tales from an ordinary world

2000-02-13

While Haiyan (presumably) went back to the Whitney to finish what we had to hurry through yesterday, I hopped on the N train and went all the way to Coney Island. All the happy-season stuff was closed - all the rides and stuff, apart from a single carousel undercover on the main street. As I walked up to the beach, I could see the burnt out remains of a rollercoaster assembly. There weren't all that many people around - the wind was pretty cold, and out on the beach a group of kids were getting in the water and running around in a circle with hands joined together. A guy bummed a smoke off me and said "What the hell are those crazy people doing swimming today ? Look at 'em". I walked back down to the station, past an empty lot where, by the wire gate, someone had dumped heaps of clothes. Amongst them all lay a broken typewriter with half of its lovely green keys missing...