Month: November 2009

I don’t know about today. I’m going to the commissioning ceremony this morning aboard the USS New York, the ship made from WTC steel. I’m looking forward to that, but at the same time I anticipate feeling liking an alien there.

This is not at all a judgement of anyone else, but here’s the story I tell of where I’m coming from. I volunteered down at St. Paul’s Chapel during the recovery period. Whenever the word went out that we needed anything for the workers, by the next day the chapel would be filled to the rafters with whatever we needed. For instance, the workers boots kept melting because the fires burned below the wreckage for months. We said we needed boots, and I don’t even know how the word got out, but the next day we were buried in boots. From all over the country. So we were always getting stuff.

One day we got boxes and boxes from Japan. I was working at the chapel that day and going through the deliveries, deciding what would go where. I opened the boxes from Japan and they were filled with tiny, paper origami cranes. I didn’t know what they meant then, but I do now. They are a symbol of peace and also a gift that is meant to grant good luck, health and recovery. They were also made famous by Sadako Sasaki, a little girl who lived near Hiroshima and died as a result of the bombing. She folded paper cranes, trying to save her own life, but she died after making 644.

Inside all the boxes of cranes where cards from the people of Nagasaki to the people of New York, expressing sympathy and hope for our healing and recovery. I started crying. That was my first and only time crying down there. What happened was wrong, and continued action like that must be stopped (in some way) but I don’t have to hold hate and anger in my heart. If the people of Nagasaki could do it, I could do it. Again, not judging anyone who approaches what happened differently. Everyone heals in their own way.

And thank you people of Nagasaki. Your gift made all the difference in the world to me.

But that is why I anticipate feeling l like an alien on that ship today.

Another roof shot. I should have some great pictures later, though.

From NYPDNews:

Advisory- Tomorrow 11/7 @ 11am a scheduled military aircraft flyover will occur at a ceremony for USS New York at pier 86 Hudson River.

I’m going to be at that ceremony!! I’m excited to learn that there will be a flyover. Love the flyover. Except after 9/11 when it happened over Madison Square Park and it felt like an earthquake and we were all a little over-sensitive to booming at the time. We didn’t know it was a flyover and so we were looking all around, and we couldn’t tell where it was coming from and as a result we didn’t know which direction to run so we all just kinda froze.

This is another picture from my roof, taken when I first went up there, before the sun began to rapidly set.

The sun is setting. Actually, in the time it took me to post that it has become much darker.

And someone has a garden and I don’t! This is looking down into the garden behind my building. Sigh. Look at all the colors and the green and general prettiness that I don’t have access to!

I’m doing this event tomorrow:

Opium Magazine and the Thorstein Foundation’s live interview series returns this month. Featuring Stacy Horn (author of Unbelievable), the multi-talentist Joseph Keckler, special guests and prizes.

Saturday November 7th
$5 USD
Bowery Electric at 8 p.m. (doors at 7:30)
327 Bowery (@ Joey Ramone Place)
(212) 228-0228.
B/D/F/V to Broadway/Lafayette or 6 to Bleecker.

Opium Live is a literary and artistic interview series that features interviews between artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers with plenty of twists (including audience participation), all followed by an exclusive 5-minute tribute to the guests’ work by other artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers.

Here’s the Facebook invite if you’d like more information and to RSVP.

I should go to the ticker tape parade for the Yankees. I should also stay home and write. I can’t decide!!

I don’t follow sports really. I just like winning. And cute athletes. And parades. Especially ticker tape parades downtown, which of all the city has the most back-in-time feel which I love. What to do, what to do??

The last time I went to one of these things John Oliver from The Daily Show showed up a few feet away from me and taped a segment, which made it REALLY worthwhile. But I can’t count on that. Alas.

Oh and I tried taking this picture of the Empire State Building while standing across from Grace Church at 11th and Broadway. It didn’t come out well though. It was when it was supposed to be lit up in a tie-dyed fashion for the Grateful Dead? I still think that can’t be right. They’d honor the Grateful Dead? I think they are well worth honoring, but I’m still surprised.