Rainy Day, Dream Away

The West End Restaurant near Columbia has removed all of its Beat Generation memorabilia from its walls. I sat near the open window eating a Cuban pork sandwich and watching it rain - everyone scurrying for buses & awnings. Then I wheeled a barrow of coins to the bank and was helped by a teller named Charisma. Commerce Bank doesn't take out a percentage when you bring in coins, which is an encouraging policy.

I thought it would be a good idea to ride around on the buses to stay dry and see a few things. And might have been, if not for the deadly trio of rain, construction, and rush hour. I bailed out on Fifth Street and ducked into the Museum of the City of New York where they had an exhibit on New Yorker cartoons pertaining to psychiatrists' couches. I got in for free because it was nearly closing time and had fifteen minutes to take everything in before they booted me out, so it became a little like that scene from Band of Outsiders where the characters race through the Louvre at breakneck speed. There was an exhibit on trade in New York, showing dioramas of the East River wharves in the 1800s. Seeing all the ship rigging and wooden barrels made me feel I missed my era.

More wandering in the rain. In Chelsea I saw a sign which read "for Time Machine, ring 2nd floor bell." Something about New York instinctively makes me want to eat healthier. Often find myself grabbing apples from corner delis. Some people smoke cigarettes on rainy streetcorners, other people eat apples. Maybe some do both.

Haven't found any good leftover furniture along the sidewalks yet. I'll keep an eye out tomorrow. Stands to reason there should be some good loot in Morningside Park territory. I'd like to find a halfway decent table and chair for writing purposes, and the thought of actually spending money seems laughable.