El encuentro

10/14

Sean. Back again. Not prepared to deal with this yet.

It’s the Columbus Day Holiday. Not for me. in the progressive world, there’s this high minded effort to change this to indigenous people's day. I get that. Columbus was the beginning of the imperial conquest of this hemisphere. In places like Puerto Rico, entire native populations like the Tainos were wiped out, just gone. 

However, it’s more complicated than that. During the years I worked in Central America, the peasants, the campesinos, referred to this day as el dia de la raza, the day of the race. And also as el encuentro, the encounter. When Europe encountered America. And a whole new race, a whole new people was born. The vast majority of Latin American peasants, campesinos, are mestizo. Oppressed by the Ladinos, the so called limpieza de sangre, pure blood, who in truth are not, but so the line is drawn. In many cases, the tainos and so many other indigenous peoples live on in  today’s campesinos mestizos. So you can’t ignore them in this discussion. El encuentro makes a lot of sense, no matter how it came about, a new reality was brought into being. You can’t roll that back.

Carman Moore comes in with posters for his weekend festival. Marc is getting ready to record him.

Sean is still there. I ask him his plan. He seems asleep. I’ve got other things  to deal with.

Like the bald man, who excuse the analogy, looks like the old guy on the back in the day Uncle Ben’s Rice box. Only mean. He’s on the steps with a load of cardboard. Stephen asks him to leave. He does so. And the cardboard is left behind. 

After a late appearance at 78 Below, I’m back to the church. A couple is constructing some kind of shelter in the 86th Street door. I say excuse me, you can’t block the door. There’s a white guy, sloppy heavy and long haired. An attractive blond woman. Ain’t this a church? he says. I get so tired of this. Yes...I say, so...

You know, sanctuary, whoever, whenever?

Yeah, but you can’t block the door. 

So we know what kind of church you are.

Just sayin’, can’t block the door..you try out front, I think there’s a space there...

Nothin’ but niggers there, man, you think I want my girl raped? Ah, so that’s where this is going.

I point to the side. Not sleeping there, says the blond.

I go back inside. Stephen’s there. We open the door together. What are you lookin’ at? says the blond, don’t look at us...makes me uncomfortable.

Ah, he gets off on it,says the guy.

I should just let it pass, but I respond. No...I...don’t...I’m responsible. All I said was don’t block the door...

Jesus. You talk about Jesus. I guess Jesus did me a solid tonight. Yeah, Jesus..

Just sayin’, don’t block the door.

Oh yeah? We’re leavin’. Jesus. Jesus..... And as they start down the street, he turns around and says over his shoulder, Jesus can suck my girlfriend’s dick. And I just stare. Can’t even begin to exegete that one.

Just then Jeremy wheels up on his bike. Everything OK? And I tell him the story of the bad couple. He looks at me. Shrugs his shoulders. Long night of rehearsal. Was going to come down to 78 Below. Didn’t. 

Peace, Jeremy.

And he’s off again on his bike. 

It’s enough. Enough.