Looking back- 6/10/08 pt1.

During the early part of my day, I went to visit my father in the area that we lived. I passed by the church that my father’s side of the family went to for a good part of my life.

Every year, they would hold a raffle, and for a long time, a feast. The feast is gone, but the raffle remains. I would have bought a ticket, but I was broke at the time. Instead I took a picture. Anyone who reads this take note- you can take part in this raffle too. You can find the church on the corner of Houston and Sullivan. If you pass by, help the church out- buy a ticket. It’s for a good cause.

I went to visit my father on one of his plumbing jobs. Although he’s getting older and is not in the best of health, he continues to work. He has a family to support still, and doesn’t have the capital he needs to retire properly.

He still does his best to have a good time with whatever he does. I learned a lot from him- he’s always been a cool, levelheaded guy. He didn’t teach me much about ambition, but I learned a lot about patience from him.

Also around were two people who lived in the building I grew up in: Nicky- who was an old friend of my fathers, and Max- who was my first friend as a kid.

Nicky is a carpenter, and Max just finished school. Both seem like good guys- a slice of old New York.

I’m not sure whether I remember the way New York used to be, but I have vague recollections of a city that had character. My father’s friends were an interesting lot- they came from all walks of life. I owe a good deal of the way I am, both good and bad, to my father’s friends- I learned a lot about life in a short time from them. I’d like to write more on that some other time.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t know how I want to end this post, so I’ll end it with a preview of the next post, which will come sometime in the morning, after I’ve taken a shower.

The next post is going to be a series of images taken at the Action Painters Band and the XYZ affair show. Look forward to some rock and roll!