Loisaida Festival

Scenes from the Loisaida Festival on Avenue C this last Saturday...



Ponies!





A lot of happy music.





Here's some video of the musicians outside Casa Adela.  I liked how people would come and go, join in, sing, dance...



And a lovely version of Our Day Will Come...



See more festival photos here.

Without you

I am at a loss.

While doing laundry last night, I noticed something had gone missing.

Behold, Sock Mountain!



But something is not right.

And, here is the problem...a single purple sock.



I know it's a given to lose socks in the laundry.  That's one of the rules of the universe.  But, this particular sock (or, what should be a pair of socks) holds special significance.

This purple sock is 28 years old.

That's right, I received these socks as a Christmas gift in 1985 and have been wearing them continuously ever since.  That pair of black socks in the background of the photo above dates back to 1997, but they aren't holding up so well - the heels are developing holes.  But the purple sock is as good as the day it came into my life.

Which is why the loss of its mate has me so upset.

It's not that this is my favorite pair of socks because there are others I like more.  The fact that it is purple isn't that important, although I have never bought another purple pair because I always had this one.  But, at some point, maybe around the turn of the century, I began to appreciate how long these socks have lasted and how they have never left my side -- er, feet -- throughout many adventures.

These socks went to college with me.  We've lived together in eight cities and two countries. We've walked the floors of 13 jobs.  We've gone on countless trips and these socks have outlived every pair of boots they've ever met.

Maybe the mate is just taking a break and hiding under the bed. I dread the thought of it walking out of the laundromat in the basket of a stranger who might just throw it out, knowing nothing of its past.

So, if you're out there, Purple Sock, this is for you...

Yellow days

Sunnier times on Avenue A...



Soon to be a memory on Orchard...



Annual daffodil explosion in Tompkins Square...



Celebrating the Triassic period on E 12th...

2013 Dance Parade

At the end of the parade route, on St Mark's Place and Avenue A.

















See many more photos here.

Take a look at my window

I stare out of my window with my loneliness in bloom
I try to call you, I try to call you from the phone box down the hall
I’d like to see you and I’d like to meet you 

Won’t you please give me a call?
Ooo, take a look at my window

I stare out of my window at the empty streets below
Behind the shades of fading glass I have nowhere else to go
So I take a look at my window
I take a look at my window
A look at my window 


- A Flock of Seagulls

Things are looking green

It's that time of year when the community gardens open up, so I visited a few of my favorites in the East Village this weekend.

The 6th Street Community Garden is shaping up after losing their huge willow tree to Superstorm Sandy.



This garden is a great place for weirdness...



Turtles...



And birds.



Just down the block, the 6BC Garden is looking as beautiful as ever.



I'm loving the wisteria.



The gazebo in the Green Oasis Garden has a new paint job...



And we are awaiting a new shipment of bees.



See photos of all the East Village community gardens here.

Previously.

2013 Cannabis Parade

At the annual Cannabis Peace Parade and Rally at Union Square...











The Ganja Granny speaks about the medical benefits of marijuana:



See more photos here.

See photos from last year's parade here.

May Day

Some video of the May Day labor march down Broadway yesterday:





The scene last year.