Summer evening stroll

It's hot in New York, though not as hot as one might think. Still, it was hot enough to consider spending the evening at the cinema.

I walked south after work. The early evening was hazy; the sun felt like cotton stretched between the buildings. I walked down Broadway, then cut across town on Broome. I crossed Canal and wandered through Tribeca, stopping in a small gallery along the way. I passed Duane park, the second oldest park in the city. A homeless man slept on a park bench.

At the movie theater, a piece of paper taped to the ticket dispensers indicated that they were working on the air conditioner in a few screening rooms. All of the films in which I was interested were being shown in the affected rooms. I took an escalator to the hotel lobby connected to the theater to decide what to do. I found a couch and grabbed a New Yorker from my bag. I sat and read until the sun set.

As I was leaving, I stopped by the bathroom. It had appeared empty, but as I washed my hands, I could see the tip of a man's shoe in the stall. I was surprised to find I was not alone. Something about the shape of the shoe reminded me of being in a public restroom with the jazz vocalist Jon Hendricks. I've mentioned it before, about how when I asked about his schedule he ran off a number of dates in cities seemingly around the world; and about how when I expressed awe that he could be so active he told me, "I'm like a taxicab; can't make a dime standing still."

I walked home along the river. A breeze blew off the water. The night was cooler, but the day's heat lingered in the air. New Jersey seemed to press close to the shore.
Posted by eku at August 8, 2007 11:33 PM