The coincidences of late are getting weird. At Panera an hour or so ago I saw the nice but annoying dude, and managed to avoid any contact, but on the way out I noticed that one of the guys he was playing chess with was a guy I used to see around the neighborhood all the time, like almost every day. I never knew him but he seemed interesting. He was always working on his art at Panera or Sunswick, and from what little I got to look at his stuff it looked decent. Last night for some reason that person entered into my mind, having not seen or thought of him in at least 2 years, probably as much as 3 years. I think I can recall the stream of consciousness that brought this person’s memory up from the ashes of oblivion but it is not worth repeating. Anyway, as I left Panera today I saw that this person was one of the 3 people playing chess with the tall bald annoying guy. How does he appear like that so soon after I thought of him for the first time in ages?
Another oddity just happened seconds ago. A friend of mine from college bears a striking resemblance to an actor. I know nothing of this actor’s work but I noticed a few years ago when the owner of my then-regular pub papered the walls of the men’s room with a bunch of pulp fiction novel covers and, incongruously, a picture of this actor who bears a striking resemblance to my college friend. I asked the owner who that was. For some reason seconds ago I found myself remembering this conversation but failing to remember the actor’s name. In the 1 or 2 seconds that I gave this matter any consideration I decided to stop trying to remember the actor’s name, since I don’t really care. Just as I gave up trying to remember the name I heard a radio announcer say it: Ryan Gosling. If only these alignments had any real meaning.
I’m still kind of reeling from the Calvary Cemetery/Ray Liotta mindfuck I wrote about over on .NYC.
Oh, and I just took laundry to the laundromat and the guy who cut my hair last time was sitting there, sleeping. I’ve never seen him there before. That’s not as strange as the other coincidences but it’s a little thing among others that makes me think something transcendental is in the air.
At the ghetto coffee shop, where I heard the Ryan Gosling update that my brain subconsciously transmitted to the announcer at WPLJ, who kindly reminded me of Ryan Gosling’s name.
I am going to go scavenging in Manhattan tomorrow. Scavenging for phone books. The Manhattan white pages and yellow pages have been distributed, with stacks of these things left in front of businesses that have been closed for months or even years. People sell those books on eBay for $25 or more a pop. I won’t be surprised if many of the books I saw today are gone tomorrow.
The payphones at Grand Central, the downstairs phones, are still non working. I’ll be bummed if that puts an end to my subway buskers project. The phones at Times Square all worked today, though, so that’s a sign that PTS has not given up on subway phones altogether.
I saw a kid getting arrested at Port Authority. He was handcuffed, which I guess means he was under arrest. He looked distraught, but an Asian woman standing with him seemed serene (he looked Hispanic). I don’t know what their relation but if she was the girlfriend she was doing a good job standing by him under the circumstances. They seemed like they were having conversation as the police officer stood nearby. It was an odd scene. I’ve never been arrested so I don’t know if they let you have companions around while you are being booked. Never been arrested but I think I was arraigned. Maybe that is not exactly what happened. I am told I think like a lawyer but I am not conversant in logistical matters of law enforcement.
OK, just looked it up. I was arraigned. Never arrested but I once appeared in court to answer to charges levied against me. Man that was a long time ago, that time when it seemed like my life was entirely suspended over the abyss. 25 years…
