Vague and personal stuff- then Robert Moses

Like Phil over at his blog, I've been reviewing the past this weekend-
although I spent much of psychic energy on finally closing some doors- I
think one friendship may be over for good, and I'm sad about it, but
it's really been over for a while, and I really can handle only so many
crazy people in my life at any given time.

I never did get around to blogging about a week ago Sunday, and now the
moments passed, so let me give the executive summary. I spent Sunday the
23rd walking with the Curiousity Guild from the top of Broadway in
Manhattan to the South Seaport. The ostensible reason was to explore
the life of Robert Moses, and the effect he's had on the city. The
problem is (a) his effect on the city isn't particularly tied to
Broadway- except for his part in building Lincoln Center, which as I
understand it involved him forcing the candy store owner from West Side
Story, you know the one who says to the gangs "You kids today! You make
the world lousy!" out to pontificate elsewhere, along with every other
resident of those slums and (b) the person who was supposed to lead the
tour, who had actually finished "The Power Broker", could not attend, so
we were left with people who'd read about a third of the book (that
includes me), and people who'd watched the recent Rick Burns
documentary. At any rate, no one can sustain that kind of a narrative
for 230 blocks and six hours- so we mostly broke off in groups and chit
chattted. I met a lot of cool and interesting people among the 23 who
started the walk, and the 12 who limped into South Seaport, and I hope
to see them again some time.