Andrew J. Lederer

just got back from montreal.

before going there, i went to this amazing, multi-borough event, ending in coney island, with about 14 fire dancers performing on the beach to about 2000 revelers plus music and swimming and dancing . . .

before that, i dog-sat for a weekend in the shadow of the brooklyn bridge, went to the hamptons for a few days, sat in the street for 25 hours waiting for an iphone that wasn't even mine, spent time with relatives in the maryland/virginia/dc area, went to boston on the fung wah bus.

had 180-plus people at the david cross show at the (new york) green room, saw pieces of movies outside in bryant park and the somewhat post-apocalyptic mccarren pool and free concerts in prospect and asser levy parks.

and this is only since early june; only last month.

still, i feel like i'm not living enough life.

part of it is that i've been having a hard time hanging onto new york. i've felt it slipping away from me.

on wednesday, i sat at the south street seaport, working on my edinburgh show, looking at brooklyn across the river, while salsa legend johnny pacheco played behind me.

i wanted to check out the screening of "the matrix" on one of the west side piers but i also wanted to walk home across the brooklyn bridge.

so i started to let go; to not try to do everything.

i walked across the bridge, the skyline surrounding me in the dark night sky.

there were new lights on the woolworth building. glad i got to see 'em before leaving for scotland.

i walked up myrtle avenue, past fort greene park. (fyi -- just learned that keri russell moved into the area.)

had a couple of white castle hamburgers.

can't do everything, though.

so, last night i didn't try to catch any of the movie being shown beside the brooklyn bridge in empire-fulton ferry state park. (it was "being john malkovitch".)

and i didn't check out the celebrate brooklyn show in prospect park.

but i did go to hippiefest in coney island, part of borough president marty markowitz's seaside concerts series.

it's a free series that draws the most cretinous, misshapen, brain-damaged attendees of any i've encountered, all dressed up in a perplexing sense of entitlement. (one woman thought a good place for a tourrette's sufferer was in a prime position fairly near the stage.)

all the neighborhood schnorrers come out for each show, even if they can't possibly enjoy the artist, so last night saw the spectacle of decrepit ancients obliviously yapping through quasi-psychedelic sounds. (it was kind of an am hippiefest.)

hell, the actual hippie-era guys aren't young but these were women who might have dated winston churchill, if he had been a brainwave-challenged denizen of southern brooklyn. (they couldn't spoil my enjoyment of colin blunstone, though -- he's really great.)

boy, remember when i couldn't wait to get back to the uk?

now, i'm in love with new york again.

or maybe i just feel like i haven't had enough of it.

like i don't know it enough.

like i haven't lived enough new york; like i'm not living enough life.

tomorrow, i leave for edinburgh.