Three-dot Journalism

As I walked into the Book Expo at Jacob Javits Center here was Ed Rosenthal, Mr. Marijuana, wearing a marijuana-leaf shirt engaged in an animated conversation with Barbara Boxer. Ed had both hands on her arm and was thanking her for her stand on the Iraq war. Boxer looked receptive and amused…a big billboard promoting trans-coast flights (for New Yorkers: “People in LA smile a lot. Don’t worry. You can practice on the plane.”…more cabbies: Mohammed Rasheed, Mohammed Farajee, Khalid Javed, the latter of whom ran down the cab scene. He works 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. He pays $120 a day for the cab, + gas. When he finishes his shift another cabbie takes a 12 hour shift. Each cab, which costs $28,000 new — mostly Fords now — put in 85,000 miles a year. He ends up making $60-100 a day. A cab medallion (license) is worth about $380,000 these days…in the rain enterprising Chinese guy pushing around cart on sidewalk selling umbrellas…Sat nite I have lamb chops with two glasses of sparkling apple wine (Eve’s Cidery), watching people walking by open windows of restaurant, looking at the street, the buildings, the atmosphere of the neighborhood, NYC is ancient compared to the west coast. It’s complex, dense, multi-layered, rich in history and multi-century vibes. When the weather is right and the planets are right, the city is humming…on Sunday after the last day of the book expo I go to Madison Square Garden for a 3-hour gospel show. There are kid and adult gospel choirs, dancers and at the end, Cissy Houston singing with the McDomnald’s Gospel Band and as a finale Aretha Franklin with her own group from Detroit, both older women with still-powerful voices. By Aretha’s 3rd number, it felt as if this huge hall was a small room, her music filling all the space and pulling everyone there together, Praise the lord.