Another oldie-but-goodie pandemic read, a year into this nonsense:
When I was deep into my twenties, but before I met my husband, I spent one winter and spring "dating" someone who I once knew when I was younger and had reconnected with since moving back to New York. He lived off of Franklin Ave or somewhere, and we hung around with an interesting group of people who congregated at secret loft parties above Zarin Fabrics or the basement of Northeast Kingdom or just The Levee or the back room at Rebar or Max Fish/Pianos or Odessa or, or, or (the list goes on and on).
Instagram, smartphones, and tinder weren't big things yet, so the "social mores" were very different. But this was after the Misshapes became mainstays and Kiss and Fly turned Bridge and Tunnel (although it always was). I thought about this period a lot while reading "Bright Lights Big City", actually even more so than my college days and youth when like the Limelight was on its zillionth iteration and Bungalow 8 was a real aspiration.
It turns out this guy was a pool shark and that's how he made his cash (which there were tons of) which lent to interesting nights flagging down idling limos to just drive us around while they waited for their Jersey party to finish or the people in general on MacDougal, still holding out. He reminded me so much of our nameless narrator. He was from a nice New England town, good family, etc. But yeah, he was into the night (we didn't last, I love sleep and showers, too much).
I recollect these memories because I so get this book, and I wonder if anyone who lived the New York after social media would understand the liberating elements of this type of nightlife culture. In the years between 2012 and the Pandemic, when phone photos became ubiquitous, I tried to be as picture-perfect as possible (see perfectly deboned filets of sole around town). I hated it. I hate it. But now, with social distancing and getting together being illegal, maybe we can stop recording everything and have some fun again.
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