HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NYC TRIP

This is only my second trip to New York City ever. The Guild is as troubled as any organization, and I'm more committed to it than ever. Manhattan is full of tourists and commercialism, but the buildings are both old and tall, which makes them all incredible monuments. Brooklyn feels really comfortable - old, international, diverse, accepting, urban, beautiful, dirty, surprisingly clean. David's cool - I miss him slightly but I realized I will likely miss him more in the future. Unless I end up living up there. Now two highlights that made me tired:

1. Lost in Brooklyn

So, on Saturday when I got back from Manhattan on the R Train, I confused the streets with the avenues in David's directions to the cafe where he works. So, I ended up lost in Prospect Park. The upside of this 2 or 3 hour excursion was a short tour of Brooklyn and a really incredible park. Shall I call it enchanting? Of course not, that would be stupid. The temperature was cool, some fog floated about. The park was full of kids and adults, eating, listening to music, strolling, playing sports, relaxing. It was immense with rolling hills, tall trees, pockets of forest, and stone structures. I could definitely see myself getting drunk out there. Plus it was easy to find a place to urinate out of sight.

2. We Should Scrap the Entire Airline Industry for a System of Super-Fast Speed Trains that Ride on Magnets

Went to La Guardia early because it looked like it was going to rain, and I didn't want to buy an umbrella or a raincoat. The flight was delayed 2 and a half hours because it did indeed start raining, and apparently the weather made it impossible for our plane to land. I was entertained by a group of young girls with some older women who made up a troop that may be involved in a musical about praying or Jesus or something. Surprise, Surprise, they were heading back to Houston. At one point one of the older women asked a young Swedish guy about the music he was listening to. He played along and said with a heavy accent that it was a Swedish group. The Christian, Houstonian asked for his headphones, then listened to it and bobbed her head as the young girls giggled. "It sounds like rap," she shrieked. The Swedish guy just smiled, but I believe he probably was thinking: "stupid Americans." Then the woman turned to one of the white girls and said, "I bet Veronica would like this." Veronica was the only African American girl in the group.

At one point a passenger waiting came along with a small poodle - I'm not sure if they let her get her dog because of the delay or what. The poodle was dressed in a Mets jersey for dogs and little dog boots in Mets colors - which I believe are red and blue. The girls from "sparklemotion" adored the dog and caused it to bark at them in a playful way for hours. This period of barking, oohs and aahs, was also marked by two false fire alarms at La Guardia, which gave the entire wait a carnival atmosphere.

After the two and a half hours plus the extra hour - cause I got there early - we were finally on a plane. We sat on the runway for like half an hour with our seats in their very uncomfortable upright position deprived of the pleasure of portable electronic devices, with only a view of grey airport concrete out our windows. The plane was completely full and it seemed nearly 2/3rds of the passengers were tiny infants, all screaming. I was lucky to get a seat between two large men.

Finally in Houston, there was no connecting flight to Austin - or it had left hours ago. The good people at Continental set me up in the beautiful Marriot and got me to Austin this morning. They also bought my breakfast, or more accurately gave me $10 for breakfast at the Marriot which cost nearly $14 plus tip.

Another reason to support a system of speed trains in this country - Fewer weather delays!