Tag: New York City

  • Paul Auster (1947 – 2024)

    I read the news today that Paul Auster had passed away. Kind’a always thought that Paul Auster would just be hanging around forever. Somewhere in Brooklyn, scribbling away, and walking around. I don’t know if any of that is true, it’s just what I expected.

    I first read Paul Auster in 1997 or 1998, and the book was Hand to Mouth: A Chronicle of Early Failure. I’m not 100% sure how this book came to me, but I’m pretty sure it was a Christmas gift from my parents. Maybe I put it on a list, but for whatever reason, it was the right book at the right time. For you see, I had just dropped out of college to peruse my career as a writer/artist, and then I read this book, wherein Paul Auster is pretty much telling me that I have ten awful years of struggle, disappointment, and failure headed my way. But he told it is such a funny and depressing way that, for all the wrong reasons, this book inspired me to continue following my path in the arts. And also, to read as many books by Paul Auster as possible.

    I had hoped to have met him one day. Not to have a conversation, or tell him how much I enjoyed his work. No, I just wanted to say “hi” to him on the street, like neighbors. And that’s the other great thing that Paul gave to me; he presented New York City (Brooklyn, actually) as this great place to meet and make friends with people who are nothing like you. There are all kinds of great things about the City, that artists have been talking about for years (the arts, nightlife, money, danger, excitement, scandal…) but he always gave me this feeling that, yes those things are here, but the people of this place, these characters of the City, are what makes this place magical.

    The other thing that I loved about Paul Auster was that the guy just wrote all the time, and produced so much work. This is the “hard working American” side of me that still sees production as one of the measuring sticks of artistic excellence. He created nonstop. He tried things, and sure, maybe not all of it was The New York Trilogy, but I have respect for the people out there that keep trying something new and producing.

    So I guess, thanks Paul Auster. Thanks for trying to talk me out of being creative.

  • ODDS and ENDS: I Felt the Earth Move, Tottenham Home Stretch, and the Dog Got a Haircut

    ODDS and ENDS: I Felt the Earth Move, Tottenham Home Stretch, and the Dog Got a Haircut

    (She blinded me with science…)

    NYC and the surrounding area got hit with a 4.8 magnitude earthquake which lasted for about 20 seconds. The epicenter was about 50 miles west of Manhattan. I was at home with the wife when it hit, and for the first few seconds of the quake, I thought it was come from the construction site behind our building. You know, like they were drilling or something. Then I thought that a truck had hit our building. But my wife was the first one to say, or I guess ask, “Is this an earthquake?!” In fact, it was. Thank God for social media, because within three seconds, people were posting. Funny enough, this is the second NYC earthquake I have been through. Back in August of 2011, a 5.8 quake hit northern Virginia, which was felt all the way up here. I was on the 12th floor of a building in midtown at that time, and all I felt was the building swaying, which was a very strange sensation. But in both occurrences, the overwhelming feeling I had was disbelief. You don’t think about NYC having earthquakes.

    We are down to the final nine matches of the season, and I hate to admit it, but it looks like Tottenham is playing for a place in the Champions League next season. Of those nine matches, three of them are against the teams ahead of Spurs on the table (Man City, Arsenal, and Liverpool), then there is Newcastle twice and Chelsea who both are hanging around in the middle, followed by three matches against teams fighting against relegation. The way I see it, Tottenham will walk away with three wins, three draws, and three losses, concluding the season with 69 points. Will that be enough to get past Aston Villa? I don’t think so as Aston does have the easier schedule compared to Spurs. This will be an interesting two months. Interesting in the sense that it will be infuriating, and gut wrenching.

    My dog got groomed yesterday. She’s very happy about it. She looks like a puppy.

  • Broken Car Window Throws Off Local Man’s Day

    By Matthew Groff

    April 3, 2024, 11:37am

    When I walked out of my apartment on Tuesday morning, it was an overcast and drizzly day, which felt appropriate for having to move my car for the street sweeper, as Alt Side Parking is one of my least favorite “New York” things that I have to do, sometimes twice a week. The closer I got to my car, I noticed that the car parked behind me had their back window smashed out. “That sucks,” was my first thought. And then I saw my car…

    “This really sucks,” was my next thought.

    And though I knew that my whole day just got shot to shit, I wasn’t that upset. I called my insurance company, and got that process started. A woman came up to my car and told me that she also got her back window smashed in (four cars total got broken into) and she just called the cops who were on the way. I texted my wife and let her know what had happened, and she was pretty annoyed.

    My insurance put me in contact with a window replacement company, and I was making arrangements with them when the cops rolled up. Clearly, most people don’t put the glass people on hold, because when I told him I needed to speak to the police, he seemed annoyed with me. Anyway, I was raised that when the cops show up, you talk to them right away.

