Category Archives: strangers on a train

Everything that happens will happen today

Posted on August 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

Emma Lee has been cheating on Elvis. The last few weeks she’s been dreaming about another, a man in a white linen suit. He’s lanky and wrinkled, casual and always happy to see her. Each night, she tries to quell her nervous, assuage the butterflies with a chant of “down, buddy, down.” He’s always coming towards her with a smile and a calloused hand stuck out, treading  across  wide, old hardwood floors in nice shoes. She sense they are in a downtown loft, but the walls are different each time, as are the chairs–wicker one day, Knoll the next. He’s not with his guitar and she not with her resume; theirs is an exchange of mutual interest and quiet excitement.

Today, she got a postcard from Elvis in Hawaii and the news that the man in the white linen suit would not be hers. The flip, the flop, she is back to the familiar territory of square one.

Elvis welcomes her back with open arms, and puts her to bed. Falling asleep, she wonders what will happen tomorrow.

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Elvis does the D’s

Posted on August 17, 2008 | Leave a comment

[Emma Lee's boss makes his first Elvis portrait]

This afternoon Emma Lee and Elvis got a call from the Producer. He was hanging out with another producer, and just a few blocks away (see the letter E for more on the adventures with The Producers). With dispatch, Emma Lee gathered her things and headed for the Academy. On her way, she descried her old flame, one Burning Man, out on a desultory romp with a band of buddies. The demure crowd was strolling down one of the burg’s more desolate steets. She did not demur at sight of her ex, but rather crossed straightway to her droll buddy. The debonair fellow has always been dauntless, he announced her arrival to his friends—and to all the denizens within two city blocks—with a shout, as if the denotation were some sort of demotic pronouncement. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the crowd dissembled disinterest by dropping, as leaves do from a deciduous tree, from the conversation. The decollete-clad ladies reassembled down the block until the old couple’s reunion was complete.
There was no dearth of compliments exchanged between the two, their conversation devolved from disquisition about each one’s whereabouts to a minutes-long bear hug with dialectical dulcets exchanged ear-to-ear. The Burning man offered to buy Emma Lee and Elvis a drink after her exam; when Emma Lee questioned whether the teetotaler disapprobation of alcohol still stood he opted for deference. Apparently, decadence would be the order of the day. Dyspeptic or disgorging, the debaser in Mr. Burning Man would deign for a martini or three. They put merriment on the post-test docket and departed, each continuing their separate ways.

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55. did you see that? elvis did.

Posted on June 26, 2008 | Leave a comment

Elvis has seen a number of notable things in the past few. Chris Burden’s new sculpture at Rockefeller Center, in all of its erector-set glory. A Mariner’s shut out, in a national league park no less. Michael Stipe on Houston. A truck at Astor Place full of delicious bread pudding. Fire flies in Prospect Park. Oh, and he was one of Ikea of Brooklyn’s first visitors.

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Three strangers on the train called Sound Fix.

Posted on June 6, 2008 | Leave a comment

Elvis knew two of them would be there: Stranger #1 was Max Silvestri, one-third host of the new Thursday comedy night at Sound Fix. Stranger #2 was Reggie Watts, as advertised on the email and facebook messages distributed in regards to said Thursday comedy. When Emma Lee and Elvis got that email, they signed up right away.

While he looked the same, Elvis had not seen #2 since Maktub rung in the New Year at the Sky Chapel of the Experience Music Project in either 1999 or 2000. When #2 asked Emma Lee which show she had seen, she shrugged, demurring as not to seem too eager. [Inside, heart palpitations.]  He squeezed her arm and left. Stranger #3 was a guy named Jake, who Emma Lee met once, but it was on Easter and they pretended to have a meeting in the top floor conference room of the then-brand-new IAC building on 18th. The curved glass and view of the Empire State building from the west side stayed with Emma Lee, even an Easter-bunny later. Plus, #3 looks like her cousin Victor.

When she re-introduced herself, Emma Lee tried to make a good impression, but instead talked about stomach wounds and laundry. After she left the bar, Elvis tsked her enough for three imaginary rock legends, and when she got home, she wished she had whiskey.
Apparently, #2 and #3 now live in the neighborhood. #1 already does, which means that there are more strangers than ever to run into on trains called Williamsburg.

