Vlad, Josh, Danny

A devoutly religious man, Vlad doesn't speak much English. The day after Marina's thirtieth birthday he approached me and asked if I were Ukranian. I just blinked and laughed and said no. He motioned up to our apartment and communicated with hand gestures that the jug band we hired for Marina's party the night before sounded just like Ukranian music. One time I watched him greet a Catholic priest at Peter Luger's, kissing both the priest's hands.

I don't know much about Josh. Many years ago we had a great rivalry on the soccer field. Neither of us had any touch really, but we were far more fit than most of the real soccer players. We would knock each other around pretty good. Sometimes I visit Paul down at the student art league painting store on Lafayette. One day I bumped into Josh there. Apparently he has the same ideas about visiting Paul as I do. Josh has a wood shop up in Greenpoint.

Danny's film The Greatest Gift will be playing on a New York rooftop on July 4th. You can find out more about it here. Danny relates funny stories to me on a regular basis. Today we stood talking on the corner of Kenmare and Bowery for a little while talking about things we talk about. Not necessarily a beautiful street corner, that one.

Today, while taking a photo of a third floor curtain waving through an open third floor window, a fellow who recently moved to the neighborhood yelled at me from across the street. Apparently it was his window and his curtain and he didn't like me taking a photo of either of them. I went directly into angry getinafight mode. What a ridiculous mode.


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