    The police took a statement from me, said they were sorry for the situation, and wanted to know if anything was stolen. A cooler bag, I said. That worth anything, the cop asked. No, it was an old cooler bag, I answered. So nothing was stolen, the cop finished. Nothing was stolen, I agreed. The cops were nice, but I think we all knew that there wasn’t anything they could do, but I appreciate the effort.

    I called the glass people back, and made arrangements for them to come replace the window on Wednesday. I went to the hardware store on the block and got some duct tape and plastic to cover up the window. The wife came out and helped me with it. Not our best work, but it would do.

    Then it really started raining.

    Then the glass people called back saying that they had to reschedule because of the three days of rain we were about to get. How does Friday afternoon sound, they asked. Not good, I said. We’ll see you on Friday afternoon, they told me.

    Then I got annoyed. Not with the glass people, because logically I get it. You can’t replace windows in the rain, as coming out to your car is their whole business. What I was annoyed at was that somehow having to reschedule made me feel like I wasn’t in control of this situation anymore.

    Then I checked on the plastic over the widow to find out that our “not the best work”, in fact, was regular “bad” work; Water was getting in the car.

    Then I really felt powerless. Three days of rain, water getting into the car, and the new window won’t show up until Friday afternoon.

    Luckily, I have a wife who can fight through my annoyance and powerlessness, when it occasionally happens to me, and found a nearby parking garage for the car to sit in for the next three days. Which is smart and makes sense, and though costs us some money, at least the car is staying dry.

    And through all of this, my annoyance and having my day thrown off, I never thought about the person who broke into my car. I never felt anger at this faceless person, or entertained feelings of wanting to get revenge, and any angsty questions of “why did this have to happen to me?”

    This whole thing feels like stepping in dog shit. This sucks, and I have to clean up my shoes, but it happens from time to time.

  • Personal Review: In a Taxi on the Upper East Side

    I found myself, on this very rainy Thursday, in the Upper East Side at 3rd Ave and 80th. I had taken my dog to the vet we liked; The one the wife had found during the Pandemic, who was far away from our neighborhood, but as we only made this trip once a year, the distance wasn’t disqualifying. An Uber had brought me down here, and as I contemplated in the rain how best to get home, an open taxi waiting at the light decided for me that surge pricing would be forgone on this return trip.

    I was asked by the driver if cutting across the park, and heading up Central Park West was okay, which I felt it was. Maybe the FDR would have been faster, but with the trifecta of Biden-Obama-Clinton in town, and with a rumor of Trump hanging around the city as well, my thought was that the highways were surely clogged as much as the streets on this day.

    And it was a slow trek across Manhattan, which provided the opportunity of watching the city go by in gray clouds and black umbrellas. I’m never in the UES, so cutting through those streets was like exploring a new world. I wonder what life would be like if I lived there; if that restaurant were around the corner, or that coffee place, or how loud does that bar get on a Saturday night? How would life be different down here as compared to up there?

    If you have lived in New York for twenty years, you are bound to have taken numerous, if not uncountable, taxi rides, which all, more or less, are utilitarian and forgettable. But I do remember my first; JFK to Manhattan in the Summer of 2003. The cab had no air conditioning, and the driver blared Prince out of the speakers. And then there was what I thought would be my last after a goodbye dinner with friends; West Village to Harlem care of the West Side Highway – Late at night, the city lit up and passing in a blur.

    In my current taxi, a silent trip. No forced conversation, or weird shortcuts that are only meant to ride up the meter. No, it was a calm affair with my dog on my lap. I wondered why I still stay in the City, I wondered if I will ever leave this City?

    It’s easier now because all taxi’s take cards, because before that, sometimes you’d accidently not have enough cash, and that always made for an awkward conversation with the driver. This diver gave me a nod with a “thanks” when I tipped 20% and got out of the cab quickly, not letting too much rain in.

    Four Stars…

  • ODDS and ENDS: SPRING!, DJ in the Band, and That Smell

    (Every morning…)

    It’s a month early, but it’s Spring in New York. Things are becoming green and flowers are coming out, and trees look like they are about to bud as well. I haven’t worn a scarf or my winter coat in a week, though I think it is premature to pack them away for the season. Each season change has its own magic and quirks, but Spring has one of my favorites which is the “Super Optimistic” person. You can identify them because they’re the person who dresses like it’s 85 out, when it’s actually 65. Shorts, tank top, and flip flops. I respect their desire for warmer weather, and their disregard for reality.

    What happened to all those DJ’s that used to be in rock bands? In the late 90’s, seemed like everyone was adding a DJ to their line up. Just wondering what happened to them.

    I don’t know if you know this, but it is official, New York City has a new scent. The Official Odor of NYC is “Pot Smoke.” It’s hard to believe that the former scent was dethroned, but “Rotting Garbage” had been the champ since 1624, so it was due.