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29. operatic elvis

Posted on May 16, 2008 | Leave a comment

Last night Elvis put on pearls and went to the Metropolitan Opera. They were performing La Clemenza di Tito, or the clemency of Titus. Moral of the Mozart story is forgive and forget. The singing was good to someone that knows more about uh-huh-huhs than ah-ha-has, and the stage and theater were as opulent as Elvis had hoped. But Elvis likes minor chords more than Mozart, the staging was very static, the lighting was weird and the costumes were of an unidentifiable time and place. But when a Tolstoy scholar offers to buy you a $20 rush ticket, you do not say no, you get on the 1 train.

On the train ride home, Elvis saw TWO strangers on the L train. He forgot the given name of one of them all the way to Driggs Street. Turns out it was Matt. So Matt and Kat. It’s a small world.

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the highline! unfriendly ghosts! 24!

Posted on May 11, 2008 | Leave a comment

Elvis and Emma Lee went to a sketching class on the Highline yesterday morning. It was wonderful and incredible. Here is Emma Lee’s first and last picture of the session:

Elvis took this pic up in the railyards section of the park. It’s still up in the air whether it will get torn down for condoland or if it will join its other two thirds as an awesome city park. Elvis thinks you should help the Highline. Give them stuff, like cash and love.

Last night Elvis and Emma Lee ran into one of the oldest, and what turned out to be most unfriendly ghosts at the corner bar. (There is a longer and more funny story about the bar’s two bartenders, both named Kevin. There was a night at a juice party where Emma Lee tried to determine based on oral description which one she had made out with in 2006. Both are tall, play guitar and have shaggy brown hair, possess a particular affect—as such, hard to distinguish. Emma Lee mis-identified the Kevin, and a small piece of chaos ensued.)

At a certain point in their five minute conversation it became clear that Emma Lee remembered much more about the ghost named Kevin than the ghost named Kevin recalled about Emma Lee, and he had very little interest in learning anything further. The other Kevin confirmed that he gets more ladies than anyone. “By like a hundred.”

Embarrassed, Elvis wanted to go home immediately, but their drinking companion had more drinks to drink and more eyelashes to bat at the bartender named Kevin that Emma Lee had not made out with in 2006. After playing wing lady and king of Rock and Roll through two more (albeit free) drinks, Emma Lee and Elvis finally escaped. They did not say goodbye to the ghost.

The music lawyer called, but he was at the garden-bar (see #22). Elvis and Emma Lee decided to eat a muffin, have some milk and go to bed instead. The whole thing made Emma Lee and Elvis want to move to California.

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fifteen. hamburgers, people from the late 80s and early 90s

Posted on May 2, 2008 | Leave a comment

Tony! Toni! Toné! came to pay Elvis visit; they arrived yesterday afternoon after driving STRAIGHT from central Florida. Fortunately, they could break up the ride because there are three of them.

Elvis took the fellas to DuMont Burger. It was delicious. Elvis, of course, opted for the smaller burger. Five ounces of patty was plenty.

There was a well-intentioned trip to galleries, but Elvis, Emma Lee, and Tony! Toni! Toné! couldn’t find any paintings they liked. (The prints at IPCNY were nice, though). All was not for naught: Elvis did find a new jump suit for spring in meatpacking.

Lastly, Elvis, Emma Lee and Tony! Toni! Toné! went to the Abbey, to say hello to Frank the Friendly Ghost (see day 13). Elvis had a few brews.

While Elvis saw the red head again (see Bevvies on Bedford). He is still not JB, but it was revealed that he was a neighbor of Elvis from 1986 to 1999 or thereabouts in the Laurelhurst neighborhood of Seattle. When Elvis started talking about the park and other very local details of geography, Chris got freaked out, and went home.

Over the course of the evening, Emma Lee saw two painter men she knew, and met a third. (“Painter men” are guys 35+, with established careers, “sculptor boys” are the 28 and under crowd that she routinely, unsuccessfully, dates. See Mike the ghost #2.) Javier insisted she should draw like John Singer Sargent. A ten-minute attempt is attached. She would have liked for the picture to not be so fuzzy, but there’s not very much light in the kitchen because Tony! Toni! Toné! is still sleeping on the couch.

7:53 AM. Time to write books. Put another pot on, and kisses all around.

