Also thanks to all the rest of my JMDL pals who gave > up their time to make it a knockout weekend and one that I'll never forget.
I would like to add to this and especially thank Kay Ashley for putting me up in her spacious apartment, making sure I could get everywhere I wanted to go, lending me her baby Taylor, playing scrabble with me (a very close game which her roommate won), and being a generally excellent hostess. I enjoyed getting to finally visit Judy's after hearing so much about it for so long. It was quite a ball hanging with everyone and I actually ran into a friend there from Atlanta who had moved to NY some time ago and was meeting someone there the same night. What are the chances of that happening I wonder??? I spent much of my time in NY simply wandering down streets and exploring different areas of Manhattan. I spent about an hour walking around the business district in lower Manhattan and I was very glad I did. For all the footage they've showed on tv over and over at different angles, from different sources and whatnot...it all pales considerably in comparison to actually being there. I know that where I'm coming from is a far cry from the people who live and work there every day but I sat on the dock in the harbor and looked up at the tall buildings and imagined what it must have been like to see a huge airplane fly into those towers. From that vantage point, I could really tell how f'ing gigantic it must have been. I'm not sure I can really even describe what it was like to go there but I definately felt a somberness that pervades everything, a heaviness that permeates even the calm, composed mass of people that go every which way continually. And yet there exists a strong feeling of love and compassion conveyed by the blankets and banners and teddybears and shirts hung on an iron fence thats runs for quite some distance. I looked for a long time over the wall surrounding the giant pit and saw only a crane moving some debris around. I kept trying to see if I could see anything else, any other kind of activity that would give some kind of definition to what was in essence a huge crater. After some time, I slowly realized that what is so haunting is that there is nothing there, nothing to see. I had waited an hour for them to open up the viewing platform but I was only on for maybe half a second. Everything I needed to know I had already learned and being raised up in the air 20 feet or whatever, really did nothing for me. I felt a huge respect for the police working in the area. And there was one funny moment when what was supposedly some delegation from China(incl. the vice president), about 8 or 9 short Chinese men, came out from somewhere and they all jumped into the back of a minivan, just piling in with their briefcases. For some reason, it just reminded me of the circus car, full of clowns who all fit into such a small space. I was completely bewitched by Greenwich Village. I want to spend more time there some day. I played at the open mic at the Baggot Inn...the barmaid was really sweet and nice and the owner bought me a beer. Talked to a musician from NJ for awhile and then went back to Kay's to share a few songs. The next day I walked around alot in Brooklyn which I really enjoyed alot as well. The botanical gardens were beautiful, all the cherry blossoms where in bloom, and their oriental garden is simply beautiful( though it wasn't particularly meditative with a bunch of school children in tow but I still managed to have a peaceful walk)...in the garden is an endless sidewalk that is host to a sort of "hall of fame". There were all kinds of famous names on the bricks with a leaf around each one. I had no idea all of these people were from Brooklyn. Unfortunately, the museum was closed that day but there will other trips. All in all, I found people there quite friendly and New York is an endless source of adventure and good times. I'm still wide awake at this early(or late depending on your perspective) hour as we just got back from seeing Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, a mixture of jazz, funk, soul, fusion...go see them- they're a lot of fun.. they even opened up their first set with a cool Stevie Wonder tune, the instrumental that comes before "Sir Duke" on SITKOL. I think I'm starting to fade though... I hope best, Victor --- Victor Johnson --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Roses wait for the springtime, They sleep beneath the ground. They hear March winds a callin' For the sun to come around."vlj Visit http://www.cdbaby.com/victorjohnson
