(Note - On August 14, 2003, there was a big honking blackout up and down the Eastern seabooard. Perhaps you heard about it.)
I headed downtown, thinking I would bike across the bridge. When I hit the East Village I ran into my friend Jay who invited me to hang out at his studio around the corner. We stopped in a deli on A and 7th to get something to drink and I promptly lost him in the dark. I never saw him again. Instead I waited in line for thirty minutes for a goddamn Gatorade, guided only by the flashlights of the storekeepers.
I decided to see if Cat was home, but got her roommate Tamar instead, who let me put my bike in their place and use the bathroom to freshen up a bit. I don't know why I bothered. This time of year all you do is sweat and dry over and over. And there is no need for glamor during a blackout though Tamar did put on lipstick which entertained me. You never know who you're going to meet during a police state.
We decided to head to the Williamsburg Bridge to take pictures with all of the other people who have websites (me), work for a news organization (everyone else), or are total losers (me, again).
On Delancey, heading toward the bridge. It was amazing to see that people had taken over the roads like they did.
Looking back on Delancey.
5:30 PM: "Where's my girlfriend?"
6:15 PM: "Dude, she's not coming. She totally blew you off."
Later on we found Catherine et al, and went to Holly's house and grilled up a storm. It was a good, fun time, and no one was freaking out at all, but I realize we were very lucky we don't live in the Bronx. There were still people sitting out in front of the sidewalk when we left Holly's place at 11, waiting for the bus that was never going to come, sort of like in Ghost World, except there was no free will involved whatsoever.
Every photo I took of these poor folks outside looked like this:
I ended up sleeping on a couch in Cat's living room, which was sort of like sleeping in a big box of hot air, mostly because it was a big box of hot air. But I was grateful for the evening, and the food, and the entertainment, and the fact that I didn't have to bike back over that bridge in the dark.