Yesterday around 6:30 p.m. I was walking home from the subway after a successful day of teaching and a trip to Staples for printer toner, all ready to go home and do some serious work, when I ran into my neighbor, Drew, in front of Kitty and Dog Lounge (our local pet store). Next thing I know, Louie walks out of the store with his dog, Dexter, and we all walk down the street towards our block (yes, we all live on the same block). We pass El Ay Si, the newish comfort food place, and the fabulous photographer (and another neighbor) Jesse Winter is sitting at the bar with his friend/next-door neighbor, Morgan. We talk and next thing we know, Dexter is tied to a parking meter and we’re at the bar having a drink. Dexter doesn’t like this, so Louie brings him home. While Louie’s bringing Dexter home, my husband Andrey walks by, sits down and starts drinking Louie’s beer. (Louie shows up about 15 minutes later and orders another beer and then drinks some of Andrey’s beer later on.) Then our next-door neighbor Nick comes by and orders a beer, then our other next-door neighbor Anthony walks by (but doesn’t stay), then I get a text from Christian Coleman (great drummer, also a neighbor)…next thing I know, it’s three and a half hours later and I have to go back into town to hear Brenda Earle’s band at Cornelia Street Cafe. After the gig I come home at 11:30 to find Andrey asleep in bed; he says that he didn’t come home until 11, that several more neighbors came by, and that he ended up having a burger at El Ay Si.
So much for getting work done, or going home before the gig, but the fact that I live in a city as big as New York and things like this happen makes me really happy.