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A meeting?

Jen got home from the urgi center. The doctor cleaned her wounds. Luckily she didn’t need stitches. She cried in Jake’s arms for a few minutes. Then bathed Benjamin.

Marc heard his phone play the “It’s the end of the world as we know it” text tone. He hadn’t heard from Jen in ages. He grabbed his phone and read her message. It was an abbreviated version of her recent experience. Somehow she knew Marc would know about the “glass guy.” She mentioned her peaceful run-in with Anat. Marc tossed the phone to Alana. She looked back at Marc and smiled. The two knew they would probably have to meet with Anat. They weren’t against it. But didn’t want to. They know she helped them in the camp when they captured Jay. They debated whether they should contact her and set up a meeting. They weren’t going to contact her. But decided if Alana saw Anat delivering groceries to Aunt Solica, Alana would ask.

Where to meet? Marc usually liked to meet people along Museum Mile. Sometimes he’d have them meet at the Guggenheim. He is a member. He always felt being surrounded by great art made things go easier. Then Marc remembered his camp has a museum. It is closed for the summer due to Covid-19. Marc was on its board. He could go anytime.

They could go back and meet there. He doubted Jay would go back. He thought he was too busy making a mess around NYC. Maybe Marc could build a fire and they could meet over burgers and dogs. He would serve Cherikee Red soda. As much as he wanted to sip a Genny Cream Ale, he thought it was better to meet without alcohol.

Alana and Marc went for a walk down Queens Boulevard. They noticed broken glass all over.

Pandemic Watch: Back to the City

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Readers have said they miss my blogs. That’s great to hear. I’m excited if just one person reads these posts. I am still writing. I’m concentrating more on the graphic novel I’ve been working on for a long time. You can read it at https://wordpress.com/view/mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com. One day, I will illustrate. Anyone know a good illustrator?

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That being said, let’s go back to the city — NYC. Too many of us have been stuck in our outer-borough houses, apartments, etc. We’ve been dreaming about going back to the City for simple stuff. Maybe just to walk around. Maybe to meet friends who live in Brooklyn and you live in Queens. Or maybe just to get away from the long and boring walks down Queens Boulevard.

June 22 hair salons were allowed to reopen. I believe my last haircut was Feb. 27. I texted the guy who has been cutting my hair at Astor Place for over a decade. He said, come at 12:30. I jumped on the M train. I wanted the R line. But the M came first. I didn’t want to spend too much time in the subway station. And the M line stops 5 minutes away from Astor Place. The R stops next to it. The extra five minutes was no big deal. The train ride was fun. There were very few people in each car. We were all masked.

Got to Astor Place. There were lots of us with hair that needed cutting. The store was very effective in handling the crowd. Safety was paramount.

After my hair was cut, I walked around a fairly empty Washington Square Park. Even the pigeon man wasn’t there. I was happy. He is fun to take photos of. But all those pigeons gross me out. I spent about 30 minutes in the park shooting the super green trees and colorful flowers. There were only two street performers. Usually, the park is chock full of them.

I walked over to the uptown R, got on, opened my kindle and went home. A week later I met my mom for pasta midtown and then walked over to Midtown Comics. I’ve been having my books delivered. But now that the stores are open wanted to show my support. I picked up an order and purchased more. I walked over to a deli and got a sandwich for the next day and went into an empty Time Square Station and boarded the E line and went home.

I had one other city escapade, Bryant Park. I went to Tourneau to get the time reset on a watch. One day, I will figure out the crazy settings. I walked through an empty Times Square. When did we ever see that? Then I met mom at Rockefeller Center. We hung out. Then she went to the downtown R. I went uptown.

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It was weird seeing all of these places so empty. I know some people are afraid to go out. I am. But I had to take the chance. I’m somewhat hopeful if we are very careful and take small steps we can bring things back. What I want back most is Yankee Stadium. Most of us watch most of our games on YES. But know going up to 161 Street is special.

Small steps. Stay safe.

