It is 1:00 AM and I can't sleep. I need to fly tomorrow and haven't packed. Or really done anything other than reluctantly chomp down some unappetizing take-out sushi. This apartment is even more depressing because it is large and so quiet that I can hear the laptop fan whizzing.
Last time I was in Manhattan, three months ago, it was raining and I had taken a New Jersey transit train to Penn Station. I walked and walked and when tired, waited for a cab outside Grand Central. I was alone. It is not that I am always alone, I just end up writing only about those times I guess. I love the energy of New Yrok during rush hour. No city in the world looks like New York from higher hotel floors. I still feels like a kid looking out into the New York skyline from hotel rooms. I can do that all night. I love the restaurants and bars. New Yorkers know how to be urbane without being rude, unlike the French.
On Saturday, I need to go visit a friend who just lost his father. He lives in Connecticut.
On Sunday, I rest.
On Monday, I shall go to Amherst. There is a little Vietnamese noodle place in downtown Amherst. It is painted in very bright colors and I love the noodles.
I miss the normalcy of America. I am ashamed to admit this in public, but I am beginning to miss all-you-can-drink refills (may be because I am thirsty), and honest, genuine folk in small towns. So, I look forward to Amherst more than new York. Little things, remember, little things.
And I know the territory, I understand the language. I like what I drive, I don't care if I am dressed right. People return my calls and they call back when they say they would.
So here is to simple living. Here is to friends. Here is to people who care and want to reach out to meet. Here is to good food and good wine. here is to laughs and jokes. here is to comedy central. Here is to a good plain ol' burger. With fries. And a large glass of coke. Here is to wandering in central park. And in Boston Common.
So adios.
