I’ll just say up front here that the agency managed to find a GREAT substitute caregiver for whoever it was that called off on Thanksgiving Day, and my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man had a really good holiday!

And he ate a TON of food! Yay!

And my shift with him yesterday went reasonably well. (I say “reasonably” only because with or without the food, he’s still sort of rapidly declining.)

I’m heading back over there soon and I am trying to keep a sort of “positive” outlook.

I can’t help it, gang. The more I think about work, the more I think about retiring. I don’t want to say that I’m “counting the days”, because I don’t know the exact day yet that I’m retiring, but let’s just say I have 29 shifts to go before 2026….

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Okay!

I don’t really have much to post about today, but here’s this–

From the Jack Kerouac Estate Instagram page, from left: John Cohen (back of head), Larry Rivers, Jack, David Amram, and Allen Ginsberg.

And in case I never posted about this before…

Back in April 1993, Larry Rivers turned 70 and his wife had a small birthday party for him at their loft on E. 14th Street , and I was invited to come to the party and sing!

I don’t remember what I sang — no more than 2 or 3 of my songs. I only remember that it was so cool to meet Larry Rivers!!

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And speaking of so cool…

Nick Cave sent out a really cool Red Hand File yesterday! It was ostensibly about a woman who’d had a dream about the spirit of her dead son. But it was more about how a lot of human beings these days dismiss their spiritual side. He said, in part:

“…Sadly, the world we live in now has largely abandoned the mystical and sacred side, treating it as an unserious and unnecessary impediment to human progress. We now dwell in an essentially materialistic age, and weird experiences that disturb this rational world are often met with scepticism and derision. Unloved, this aspect of our nature can wither and die. I believe we ignore this strange and otherworldly activity at our peril….”

You can read it in full HERE.

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And I think that’s it for today!

I’m working on a little project about E.12th Street and I am really enjoying it. It stems from those photos I recently posted here, showing how my “hellhole” apartment there was “renovated” after I moved out in 1992, and is now a sterile over-priced cubicle. And it has made me see those Alphabet City days of the 1980s in a whole different light.

Okay.

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys! See ya!

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Okay.

I leave you with this!

One of those songs from my wee bonny 12-year-old girlhood that helped lure me to NYC… (and I’ll point out here that several people he sings about here, were photographed by Peter Hujar and I eventually saw those iconic photos in Peter’s apartment!!! See yesterday’s post.)

Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side” 1972. From his legendary album Transformer. Enjoy, gang.

“Walk On The Wild Side”

Holly came from Miami, F.L.A.
Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A.
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
She says, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
Said, “Hey, honey,
Take a walk on the wild side.”

Candy came from out on the Island
In the back room she was everybody’s darling
But she never lost her head
Even when she was giving head
She says, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
Said, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
And the colored girls go
“Doo do doo do doo do do doo…”

Little Joe never once gave it away
Everybody had to pay and pay
A hustle here and a hustle there
New York City’s the place
Where they said, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
I said, “Hey, Joe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”

Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets
Looking for soul food and a place to eat
Went to the Apollo
You should’ve seen them go, go, go
They said, “Hey, sugar,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
I said, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
All right, huh

Jackie is just speeding away
Thought she was James Dean for a day
Then I guess she had to crash
Valium would have helped that bash
Said, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
I said, “Hey, honey,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
And the colored girls say,
“Doo do doo do doo do do doo…”

c – 1972 Lou Reed