Living in coronavirusworld 162: This isn't over

 9/8

candles for Mo

Cafeine decinsruction

I thought I would drop off my dry cleaning and the stop at Cafeine for one last cup of coffee on their last day. But as I pass, I see it’s already too late. Board by board  it’s already being dismantled. The coffee bar already gone. Glad I made it by yesterday for my last cup. The place looks barren. Deconstruction underway.  I have to walk three blocks north to another cafe.  

Timmy is out playing his trombone.

 Late afternoon, I need to go for a walk.  Outside the deli on Fredrick Douglass, I see memorial votive candles arrayed. I go inside. “Did someone die?” I ask. The counterman nods, shakes his head. “Yeah, Mo. Mohammed. Mo with the green eyes.” The day man. The man who greeted his Latin customers with “Habibi, Como estas?” Outside I see the votive  candle spell his name. I once asked a friend about the use of Catholic candles for non-Catholics. “It’s not about Catholic, mi hermano. We’re Latinos. That’s what we do.” And so they bring candles for their Muslim neighbor Mo. Mohammed. Mo with the green eyes. That's what we do. I notice the candles spell his name. 

Timmy is playing his trombone here and there. 

In the park, all the geese have gathered on he little island. It looks like a meeting has been called. 

Goose conference

Late breaking news. The city has decided to remove the homeless residents from the Lucerne Hotel. Moved there because  shelters were covid hot beds and hotels were empty.The reactive neighbors hired a former deputy mayor, former associate of Rudy Giuliani as their attorney to sue the city. It never even got the far. Mayor Di Blasio caved. He came into office as a seeming rising star progressive. Got caught up in a quixotic battle to remove horse carriages from Central Park. He has been vanishing ever since. Completely dismissed by Governor Cuomo. Alienated from the police who seem to have hunkered down in their precinct houses, not to be bothered.  Still somehow thought he should run for President. The homeless people  are headed back to the  shelters. They say, “This time there will be social distancing…” This once bastion of classic liberalism has become a gated community, even if the  gate is invisible. “This is a family neighborhood, they say. A pedestrian neighborhood. It just isn’t appropriate.” I feel very sad. I used to live there. 

As close as I will get to the Open this year

Later afternoon. After my walk, stop at a new outdoor bar for a shrimp taco (no drink without food)  and a "Honey Deuce...the official drink of the US Open. Keep the glass!" Every summer I spend a day at the Open with my friend Beppe watching tennis. Going from court to court to check out the action, Last year, for example, we saw Serena, Sharapova and Federer. I would always bring the glass home, winners listed on the side. This Honey Deuce is as close as I will get to the Open this year. 

Cafeine. Mo. This isn’t over.