May Days
They were rapt attendees of a new age coffee symposium. And I was the keynote speaker. The crowd was of such a number that you would not bother to count them all. And I marveled each and every one with my enthusiastic delivery regarding the simplistic yet superior mechanics of the isometric pressure powered piston driven espresso machine, no batteries, no electricity needed, just hot water of a temperature that these recent days in New York could almost be achieved by simply leaving tap water on your kitchen counter. Whoa now you say, one subject at a time, are we talking about air conditioners or coffee makers?
We could talk about neck braces just as well because this morning from deep inside the uninvited coffee reverie I was jolted into the present by a guy rear ending me on Norfolk St. It's parking day and with recent construction projects in the area and the subsequent loss of an entire half block of spaces, the competition is that much more intense. But I'm out there claiming a space, safely distant from the fire hydrant behind me, just trying to manage, with a modicum of dignity, the flashing imagery of the recent past, and perhaps move forthwith into a fantasy world very possibly including wild sex with aliens from the planet Section 8, when bam, this guy in a silver station wagon runs right into my bumper. The jolt--it was pretty mild, and truly, if anything, my neck feels better than it did before the bump—caused me to look up from the small hand held device positioned between my legs and from which with a stroke of my index finger I catapulted cartoon birds from a sling shot through the air and onto a variety of structures in hope of toppling them. Then I looked in my rear view mirror, and then my side mirror, and finally I just stared off into space before snapping to, at which point I looked down between my legs again at the newest structure on the tiny glass screen, and flung with my finger a small bird that could with a tap be turned into three even smaller birds, none of which by themselves could topple much of anything.
I don't know that I am fond to consider that a NY meter maid might today have been my angel of instant karma retribution for the (at worst) rude knocking into my bumper, but as it played out the guy who bumped me got out of his car and was gone for only a minute, which was unfortunately for him time enough for a meter maid to drive up alongside his vehicle, see he was not inside of it, and in the flick of an electronic ticket recording device, cost him 60 dollars. He came back in time to complain but once the ticket is electronically recorded there is no turning back. I did hear her say she was sorry before jumping into her vehicle and driving off, so at least my angel was a polite one.
There are at this time of the year a number of people talking about air conditioners, including Bernadette and I, and while on the surface it might seem a simple matter, as it turns out there are a great many intricacies to consider, such that the best one can hope for, I think, is a day like today, which is a cool and refreshing break from the recent hot and muggy record setting weather for Mays in New York. It is today a day cool enough to imagine oneself say three months in the future, when any considerations of hot weather remedy are surely in any case going to be short lived ones.
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