Jen takes Benjamin for a walk

Like everyone else, Jen was going stir crazy. She and Jake were trying to figure out how to keep Benjamin entertained. He had tons of toys. Too many. Sometimes his little cousins would come over to play. But he was restless.

Jen decided to take him for a walk along the Hudson. She let him tear the skin off a hot dog and wolf it down. Maybe he’d get ice cream. It would wind up on his shorts. They were strolling. Everything was fine. She was feeling more secure. Anat hadn’t attacked her in months. Maybe she gave up. Benjamin didn’t want to sit in his stroller. His walking was getting better each day. The two sat on a bench with ice cream. Rather than it winding up all over his shorts, it splattered all over Jen’s new sundress. Oh well.

Benjamin jumped off the bench and ran off. Thankfully at this point, he wasn’t a marathon runner. Jen had no trouble chasing after him. She picked him and seated him back in the stroller and walked on. “Lady Stardust” was playing in her ear pods. She was feeling happier than she had in a few weeks. Must be the joy of getting out.

She smiled at other parents as they and their kids walked along. It seemed like all was right with the world. All of a sudden she heard a scream. She turned to see what happened and was nailed in the leg with a piece of broken glass. She started to bleed and fell to the ground. She was more worried about Benjamin. She pushed her dress onto her wound and clotted the bleeding. That dress was headed to the incinerator. She started to head home. She heard other people screaming. She figured those people were assaulted with glass. She was in pain. But didn’t think she needs stitches. She started to turn and got hit in the back with glass. The elderly woman a few steps ahead suffered the same fate. Jen managed to remain standing.

Jay was thrilled with himself. His escape from prison was too easy. He knew an APB was put out. But he didn’t care. With the NYPD preoccupied with the Covid-19 mess, he figured he’d get away with anything.

But he didn’t see a jogger passing by. Anat, the jogger was so entranced with her run and her Smiths mix that she didn’t hear any of the screams. But she saw Jen wobbling and an elderly woman on the ground. She knew from Dan that Jay escaped prison. It was expected to be a lead story on NY 1’s website and next broadcast. She saw him a few feet ahead.

She had no desire to fight. But she unleashed dozens of apricots, dates and raisins at Jay. He turned around and fired glass at her. He missed. Anat nailed him in the head. Jen was helping the old lady and watching Anat. She got scared. She was afraid she’d be her next target. Anat hit Jay a few more times. He fired back. But kept missing. He knew he shouldn’t have shot up before he went out. His vision was getting blurry. He started to run. Anat fired away. Jay made a turn and was out of Anat’s sight.

Anat looked right at Jen, who was bleeding. She saw how cute Benjamin is. In her heart, she now felt pleased that Alana stopped Anat’s attack on Jen when she about to give birth. Anat looked at Jen and smiled. She threw her unused towel over to her.

Prison

Jay was transferred to the Tombs. Diane was still in prison awaiting trial. Marc and Alana were back in Queens. Anat was back on the Upper East Side. She was taking Dan to La Masseria for lunch. She had so much she wanted to tell him. She felt for their relationship to develop she should open up about her life. Not her superpowers. The only people that knew of that were the ones she fought. She knew Marc and Alana would never open their mouths. They were not friends. But left camp on friendlier terms than they’d ever known.

On their ride home, Alana and Marc discussed what they should do about their relationship with Anat. They knew they’d bump into her again. At this point, they felt they would try not to fight her. They believe she didn’t want to fight them. Alana actually said she looked pretty. Marc nodded his head in agreement. She knew she would be testing Jerry. They wanted to test him. They planned to go back to visit Diane in prison. They knew they likely would not get to see Jay.

Anat and Dan had the outdoor seating at La Masseria to themselves. They ordered a bottle of white. Dan was a little nervous. In his mind, he knew he liked her. Dan usually dated the ladies that hung around cops and watched them play their softball and football games in the local parks. After the games, they’d usually go for beer and burgers. Or pizza. Anat is different. Sure, Dan went to nicer places. But he was more of a beer and burger guy. But there was something about Anat.

