I was walking back from therapy at Material Objects when I saw a man-child running down Brackett Street with a ten-foot, metal “No Parking” sign (think Roman spearman), chasing another guy who could not keep his pants up. My first reaction was: wow, impressive—fascinating urban weaponry. How does one pull a “No Parking” sign out of the ground?? With fury!
Mostly, I was wondering what the f¢@& was going on. I love Pine-and-Brackett-streets drama: the drug deals, the confused yuppies caught in Reiche student crossfire, the D.U.I. arrest I heard the other night.
The kids fighting had gathered a rather large crowd. Just when I thought drama had reached its zenith, an emo-kid came out of the bushes—literally—with a keyboard. He sat down in the middle of the parking lot and began PLAYING THE PIANO. His fingers fluttered away on the keyboard, while his painful tune filled the streets, adding serious depth (eh) to the fight scene.
My very own West End musical.
–Betsy Schluge