Starting at the end

Jake at Cafe Reggerio

High point for Jacob might have been CBGBs. We saw two bands in the darkness in that Bowery club, which is holding on after nearly closing. Kind of like fight club music, for my money, though the first guy was fey in a slightly endearing way. It was cool inside. All and all it was pretty hot vacation..but we’d go into coffee joints and Lebanese pitzah parlors and little stores and cool off and then go back onto Gotham. We walked down to old 3rd St where Dave and I lived, went past the New York Hell’s Angel’s HQ down that way still there. John and Ann joined us at Café Reggerio famous old coffee bar across from Dylan’s old MacDougal St abode. Rain came in but it didn’t cool off.

Saturday morning we went to Rob’s house, big cool midtown place with big view of New Jersey. Had bagels and fruit. Talked with Beth. About college. Art school. Da Mayor. The Power Outage. That the Middle class and small business is getting squeezed out of town. Then we had to go. The line for the Boston bus at the Port Authority getting out of town was semitragic. Poor folk in the heat, waiting pretty patiently. Wanted to take pic of Ralph Cramden [Jackie Gleason] statue outside the old Port Authority…but individuals were using it as rest spot. Not near as bad by a mile as in 1985. But reminded me of a blues I wrote…

Going down to that bus station
One with the TV chairs
Didnt know my life
Would ever take me there

Then
In a 25-cent locker
In a 25-cent locker
I put my life
In a 25-cent locker

Crying
Port Authority,
Port Authority
What have you done to me?
Took my dignity.
Port Authority