Later For You 8 October 1998

So I heard a story today, that however unlikely I did at least have confirmed by two sources. And hey, that's good enough for the National Enquirer and the Washington Post, it's good enough for me.

Seems that back in the 70s sometime, there was a PR problem in New York. No, I mean "public relations". The main train line and highway into the city from the nicer parts of the world, like Connecticut, ran through the South Bronx, and during this passage people were likely to be disturbed by visions of miles upon miles of empty, abandoned buildings. The Powers That Beed felt this might be discouraging to people. "People" being, of course, understood to mean "folks with money."

And so they set out to fix the problem. The solution? No no no, not making the abandoned buildings inhabitable, don't be silly. No, what they did was prepare these stick-on decals to go over the broken windows, with pictures of lace curtains and flower pots. It wasn't so important that people actually live in the buildings, so much as it could plausibly look like people lived there.

I think this anticipated the Internet quite nicely, in an obscure metaphorical fashion.

I went to see Hydriotaphia by Tony Kushner (he of the great and grand Angels in America plays) tonight. Marvelous, funny, vicious production. Not exactly something to encourage one about the afterlife, but then that would just be leading you on anyway. I might say more about it, but unfortunately it's a little too late in the evening for, um, whaddyacallit... Lucidity. I think that's the thing.

Funny remarks about a desparately empty life will return tomorrow on this same station. Thank you for your patronage.

Willfully blind self-indulgent nebbish or amusingly quirky old coot? And how bout that local sports team? Discuss among yourselves.

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All names are fake, most places are real, the author is definitely unreliable but it's all in good fun. Yep. © 1998-1999 Lighthouse for the Deaf. All rights reserved and stuff. The motto at the top of the page is a graffito I saw on Brunswick Street in Melbourne.