The two talked over some tasty mozzarella and tomato with oil and balsamic vinegar. Butter melted off their bread. They ordered gnocchi and ravioli Angelina. They toasted to the beginnings of a great relationship. Anat spoke of her troubled past. Earnestly Dan listened. He said he was impressed with how far she’s come and wants to be part of her next steps. Anat turned bright red. She picked up the check and they walked along 8^th Avenue.

Normally Dan would have hugged and kissed her. But he knew they were at different times. He looked her in the eyes and asked if he could kiss her. She got close to him and they locked lips.

Jay was getting ready for dinner in the prison’s mess hall. The inmates were sizing him up. He was in good shape. They gave him some looks. One went over and introduced himself to him. He was the leader of one of the prison gangs. Another gang leader came and threw a punch at Jay. He was caught off guard and took the punch. Then all of a sudden Jay unleashed glass from his fingers. He nailed the guy. All of a sudden a melee broke out. Prison guards did their best to stop it. But Jay was out of control. Two guards went down. Several prisoners were on the floor. He started running toward the exit. Two guards fired their weapons at him. He ran right into one and knocked him down. The other jumped back. Before Jay was a druggie he was a good football player. He also ran track. He ran right out of the prison.

The Police Arrive

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Cellular service was not great at the dam. In other parts of the camp, cell towers were installed. It was easy to get a wifi connection. Out at the dam, there was nothing. Jay was shaking. Alana, Anat and Marc stood over him. The three were not friends yet. They didn’t speak to each other. They just sort of nodded. Anat mentioned that she knew an NYPD officer. She would text him. She figured Dan would tell her how to handle this situation.

Escorted by a camp ranger, a Narrowsburg sheriff’s car parked by the dam. Two officers emerged from the car. They saw the three “superheroes.” Before the cops arrived the three decided they would say they found Jay at the dam. They’d say he was probably hiding here and had some food, such as apples, barley and pomegranates. And he was drinking wine, which he spilled all over as a result of his intoxication. Dan told Anat just to let the police come and do their work. He said they would probably run drug tests on him. This reassured the three.

They pushed some of the food, their weapons into the dam. Some fish swam by and gnawed at the honey and raisins. Jay was mirandarized and cuffed. The ranger was chatting with Marc. They had been campers together back in the day. The ranger said next time we meet to sip Genny and wolf down Freihoffers.

The ranger jumped back into his truck and the police followed him out of the camp. Jay was taken to the local prison, where he was booked. He was going to be transferred to an NYC prison shortly.

Marc and Alana kissed and held hands. Anat just stood there. She was shaken up. But she felt good. She sensed her path to get Jerry would grow stronger. Marc and Alana took a walk up to a picturesque window and the cliffs a few yards away. Anat followed them. They did look over their shoulders but weren’t worried. Marc and Alana held each other at the cliffs. Anat was walking in the woods. On the alumni site where she found the map, she read stories about a great man who once attended this camp. She wanted to walk along his trails.

Shattered glass

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Marc and Alana belted Jay with their weapons. They saw Anat racing down the trail. Dried fruit was flying. All aimed at Jay. The two looked at each and smiled. They knew Anat wasn’t going to attack them. She wanted Jerry more than life itself. For some reason, Marc and Alana were going to do everything they could to stop Jay. They knew Anat was going to fight harder than ever.

Jay was wobbly. But he was still able to shoot glass. He aimed at Anat. He hit her in the boots. She went nuts. Raisins rained down on him. He was drenched in wine. An apple landed in his mouth. He looked like a stuffed pig. Barley was lodged into his eyes. Honey was dripping off his nose. Bugs were eating him.

An apricot shot into his ear. Blood-curdling screams were heard. He tried to lift his arm to shoot glass. As his arm went upright Alana saw he was bleeding. She shot wine right into his wounds. The alcohol stung. He fell to the ground. The three surrounded him and kept firing. They knew he could probably get up.

They took some fallen branches and placed them on top of him. They thought they should alert the police. But had no idea how to explain how he was taken out. Then they wondered if they should? They could say they were searching the camp and found him at the dam. Damn that dam.

