Living in coronavirusworld 181: at 11, the city that never sleeps closes down

 

10/3

Chelsea

A visit to an assisted care facility in coronavirus time. Adventure. Ubers few and far between. Visits start right on the hour. No room for error. Get there right in time. Get that thermometer gun on my head  then get forms. to fill out.. Finally ready, the time goes by too fast.  There’s nearly  an incident when an elderly woman breaks away from her keeper and walks ever her to me hands outstretched towers my face.  I back off my chair as her keeper tries to grab her,  Silent movie quality humor.  The 30 minute  visit with my mom  goes by too quickly. (She gets one a week.) Could be that  she may be more upset than  if  I hadn’t come at all.  The return  Uber is just as long I coming as the first getting me there just in time for the train.

Dan and Gene introduce the concert

artist and composer Mark Kostabli  

Margaret in "quarantine"

No time to go home and change before going to Composers Concordance’s concert “Fortune Favors the Rave” at the new Kostabi World in Chelsea. The audience seems mostly masked with different members having different  levels of care and/or anxiety. The concert itself will be a a combination of live performance, digital, some performers via ZOOM And all streamed on Facebook Live. The future seems to be being created step by step and it seems we will be in this limbo awhile.  The flautist is concerned about the prospect of “spitting all over the audience” so performs her solo from a closed, nearly sealed, bathroom with a camera projecting her image onto the performance space wall. The final piece of the concert was a moving piece of  Strange and Solemn “incidental music” for the Tempest composed by  ...Concordance founder Joe Pehrson. He died in April of Covid.

10/4

Yet another  conference call worship for Beverley Presbyterian.  Not enough members are tech savvy enough to do ZOOM so we go old school.  Yes, and communion too. The first virtual World Wide Communion Sunday in coronavirus world. Just a bit more imagination  to stretch the table around the globe than simply across the harbor to Brooklyn. We can still feel each other through the phone.

Our family International ZOOM call is filled with talk of the President in Walter Reed Hospital.  More and more aides keep coming down positive. Seems his celebration for his new Supreme Court nominee was a  super spreader. In Berlin, my grand children enjoy a small street Pumpkin festival with amusement rides and trampolines and games. Our numbers  are spiking again and the mayor is reclosing neighborhoods. ( In many cases Orthodox Jewish enclaves. And hipsters)

far far away

Things continue change at Bar 9. Tonight’s supposed to be the first return to  indoor night, The performance stage is now inside, almost to its original position. Indoor tables are set up. All performers  have to  have that temperature gun fast on their heads. When people hear they have to get their temperature taken and fill out contact forms, everyone passes, either remaining  outside or just leaving. We play with a giant gulf between us and the  audience.  Each with our own mic condom. My pedal stele guitar play has come without his instrument, just to check out the scene. We are being pressured to play more “upbeat covers” to help “bring people in off the street.” Not sure how much I’m down for that.

We head to the comfort of the Gate to  close out the night. Friends. Familiar faces. Even in masks. 

At 11, the city that never seeps closes down.