Dec. 7th, 2004
Pete Hamill Reading
Dec. 7th, 2004 09:21 pmTonight, ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mabfan and I went to hear Pete Hamill read from and talk about his new book, Downtown. He read the opening section, which discusses how his parents came to New York and settled there, and then he read from the end of the book, about where New York City is headed. It was very interesting, and he was very funny. There were two things he said that I made special note of:
On the changes that are inevitable in New York City: "You come back and find your favorite coffee shop has become a Starbucks -- a member of the Axis of Evil, with Victoria's Secret and The Gap."
On his realization that a Chinese musician he frequently encounters in the subway is actually playing a form of the blues: "I wanted to give him a hug. I gave him a dollar...which in New York is like a hug."
mabfan and I went to hear Pete Hamill read from and talk about his new book, Downtown. He read the opening section, which discusses how his parents came to New York and settled there, and then he read from the end of the book, about where New York City is headed. It was very interesting, and he was very funny. There were two things he said that I made special note of:On the changes that are inevitable in New York City: "You come back and find your favorite coffee shop has become a Starbucks -- a member of the Axis of Evil, with Victoria's Secret and The Gap."
On his realization that a Chinese musician he frequently encounters in the subway is actually playing a form of the blues: "I wanted to give him a hug. I gave him a dollar...which in New York is like a hug."