Broken Glass

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Anat slowly hiked the trail. She passed the old dining hall, overgrown ballfield and shower house. She managed to walk in the direction of Marc’s campsite and saw his leanto. She didn’t know it was his. But she went inside and saw his name plastered all over. Many other names, too. In her heart, she felt bad. She could have had a nice time in her camp and went up for alumni weekends. But due to her craziness and her lack of paternal love she was a psycho.

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Alana and Marc were being pelted with glass. Jay was in top form. He was still in the lake. Alana ducked away. Marc got on the floor and rose and started firing pomegranates. Once caught Jay in his left eye. Alana jumped up fired several apples. She was holding back on the wine. She wanted to knock him down and then drown him in it. She wanted him out of the lake. She figured Marc could trap him with honey as he was emerging.

Anat decided not to go up the hill. It looked too scary to her. She was afraid a bear might attack her. She had no idea if bears could be taken out with dried fruit. She didn’t want to find out. She started walking along the trail to the waterfront. She got to the main site by the docks. She snapped a photo with her phone and kept walking. As she got closer to the dam she heard screams.

Alana was pelted in the knees with shattered glass. She went down to the ground and was bleeding. Marc looked at her. She told him to leave her alone and keep fighting. She said she’d stay grounded for a few minutes and jump back in. Jay started running out of the lake. Marc hit him in the neck with pomegranates. He shot honey into his eyes. They shut. Alana jumped and unloaded gallons of red wine all over him. His nose and ears were full out of it. She hit in him the eyes and blurred his vision.

Anat’s 20/20 vision saw what was going on at the dam. She started running in that direction. She saw Marc and Alana battling Jay. She wanted to join them. She feared when she got there they’d attack her. She could fight them. She remembers when they trounced her in Flushing-Meadows Corona Park. She knows she and Alana bumped into each other several times at Alana’s aunt’s apartment building. But they were not friends. Doubt they ever would be. But Anat would give it a chance.

Jay was falling. Alana was pelting him with apples. Barley flew out of Marc’s eyes.

Jay took a breather and got back into form. Marc and Alana were being smacked. But holding steady.

Then all of a sudden out of nowhere, Jay was hit in the back of the head his neck with cannonball sized raisins and dates. Apricots, too.

Pandemic Watch: Trashy Parks Part II

Perhaps you read my earlier posts, “Trashy Parks” and “Masks and Gloves.” Both posts discuss my disappointment with how we treat our environment.

Thanks to Covid-19 most of us have had much to do. To alleviate our boredom of being chained up in our NYC apartments we go for walks. We put on our PPE and stroll down our blocks. On one of my walks, I discovered Barrier Playground, a tiny cute park off the Horace Harding Expressway Service Road. It has a small green area with some benches. Basketball and handball courts abut the park area. In terms of discovered, I knew it was there. But never visited it. I only saw when I exited the expressway and made a quick right. After that turn, the park was a distant memory. But on my strolls, I walked into it. I decided to go back with my camera.

The only good thing to come out of Covid-19 is the parks are so green. That’s what you get when you don’t have people running around in them with their cigarettes and trash. As I entered the park, I noticed how green the bushes were and some pretty red flowers. An allergy sufferer’s “torture chamber.” With an itchy throat and watery eyes, I carried on.

I looked at the grounds of the park and saw water bottles, cigarette butts and bags of trash. The plastic food containers were an added touch. I posted these shots to Facebook. A friend, said “bears?” I said, “no.” We don’t have them in Queens. He responded he thought they were camp pictures. He went to camps in New Mexico and elsewhere where you had to tie your food and garbage up into trees to keep the bears out of your site. They always removed them when they broke camp. Didn’t always work. Sometimes the items fell off the trees or the bears just waltzed in. Perhaps, they were related to Smokey and checking the fire safety?

