Dustin is coming to visit at the end of the month!

It’s gray and chilly here today. The other night we danced to Nas and Tribe Called Quest and Indian pop music in Virgil’s room. We danced so crazy. I ripped the arm of my Colonial-style dress, I was dancin’ so crazy. He said had I ever heard of Ghost Riding? I said no. He said Ghost Riding is associated with Heife (Bay Area hip hop genre): You drive real sloooow down the high way, and everyone gets out while the car’s still gooooin, and you sit on the roof or walk along side the car like you. Just. Don’t. Cuurrr. Maybe someone steers with their boot. You blast music. You make eyes. It’s all about finesse.

I thought of my trip down the California coast with Kate, Robin and Hanna this summer. A few times we found ourselves rolling down the road, doors open, struttin’. I said, “I’ve done that, or something like it.”

Then I realized, that not only had we done it, we’d done it just a tad north of San Francisco, without even knowing that we were at Ghost Riding’s roots.

I work with Christian some Saturdays. He’s Radimus’s son. He grew up in Brooklyn, programs computers, mumbles in slang I sometimes can’t understand. The first time I met him, he wore a huge Washington Wizards jersey and his hair was picked. He’s a big guy, and he wears big clothes, and shoots stick. Very nice. Loves his mother. Would dodge a bullet for his sister.

The other day I asked him when his birthday was.

“December thirty-first,” he said. “Capricorn.”

“Oh, yes, I know,” I said, straightening a stack of smoothie lids.

He took of his hat and flipped it in his hands. “Let me guess,” he said, looking at me. “Virgo.”

I was stunned.

Today at lunch, we were all looking at the neighborhood paper, and there’s a page in it that cites every attack and murder that’s happened in Brooklyn the preceding week. The titles of each police summary try to be witty. There was one about a woman who was mugged and texted 911–the title was “Rbr @ lrg.” What the hell? Most of the violence is about money anyway. You’re pretty much ignored if you’re not a loanshark or if you’ve avoided borrowing large sums from the Chinese mafia.

But I mean, we have heard two drive-by’s since we’ve been here. Right on Willoughby.

On a completely different note, there’s a couple of new posts at the Sea Monster Guild’s domain, including our first How-To project:

“Going All the Way: How to Start a Sexual Revolution” by Allie Viall ( a.k.a Champ)

http://seamonsterguild.wordpress.com

If you want to see my movie star pics, go to:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15733&id=588671705&ref=mf