Day 119: Independence Day
I awoke at 5 a.m. realizing that Elle is now in Paris...or supposedly in Paris...I asked her to call and let me know she arrived safely but haven't heard from her.
I can't sleep. I have a little thing about people flying where I worry about them arriving safely. I try to get over it with walking AxL.
We hit Starbucks on 7th Ave and meander our way to Madison Square Park, armed with a copy of The New York Times. Squirrels are everywhere as we arrive and grab a bench with a bronze plate reading, "Tabla." It seems fitting and we begin sitting as the squirrels begin hop-hopping toward us.
I don't see the "Tough Guy NY Squirrels" we've seen on many trips here this time. Instead, these guys are all little, probably just a few months old as they are small enough to sit easily in the palm of my hand. They're brave, too. They come right up to me despite AxL. Oddly, he's disinterested and I know that he's no longer "the same" dog he once was years ago where even uttering the word "squirrel" would perk his eyes and ears up. Now, he simply flat out ignores them as if they were invisible. I'm sad about all of this.
Then I smile as I'm cheered by the antics of one particular furball I nicknamed, "Buckaroo." He's in a league all his own. He first caught my eye by jumping up about fifteen inches off the ground to try and tackle a pigeon in his territory. Then he bounced, bronco style with back legs kicking wildly sideways in the air as he chased off any squirrel or bird in his neck of the lawn. Satisfied, he then celebrated by leaping straight up, twisting in mid-air and landing flat on his back before squirming and writhing as if he was trying to scratch an itchy mosquito bite on his spine. He did his little twirling dolphin-like routine several times all throughout the morning as I devoured The Times cover to cover while wondering why the world seems so bent on destroying itself.
I wonder where the good in people has gone to of late. As the saying goes, "where is the love?" We all seem so bent on destroying each other in every corner of the planet including our own backdoor and front porch...hit and run, Pakistan vs. India, Iraq, Iran, beheadings, border wars, bombings, bank robberies, blood, death, pain, suffering. To top it off, a strange black woman who appears normal but obviously isn't gets up from a nearby bench every ten minutes to just swear incessantly at passersby including stroller strapped children and their parents just out for a stroll. Not even Sunday morning in a neighborhood park is safe.
The warning sign on the playground reads that no adults are allowed inside unless accompanied by a child under the age of 12. This is the sick world we live in that we have to write laws like this. Even worse, this week a lawyer was released after 15 years in prison following his dismemberment of an 11 year old girl.
I guess this is why I find myself quietly and somewhat embarrasingly crying over such things as a bake sale held by mentally challenged kids who take the time to tell me which cookies they baked to raise money for their school. If only there was more "ying" like theirs to offset the rest of the "yang" running rampant outside the bars on everyone's windows. It's not just the big city...even in Kansas a meat packing employee went on a shooting spree Friday, killing five co-workers before killing himself.
A small electric powered cart hums up and stops. A very nice man with a silver mustache and hat like Smokey The Bear tells me that I can't sit with my legs on the bench and I have to secure my dog because both of those infractions are $50 fines each. He's just warning me. I guess my legs were "obstructing the bench" and my dog was "at large" and he's nice but his boss would've written me up he warns. He also advises me that I can't put my legs up in subways either...little did I know...
I can't take any more...I'm the only person sitting in a pocket of eight empty benches of which I was obstructing one. I can't take any more pondering of the news or ranting of the black woman who hates everyone else. We head home.
Just as we arrive, Elle calls to tell us she made it safely. I'm relieved. I think about what to do for the 4th in terms of fireworks since everyone I know in New York is out of town. I decide to just catsit Mr. Cha-Cha and watch some of Maria's bootleg DVD's from Canal Street vendors. I go through "Farenheit 9/11," "Man On Fire," and "Big Fish" which is a wonderful story about a son coming to realize the greatness of his dying father...yea, I cry at the end when the father dies. During my movie marathon, the fireworks rumbled outside somewhere on the East River, but this year I don't care. I'd just like to declare my independence from the human race. This year, AxL doesn't care either as he's at least 90% deaf if not 100%. This year, he snores through things exploding all around him outside. I guess that if I'm going to get through this life, I'll have to learn the same.
Maybe while I'm at it, I might learn how to leap and twirl with joy like the Buckaroo Squirrel despite someone screaming profanities at children nearby. I hope those kids will have another bake sale soon. The world can never have enough of their cookies and warm-hearted smiles. Those are the rare gifts that somehow make life worthwhile. Time to sleep next to my best friend...right after praying that someday, my little attempt at writing is a rare gift to the world, too.
ZeNYC: "One can find more joy in life from a playful squirrel and the supposedly 'retarded' children than from the New York Times."
AxL-O-Meter: 7 - great day at the park despite being "at large"...and for the first time in his life, fireworks on the 4th aren't an issue.
ESB: Red, White & Blue - America The Beautiful? Let's hope so.
Dream Dial: 3 - spent some time working on screenplay outlines for a couple hours today. It feels good to be rolling again.
NYCDegree: 5 - an acrobatic squirrel, a raving woman, a perfect sunny day, followed by an evening of bootlegged DVD's...not bad for a lazy Sunday.
Heart Rate: 0 - I wonder if the human race will ever learn to just be human.