Back to Barrier Park and its trash. I don’t think the cute squirrels wanted the trash. They certainly don’t want your PPE. It is amazing how people are so worried about protecting themselves. But are they thinking about others when they dump their masks and gloves in the park? It is not fair to the birds, chipmunks and other wildlife that resides there. And it certainly not fair to the parks department workers who have to clean up your mess. Let’s keep our parks clean and green.

Camp Time

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Alana parked at the base of the hill that Marc lived on for many years. Sadly, a fire many years after the site closed destroyed much of it. Thankfully, nature is taking its course and it looks better. It will never be what Marc and his boys knew as teens. But it is something. One of Marc’s most favorite artifacts survived and is in the back of the site. If only the whole structure that this small piece of metal supported was still alive. Marc cries every time he nears it.

The two lovebirds had no idea where to search. They thought of going back to the area of the throne. Or maybe to the cliffs? Alana suggested they start at the lake’s dam. Marc laughed. He has great memories of BBQs at that site. The cookouts were infamous.

Meanwhile, Anat was shivering in her rented BMW. She vowed never to return to the area near her camp. She drove right by it. Many tears were shed as she passed its closed gates. If it weren’t for Covid-19, the camp would be open and humming with lots of kids. She could have parked by the gate and went in. But she knew she’d pass out. The good thing is she was wearing her new Timberlands.

And these days no one would be strong enough to take them from her.

She drove to the gate of Marc’s camp. She knew it had been closed for too many years. She was still nervous. She had no idea what to do. She was not a girl who liked hanging out in the woods. She sat in the car with Bauhaus cranking. She thought to herself how she totally transformed and even has a guy that likes her. Why did she want to go into this place? She could get lost, hurt, or eaten by a wild animal. She knew she could fight. But she never fought wildlife. Marc and Alana don’t count. Those two have never fought wildlife, either. But she knew if they were in this section of the camp Marc knew it like the back of his hand. He’d be ok. And his little goth princess would survive.

Marc and Alana were at the dam. They looked across the lake. Everything was quiet. Many canoe strokes away, the docks that Marc used to jump off of were still there. They sat on the small wooden footbridge and started kissing. While their lips were locked, Anat got out of the car and walked into the camp. She was shaking but feeling better. She had no idea where to go. She found a map of the camp on an alumni website. Sadly, the site was not searchable. Despite having the map to follow she had no clue, which trails to go on. She figured if Jay were still in the camp he’d be by the lake. People are drawn to water.

The other two were so into each other they didn’t hear the loud splashes feet away. They wound up getting soaked and broke out of each other’s arms. Standing 10 yards away was Jay.

He looked more disheveled than usual.

Pandemic Watch: Facial expressions

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Sadly our concert, theater, and sports events have been canceled since the virus took hold. It has left us bored. As we know, baseball and basketball are coming back. Sadly, it’ll be TV only. I won’t get to sit in the Stadium and boo Boston. I will have to yell at my screen.

As for theater and concerts, some artists have turned to live Facebook or Zoom performances. They are fun. The other day, Live Nation streamed a Depeche Mode show from Berlin that performed live about two years ago. It was the first time it was shown to those who were not at the arena in Germany. Watching the stream, the first thing that came to mind was the facial expressions of David Gahan, Andrew Fletcher and Martin L. Gore.

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Over the last few weeks, I’ve watched a friend’s theater company, the Synergy Theater do several live improv performances on YouTube. Again, I got a bird’s eye view of the cast’s facial expressions. I’ve watched some great new bands, such as Brewster Moonface and the Weird Wolves. The shows were up close and personal. You can really see the emotions of the actors, singers, guitarists and drummers. It is an added touch that we didn’t have before.

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I’ve had floor seats at the garden and orchestra seats in Broadway theaters. But I never felt so close as I do now. In the old days, I purchased many DVDs of my favorite bands live shows from all over the world. Both highly produced and bootlegs. The bootlegs always offered better quality in terms of the feel of the show.

But they didn’t seem to capture the views that I’ve been seeing on the recent pandemic streams. Is it fun? Yes. Does it replace being at the arena? No. The emotion of the band and crowd together is tops.