BACK ON THE COMPUTER WITH THE KEYBOARD PROBLEMS

NOW EVERYTHING IS BEING CAPITALIZED!!!

ALSO PUNCTUATION TROUBLES

ANYWAY THIS IS SOMETHING I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND THIS SNIPPET OF A MESSAGE I SENT SOMEONE ABOUT MY NEW YEAR ACTIVITIES REMINDED ME:

"yesterday, I did something I'd long wanted to do -- I went to see the "polar bears" take their New Year's dip in Coney Island. Walked the boardwalk and rediscovered the remnants of vacation bungalows toward the far western end (I'd seen them years ago but thought they were long gone.) Had a hamburger rather than a hotdog at Nathan's 'cause I hadn't had a Nathan's burger in a long time and that's what my father used to get when I was a kid.

Today, New Year -- new disturbing realities"


THE POLAR BEARS ARE A GROUP OF GUYS WHO TAKE WINTER SWIMS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

BEEN DOING IT FOR LIKE A HUNDRED YEARS AND SOME OF THE MEMBERS LOOK IT TYPICALLY THE GUYS ARE GRAY AND FAT IF OFTEN MUSCULAR

THEIR MOST FAMOUS DIP IS ON NEW YEARS DAY AND ITS ALWAYS ON THE NEWS AND IT ALWAYS SEEMED LIKE SOMETHING TO SEE AT LEAST ONCE

SO I WENT THIS YEAR AND WAS SURPRISED TO DISCOVER IT WASNT JUST OLD GUYS IT WAS MEN AND WOMAN AND GIRLS AND BOYS EVEN A FATHER WITH HIS TINY SON

HIPSTER CHICKS AND HIPPIE CHICKS PEOPLE IN COSTUMES GUYS FROM IRELAND WITH AN IRISH FLAG A COUPLE IN A SORT OF TUXEDO AND A GOWN WITH A BOTTLE OF NON_ALCOHOLIC CHAMPAGNE

A KID WHO SAID "I CANT FEEL MYSELF" WHEN HE CAME OUT OF THE WATER

A TWENTYSOMETHING GUY WHO SAID TO HIS FRIENDS SOMETHING LIKE "IS THIS THE MOST RETARDED THING WE"VE EVER DONE?"

AN OLDER GUY WHO CLAIMED THE WATER WAS "WARM"

THERE MUST HAVE BEEN TWO HUNDRED PEOPLE THERE IN THE WATER AND ON THE BEACH MAYBE A LOT MORE

PEOPLE WERE SO HAPPY

THEN A GUY DOVE IN AND NOBODY KNOWS WHAT HE HIT BUT HE HAD TO BE TAKEN AWAY IN AN AMBULANCE AND HE DIED

BUT MOST EVERYONE WAS DONE BY THEN SO I DON"T THINK IT WAS A PRIMARY OR DAMPENING MEMORY FOR THE REVELERS WHO REALLY SEEMED TO THINK THIS WAS THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY TO START THE NEW YEAR

A REAL BEACH DAY IN THE HEART OF WINTER AMAZING

PEOPLE ON THE BOARDWALK AT RUBYS BAR

SOME PEOPLE WERE PROBABLY STILL DRUNK FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE

FARTHER DOWN THE BOARDWALK AS I SAID IN THE SNIPPET I FOUND CRUMBLING REMNANTS OF CONEY ISLAND VACATION BUNGALOWS FROM MANY DECADES EARLIER THE AREA USED TO BE FILLED WITH THEM AND THESE ARE PROBABLY THE LAST OF THEM TO BE FOUND IN ANY CONDITION

SAW THE SAME ONES I THINK YEARS AGO WITH DIRTY VENTRILOQUIST OTTO PETERSON AND MY FRIEND SETH SCHULTZ A FUNNY COMEDIAN FILMMAKER AND CLUB OWNER WHO SHOT HIMSELF LAST YEAR WE LOVED THESE REMNANTS OF THE OLD WORLD AND OLD WAYS SO IT MADE ME FEEL GOOD TO SEE THESE CRUMBLING HUTS AGAIN

THEY"RE SORTA HARD TO SPOT AND IVE BEEN AROUND THERE IN THE INTERIM AND NOT SEEN THEM

MAYBE SPOTTING THEM AGAIN MADE ME FEEL CONNECTED TO SETH SO SAW THEM AT A GOOD TIME

FUNNY THING RUBYS BAR WHICH WAS OWNED BY A GUY WHO STARTED HIS BUSINESSES WITH MONEY HE MADE SEARCHING THE SAND FOR VALUABLES WILL PROB BE GONE NEXT YEAR ALONG WITH EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HAS MEANT CONEY FOR DECADES A MALL DEVELOPER IS GOING TO SUPPOSEDLY PUT IN YEAR ROUND AMUSEMENTS

MANY BELIEVE THEY"LL PROB BE SOULLESS BUT THIS IS WHAT THE CITY WANTS IRONIC THING IS THOSE CRUMBLING BUNGALOWS FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME WILL PROBABLY STILL BE DOWN AT THE FAR END OF THE BOARDWALK AFTER TODAYS AMUSEMENTS HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHED AND REPLACED BY WHATEVER"S TO COME

NATHAN"S WHERE I HAD A HAMBURGER WITH GRILLED ONIONS AND MUSTARD LIKE MY FATHER ATE WHEN I WAS A KID (AND I DID TOO) IS ACTUALLY FAMOUS FOR THEIR FRANKFURTERS SOME PEOPLE THINK THEYRE THE BEST IN THE WORLD THEY SEEMED TO HAVE CLASSED UP A BIT THEY EVEN HAD TABLES AGAIN AND THE BATHROOMS WERE PRETTY NICE

AND THEY SERVE FROGS LEGS EVEN IF YOU NEVER GET EM ISNT IT GOOD THAT THEYRE THERE?


I"M BACK IN NEW YORK

I LOST MY DEBIT CARD FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A MONTH SOMEWHERE BETWEEN DALLAS AND THE F TRAIN

FUNNY THING IS I LOST IT AFTER LEAVING MY FRIEND JACK"S DECEMBER WEIRD MUSIC PARTY AND I GOT IT REPLACED BEFORE I LEFT FOR TUCSON AND I LOST IT UPON RETURNING FROM TUCSON AND JACK"S NEXT PARTY IS TONIGHT (RELIGIONS HAVE BEEN BASED ON LESSER PATTERNS)

I SHAVED OFF MY BEARD AND THE REST OF MY HAIR BEFORE LEAVING FOR TUCSON BACK IN THE BRIEF BUT HAPPY TIME WHEN I HAD A DEBIT CARD

NOW YOU KNOW EVERYTHING

IN CAPS!!!