I'm not sure what time zone I'm in right now because I have done Tokyo, London, New York and Toronto in...5 days.
On Friday I landed in JFK. I had an "ok flight" - but I was looking forward to seeing Alex and some of our friends in Manhattan so nothing was going to put me off my stride until I hit immigration at JFK - Jesus H Christ we had to que for 2 hours - there were so many people in the customs hall they were stopping people from entering! It was crazy and by the time I had got to the desk I was not happy after going up and down and up and down those winding aisles looking at the same faces getting more and more pissed off I eventually got to the front of the que and I couldn't help noticing the glorious pledges the dear proud, patriotic hero's of the US immigration sign up to. ...And god damn it, they are HERO'S! Sat there suffering like POW's in their hutches, all alone with their stale gum; little staplers, coiffed moustaches (that's the women) and white and green forms...(that's the complicated bit of their job).
The posters, these veritable beacons of hope and promise are neatly stapled to the front of their little battery chicken hutches..."We pledge to treat you with Respect"; "We pledge to treat you fairly" Mmmmm fascinating stuff but back in the the realms of reality - what a load of complete *hit. ....? Respect? Are you kidding me Mr Homeland Security? Apart from the truly mind boggling rudeness of these idiots, I noticed they chew gum! Like a load of grazing cows, these fat miserable gits who greet the outside world - winge at you and chew gum. I hated that. The pledges are a farce too.
I was grilled having just come back from Tokyo via London. I mentioned stupidly I was going to Canada for a day..his little ork like ears pricked up - and he puckered his lips with his eye balls popping out of their sockets..."WHY you just going there for a day?"...."I'm going to see Niagra Falls.... what else is there to see there?" (that was a joke)..and I know it was a long shot....now I couldn't be entirely sure, we may have to get video footage evidence, but I'm sure I detected a slight crack, in his miserable little face...anyway after the delightful "meet & Greet"; I bid him farewell - which he ignored and really beyond caring I shot through to get my luggage and out into a waiting cab. Thank God.
Apart from the predictable bullshit at immigration desks we all have to suffer, I sat back in the cab and felt immediately at home. I've been to New York a million times and spent 3 months a year there during summer vacations at university because bizarrely I didn't want to go home and I couldn't afford to live in London..in fact I think I'd been to New York several times before I even made it to France - just 20 miles off our White Dover cliffs - Bizarre.
The cab sped across lights not really caring whether they were green or red - I think I dislocated a number of disks in my back and suspect I broke my back in 2 places before we screeched up in front of Alex's place on West 57th.
We headed over to the AVA lounge at the Dream Hotel on W55th and 7th. Everyone was converging there - but when we got to the bar we were not on the guest list for the roof terrace bar! After a few horrifying moments, I'm not sure how Alex does it - in fact it can be quite annoying actually - but he did manage to get all 8 of us on the guest list, and a table! Everyone arrived and after the meet & greet stage, we all settled down - talked and drank, drank some more and talked even louder...it's funny how you get louder the more you drink!
A dear old friend of mine - Yale also arrived - a talented professional photographer who I've known since the year dot. Yale is a loyal drinking partner from carefree days gone by and God we have had some laughs, but for taste and decency reasons there is NO WAY any of that can be shared with you on the WWW.
It was a glorious warm summer evening in Manhattan on Friday, the air was filled with laughter, and great music surrounded by sparkling, glass giants; twinkling in the warm night sky... I loved it.
A great night.
