Sunday Meeting

notes, mosquitoes and teeth

Dear Readers,

I have a confession to make, I rarely read these preambles when other people write them in their newsletters, I just scan and jump to the good stuff. Links and requests and explanations are for the most part ignored. I’m not proud of it, that’s just how I am these days on the phone or computer, Get in, get the hit, get out. I’m afraid my brain is doing the same thing with my thoughts, but that’s for a longer reflection. In the past 5 days I have gotten almost 40 new subscribers, so I wanted to say hello and welcome and thanks to the rest of you who keep checking in, I am grateful you’re here and I love reading your comments. Also to the 1000 followers, are you reading this too? If so, thank you! I haven’t figured out what followers do, or receive, but I imagine you moving silently through Substack like the cluster of kids dressed as ghosts on the Halloween Peanuts special.

One of the things that happened in the past month was that I gave a reading in Frogtown (along with Jervy Tervalon, Anna Schott and Tommy Swerdlow) which was amazing and fun mainly because of how great the audience was. I met two other substack writers Clara and Lennie whose work has since blown me away and I almost sold out of my book. More readings are coming soon. I will keep you posted.

See below for few new snaps and one oldie for the new readers, thank you for being here.

xo

Mosquito

I made love with a mosquito last night, or rather he made love to me. He hit all the spots, my ankles, calf, the inside of my thigh, the curve of my breast, behind my ear, my shoulder and my belly. I imagine him driving a Maserati and zooming through European hills and valleys, making a stop (sound of instant stop and hand brake) at one of the sites (door slam, footsteps), having a quickie, then hopping back in and on to the next spot. In truth he was probably with his entire family in an old loaded up jalopy, bouncing up and down and backfiring over the bumpy road until rolling to a stop. “I’m gittin out here for a minute,” he says to everyone. Everyone says, “Go on! Make it snappy! Don’t think we don’t know what you’re up to. I’m comin next time!”  Let’s face it, there’s nothing sexy about a mosquito.

Teeth 1

I think about teeth sometimes. Flawed ones especially. Some people have teeth that seem to be telling you something, teeth that you would be friends with, that feel like a secret. If your whole body is the front of the house, then teeth are the back, they know about all the good stuff and are right there when it happens. (my teeth just gave you a big old horse wink).

What is it about a gap between the two front teeth that instantly makes me love that person? I don’t know, but it does. I have a theory that it is a sign of superior intelligence and authenticity, and it’s a solid one, at least with the people I have met so far. This holds true for front teeth that overlap as well. Always a sign of genius. 

I got to meet Sam Shepherd once with my dad in NY on Lafayette Street in front of the Public Theater. I was completely starstruck into silence. My Dad knew most of the actors in the show, Fred Ward and James Gammon and Beverly D’Angelo and a few others, and we stood on the sidewalk afterwards in the bitter cold, the actors lighting up and chit chatting and going over little moments. I wasn’t a kid, but I felt like one. I remember wearing a beret and thinking at least I look great. (In a beret I thought this!)

Ed Harris, an actor known for his intensity, and who in fact had been pretty intense for the full 90 minutes of the play, stepped away without saying goodbye. Even though it was the move of someone who was pissed off, there was something I recognized about it, he still had a lot going on and didn’t want to stand around and be social. I watched him walk all the way across the street, through oncoming traffic and then pace a little on the other side, blowing into his hands. He didn’t look back at us once. I watched him try and fail to hail a cab until he finally got one and drove away. I turned back and caught eyes with Sam. He had been watching the whole episode too. We smiled and then I saw those teeth, teeth like old friends you were happy to see. Nice hat, he said.

Teeth 2

I woke up thinking about an interview I watched with Andre 3000 a while back. He has a good sized gap between his two front teeth. He now plays a big woodwind instrument that sort of sounds like Japanese meditation music, which I recommend to anyone looking to lower their pulse. In the video he walked around his neighborhood and went to the laundromat playing this big stick like a sage pied-piper in pinstripe overalls. It was impossible not to love him. He still has a beautiful face, but aged a little with graying hair and thick glasses like a grandpa whittling on the front porch. He said about his appearance and his meditation music: “this is what I’m feeling right now.” He talked about being an outsider and getting nervous around people.  The interviewer, who was a great listener, said “but you’re an icon whose album was the highest selling rap album of all time.” Andre just shrugged, this is my vibe, he said.