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friendly ghosts

Posted on April 25, 2008 | Leave a comment

Yesterday, Elvis went uptown to do some research. They have tulips there.

Elvis and Emma Lee ran into friendly ghost #1. He is now a bartender at Hugs. “Coming out of the woodwork,” Emma Lee commented, Elvis agreed.

Then Elvis went to the Good World for a Swede’s birthday party. (It is a Swedish bar, you see.) The ladies looooved Elvis.

Then Elvis came back to the Burg. Another one of Elvis’s former co-saxophonists was playing at Spike Hill. He sounded good, playing with the East West Quintet. Except that it was a sextet for part of it, and the trumpet was a little flat. But still good.

Elvis and Emma Lee were looking for not-yet-friendly ghost number 2 (they had been text messaging forward and back ever since running into one another last week), but Emma Lee encountered (was lambasted) by a inebriated 20 year old that wanted to be friends. To avoid such a fate, E & EL  went to the house, and Emma Lee and Elvis fell asleep with the lights on, the New Yorker on their belly.

The ghost called at two (so late!) and Emma Lee gave him an ear full of flak for the hour and his assorted misdeeds of the summer of 2007 (Emma Lee has a memory in that head of hers). But he still wanted to talk, so they did. Walked and Talked and Talked and Walked and sat in a concrete dugout until three in the morning. Now he is a friendly ghost, or at least they are on friendly terms, with plans to eat food next week. Emma Lee is guardedly optimistic.

The sum total is that this morning, Emma Lee is t i r e d. It was all she could do to draw Elvis’s picture this morning. Here’s numero ocho.

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day #2. springtime and bears that are grizzly

Posted on April 19, 2008 | Leave a comment

Good morning! Elvis declares. Springtime has come to Brooklyn. And with the change in the weather, out of hibernation have come the bears. Specifically, the Grizzly Bear, the psych-rock band from Williamsburg.

On the way to Topps on the Waterfront (Elvis was buying basil and tonic water and limes, because it is spring), he encountered one, smack in the middle of the trail (sidewalk). The king of rock and the blond bear both stopped, and considered one another. This is why you carry bells when you hike, Elvis thought. He could wave his arms, and try to frighten the bear away, as they taught in outdoorsing classes in Seattle, but no. He stuck out his hand and said hello.

This grizzly looked familiar… the grizzly agreed at Elvis’s countenance. A certain number of well-aimed darts (saxophone? seattle? garfield?), and the two realized they had shared a bandstand in the mid-1990s in the Imperials Jazz Ensemble. Are you still playing music? the grizzly bear asked. Elvis shrugged. Not much right now. You? He nodded yes, he was playing some.

Elvis went home with his groceries and found the grizzly bear on the internet. The fucker didn’t mention he was playing Conan Monday, and with Paul fucking Simon Wednesday night. Mazel Tov, Mr. Bear, mazel tov.

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Coming out of the woodwork

Posted on April 16, 2008 | Leave a comment

Elvis and Emma Lee went to Pratt for Bre Duffy’s MFA show last night. “Urban Arcadia” included a baker’s dozen of panels by Miss Duffy, white with black silkscreen prints, with figures painted back into. The lady sure knows how to paint the figure—Miss Emma explained that she did blue-toned underpainting, then tinted them pink and green and purple accordingly, just like they did in the Renaissance. The show’s up all week, but Miss Bre’s got a blog good from here to eternity.

And speaking of coming out of the woodwork, Elvis has seen no less than ten folks he knew since he’s been back in Williamsburg. It’s been all of four days. Now these aren’t people he’s made plans with, or even those folk he anticipated on seeing at certain times and places. These are vertitable, outta-the-deep-blue-east-river random encounters. He saw one of his coworkers at Enid’s, his two bosses buying a plunger on the corner. A fella Miss Emma used to have relations with showed up at Union Pool, the same place Elvis saw a guy named Brian he knew, though last time Elvis saw him Brian was all got up like a vampire. Not in a sinister way—Elvis was a vampire too, and he and Brian and Emma Lee were dancing at the Zombie Prom. Elvis and Emma Lee saw a boy named Wyatt twice in three days, and a chef named Roger on the subway train home last night. Roger sorta scares Miss Emma, so the two of them looked at other people’s shoes until the train stopped at Metropolitan and they walked on home. These days the dark air is full of springtime.

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