on a solid time frame.  The East Village family homestead is perched curiously at a point where Zone A, Zone B and Zone C converge.  These warnings bring me back to conversations I had with my dad who once reminisced about the wharves by the East River. They were located where Avenue C and Avenue D are before they took their position atop landfill.

Those New Yorkers living in Battery Park City (Zone A) have been evacuated. Deep down they must feel extremely stunned and annoyed. For the most part, they are too rich to be displaced and they must be struggling with this urban truth as they pack their bags. This is a tough crowd. The twin towers fell right next to them and many stayed on despite the smoke and destruction, perhaps as an act of loyalty and defiance. Hurricanes are small potatoes to these people.

My beloved sister is being a typical New Yorker and vaguely acknowledging the fact that there is some sort of natural theatre about to take place tomorrow. I'm sure she has stocked up on several cans of diet coke and.....well she doesn't eat much more than that. She is probably too busy thinking about a business conference call she has scheduled for tomorrow at 10 am. Apparently people in LA don't seem to understand the implications of hurricanes on one's daily commute.

Here in Strawberry Fields it is midnight. Another ordinary peaceful evening. We got back from our house up in the woods at about 7 pm. We did all we could think of to protect it from wind and rain. Falling trees and flooding are beyond our control but not beyond our prayers.

Work at Hippie College is closed for Monday and Tuesday. Ben's school is closed tomorrow. Let's hope Hurricane Sandy gets distracted by the full moon and trails off over the horizon.

Busch League

Charles Busch is magical. 

If you live in NYC or somewhere nearby, you owe it to yourself to go see Charles Busch perform. I was lucky enough to grab two tickets in December to see his annual holiday show Times Square Angel at Theatre for a New City.  It was so creative, funny, beautiful, authentic...the list goes on. At the end of the show, he came out on stage, wished us all a very happy holiday and sang Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I nearly burst out in tears. 

Charles Busch is an actor, playwright, screenwriter, director and drag legend. He is perhaps most familiar to larger audiences as the author of the Broadway play The Tale of the Allergist's Wife.  But for me, he will always be the author and star of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. I will never forget seeing that play in 1980's with my then girlfriend. Everything about it was so outrageous and well crafted. It left me speechless.  I'd never seen anything like it. My girlfriend didn't get it. Some people get lost in the camp aspect I suppose. But I hesitate to describe Charles Busch as primarily a drag queen. That performance element doesn't dominate my thoughts when I'm watching him on stage.  His work is so much richer than a quick laugh or spectacle.

I am so excited to see his upcoming biblical comedy Juidth of Bethulia that's slated to premiere on March 30th through April at Theater for a New City in the East Village. Go and tell me what you think!

Monkey Mind

If there was no such thing as a state of Monkey Mind, then surely Buddha would have created it upon my birth. The term Monkey Mind refers to a mind that is highly distracted by multiple thoughts, memories, emotions, sounds....

Who am I kidding? I have far more than one monkey in my mind. I wonder what Buddha would think about a Monkey House mind? Would he just shake his head and throw up his hands? Or would he embrace me with infinite compassion? Probably both.

And so I begin my humble first steps into the realm of the lotus blossom. While I am meditating for a few minutes, please keep an eye on our country. We appear to be in the midst of an emerging social revolution. Back to a more balanced people loving society I hope.

Beach Bleach

I am in Truro. It is peaceful and beautiful out. After all these years, my routine remains the same.

1. Return to a familiar summer home set back in the woods but close to the beach.

2. Promptly forget what day it is.

3. Promptly forget what time it is.

4. Make a list of all the spiritual cleansing rituals I have in mind.

5. Lose that list shortly after arrival.

6. Bring a list of all the fun things to do between goofing off and sleeping.

7. Complete that list.

8. Do not look at office email....ever.

Perhaps the one part of the vacation ritual that continues to spook me is how I feel for the first two days. Without all the daily responsibilities and distractions of urban life, there is no noise or static between me and my feelings.  I find myself face to face with the stress that I function under and it feels like Clorox pumping through my body. It is amazing how out of touch we can become with our true emotional or physical state and then when the tipping point occurs (illness, depression), we're shocked.

I used to laugh at the 70's term "getting in touch with yourself". I'm not laughing so much any more.

ARTFARM

A few weeks ago, Ben, Brian and I were in our old neighborhood and wandered into the NYC Festival of Young Artists and Leaders.  Even the misty drizzle couldn't dampen how wonderful the event was  with a variety of stages spanning East 4th Street from First to Second Avenue.  There were teen rock bands, poetry readings, dance performances and musicians.  There were also lots of tables promoting programs throughout the city for teens interesting in any area of design, visual and performing arts.

I felt sad to be away from this overload of culture. This vibe is a natural setting for Ben. Of course, he and Brian spent a hunk of time at Rivington Guitars which was on the same block as the festival. Ben put his creative talents to work playing a beautiful vintage guitar from what he (and my husband) consider the sacred 1970's. He then attempted to perform the miracle of having my husband buy it.  Sorry Ben -- your TONY award will have to wait.

While I was wandering around I caught a performance by ARTFARM .  They are an incredible theatrical group out of Middletown, Connecticut that combines performance with a commitment to simple living, social justice and environmental sustainability. They performed Circus for a Fragile Planet - and it was masterfully done. I highly encourage people to invite them to your schools or communities. It is well worth it. Their circus set design and music was out of sight. So simple and yet spectacular in its ability to help the actors and circus performers draw in their audience to examine the most pressing environmental issues of the day in a way that is vibrant and creative.

Ben's summer vacation officially started on Thursday.  He has two months of summer fun ahead of him. It will take that long for Brian and I to fully recuperate from seventh grade and to brace ourselves for eighth....