Live Forever Man Dancing Beneath The Lunar Eclipse

Rockaway, May 16th, 2022

I spy with my little eye: A pigeon on the railing. He spies me too. His eye is red. My eye is blue.  Too tired and apathetic to move. “This place is exhausting” I know, pigeon, I know. It’s starting to rain.

 

I wondered if it’s easier or harder to be a pigeon in the metropolis, than in, for example the woods? The average walking  human city eater drops a lot of gourmet pigeon food on the streets. Trickle down pigeon economics?  There’s plenty of food and shelter, but maaaaaaaaan do they humiliate you to get it.

 

There was a lunar eclipse last night. I saw ‘Live Forever Man’ on the crosswalk outside ‘Pickles and Pies’ shooting lasers at the traffic lights. I doubt his life is easy. I don’t doubt that it is hard. But, right there, in that exact space and time,  between the lunar eclipse and the glow of ‘Pickles and Pies’, it looked fun. Phthoom! Phthoom! Phthoom! His hands clenched. Dancing in the crosswalk.

 

I saw the beginning of the eclipse. Like a thumbprint over a photo of the moon. Then the clouds came.

 

I see ‘Live Forever Man’ all the time. Screaming positive affirmations at passersby. There are many ways to be mad. To walk outside the lines. Recently at my Thursday night residency at Sayra’s wine bar, I sensed someone was behind me. ‘Live Forever Man was staring in through the window. Seeing me seeing him, he screamed, ‘NO FEAR’, which momentarily had the opposite effect.

 

There’s another character, let’s call him Johnny Crowbar, he seems to carries a metal bar everywhere he goes. Like he’s ready for a post-apocalyptic fight club. I’m glad someone is. Aside from the crowbar, Johnny Crowbar is all smiles and “Good morning, how are you?”, “Where’s the kid?”, “Lovely day, yeah!”

 

I’m not afraid of this kind of mad.

 

**********

 

Just a couple of days ago I caught myself cautiously thinking, “Well, at least I haven’t heard any news of any mass shootings lately.” FFS.

 

I am saddened and angered by the brutal killings in Buffalo this weekend. I’m sick of this violent stupidity and willful ignorance that feeds this madness. It has to be stopped.

 

*****

Thursdays 7pm-9pm , Sayra’s Wine Bar, Rockaway

Friday May 20th, 9pm, Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 1

Sunday May 22nd, 7pm, Stella and Fly, NYC Big City Folk Song Club with Caitlin Marie Bell

Sat June 4th, 11am, Saugerties Farmers’ Market, NY

Sunday June 5th, 7pm, Stella and Fly, NYC Big City Folk Song Club

Saturday June 11th, Greenville Drive In, NY

Friday June 17th, House Concert, Toms River,NJ

Saturday June 18th, Big City Folk Porch Stomp

Sunday June 19th, 7pm, Stella and Fly, NYC, Big City Folk Song Club

Saturday June 25th, An Beal Bocht, Bronx, NY