September 10, 2001

it is 1962 / the opening in New York City of Dr. No, the first James Bond movie

my friend, Mimi and me went to see but first we dined at Oscar's on third avenue : for buckets of "steamers" / little neck clams / soft shell clams from Maine

dribble the briny morsels in butter and slurp them down

i loved steamers / i have not eaten a bucket of steamers since those grand old daze / and Oh / it was before the World Trade Center was built / the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building were the stunning features of the skyline


now it is September 10, 2004 / i seek a fitting tribute to this day / this day before the World Trade Center was struck when we entered an altered consciousness / it isnt true that "everything changed" / we just shifted our prioritease

that day, the day before the attack, i sat contentedly in my outdoor room taking an inventory / reviewing my life / my 50th high school class reunion was scheduled for later that week / i planned to fly to Maryland

my life was in order in a way that i never expected when i was younger / i was wondering if i were going to "get through" the rest of my life without any more major uproars or conflicts

the next morning all hell broke loose

sigh

steamers

i stopped at the Center Cafe yesterday to read their new bistro menu / o migosh / they have steamers on the menu / i went inside / are they steamers from New York ? i pestered the waitress / oh they have just run out

today i called to check / yes, i mean isnt it swell that in this remote wilderness town in SE Utah there is a restaurant that has steamers flown in FED EX from New York ?

they are not soft shells from Maine / when i inquired whether they were soft shells the young lady thought maybe i had them mixed up with soft shell crabs / not a chance, i said, i grew up in Maryland
and would never mix anything up with crabs / smile

i intended to have a silent vigil and not write here today and maybe not tomorrow either to honor the dead and dying / but shoot / life goes on / even with the current administration

tomorrow i will report on the steamers