07/09/24

    I woke up at 6 am and took a walk around Central Park for about an hour and a half. The humidity was bearing down on me. There was no peace and quiet; even at that early hour the park was noisy with dogs barking, light chatter, and groups of cyclists yelling orienting commands. Sunlight wrapped around the trees and up buildings as it rose. I said hello to the coffee vendor on the corner of 96th and Central Park West as I headed back home.

    Yesterday, while out for a walk taking a break from work, I picked up a book at McNally’s on Prince St—a collection of essays from an author I had never heard of. I was drawn to the cover and flipping to a random page was intrigued by the writing. So, as I was riding the train to work this morning, I opened it up and at the mere mention of “lockdown” I closed it again. I find the use of contemporary terminology and references to current events in writing so jarring. References to social media, the internet, and things of this nature are incredibly off-putting.

    I switched to the other book I was carrying in my bag, Haruki Murakami’s Novelist as a Vocation, which I had picked up at a Hudson News while waiting for the train at Penn Station. In the current passage Murakami mentions how before he began writing novels he was just someone who read novels. "Piles and piles of them, never supposing for a moment that I could write one." I took a pause. I noticed the guy sitting across from me was also reading a book on writing: Seven Short Sentences About Writing. I wondered what he could be thinking about.

12:26pm

I couldn't focus so I stepped out and went to the diner on Lafayette and Grand. I felt somewhat melancholy. Willie Nelson’s Hello Walls was playing in my headphones and I got a bit choked up. My mom messaged me: ‘Are you registered to vote?’.

Playlist

Albatross - Fleetwood Mac

The Fugitive’s Lament - The Delmore Brothers

Hello Walls - Willie Nelson

I’ll Be Seeing You - Jo Stafford, Paul Weston and His Orchestra

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