May 16 – Friday – Ssssh.

I worked out to Ten Years After tonight, but I’m not going to write about now. I’ve been working out to the selected twenty albums at my choosing many evenings since ZZ Top hit my turntable less than two weeks ago. As I go I may expand upon previous posts about the various artist, but I don’t feel like it now cause I’ve been thinking about moving to someplace I might be more productive.

One problem with my place is the winters are tough. The electric bills that cover the heat had skyrocketed this year, and that had nothing to do with the long, cold winters that spread over three seasons. That was just an extra bonus. They’ve been working on the roof since the beginning of the fall and just decided they were finally done just last week, another perk. I haven’t had one moment of warmth in my apartment as the chill seeps in from the windows and the ill-fitted HVACs. And not the good chill like the one I get in my neck, down my spine and back again at the sound of Alvin Lee’s voice. I’m thankful the cold weather is over for a while. But now that it’s warming up and we see more than mere glimpse of the sun, I think I could stay here forever. Forget about handing out blankets and socks to guests and the tips of my fingers turning blue while inside with the heat on. And forget that this neighborhood has way too many little kids and designer dogs, and no good places to eat or just have a drink. Just remember what you have year-round, I hear myself telling myself – that southern view that encompasses the Statue of Liberty, the Hudson River even when it’s covered in sheets of ice, and the unexpected spectacular fireworks displays. My view to the east isn’t too shabby either. I get the sunrise over a sliver of the Brooklyn Bridge and the sunset reflected off the mirrored windows of the building across the way.

Then we have a night like tonight. The gusting wind has taken over, as it often does, and it can be pretty scary up here at times. I’m not even mentioning the rain that slaps the windows from both sides. I once saw the wind pick up a two inch thick, at least 6 foot round glass table top from the terrace of the apartment below (I have no terrace) lift it over the length of the table and drop in on the floor. Okay, I didn’t actually see it happen, but I heard it and when I looked out my window, I saw just that. The top to the table inches away from its base lying on the ground beside it in shatters and shards, but keeping its shape. It was almost like a joke the wind was playing rather than a simple show of power.

(And btw – I just got a Flash Flood Warning in my area texted to me by the National Weather Service.)