Journal Entry - June 21, 1977 - Park Slope - Brooklyn

Throughout the night David the super of Berkeley Place played Got to Give It Up (Part 1) by Marvin Gaye over and over again very loud. James rolled into the apartment at 3:30 and pounded on Hazel's wall and the ceiling above his room.

"Shut that shit off."

He put on a tape of the World Saxophone Quartet - Point of No Return. I preferred Marvin to Hamiet Bluiett, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake and David Murray, but wasn't anything better to fuck with the neighbors, especially David, who turned off his stereo.

Around noon I spoke with Ro to arrange an afternoon rendezvous. She promised chaos. We met at the Riviera Cafe in the West Village. I ordered a vodka-tonic. She had water.

"I'm leaving for Paris to study painting at Beaux Arts."

"When?"

"Soon."

"Then I'll have to get a passport."

"You're coming to Paris?"

"Why not? Flights are cheap. Don't worry I won't bother you there."

She looked at me as if she wasn't so sure about that, but Libby was in Paris. She couldn't be that hard to find."

This evening I had tried to seduce Libby's friend Karen at the Rainbow Room. We danced in a very erotic way. my though between hers. We were both turned on, but she finally shoved me away, saying, "I can't. I have a boyfriend. I'd feel miserable if I did anything with you."

"I understand. I'm very used to being alone."

"It's not that I don't want to, but my roommate is at home, otherwise I couldn't trust myself."

"There's always the bathroom here."

She shut her eyes and said, "Okay, it's not like I'm going to be with my boyfriend forever."

JANUARY 16, 1978 - JOURNAL ENTRY - EAST VILLAGE

Jim Fouratt hired our CBGBs gang to work at the New School registering students. He laughed upon seeing me, since he only like the way I had defended gays in the punk clubs. The music impresario leaned over and said, "None of these fools realize that as many people have graduated from the New School as have finished reading Thomas Mann's MAGIC MOUNTAIN. All hail the NRP, but I don't know if it's a good thing for group leader to have a job."

"Better than being broke all the time." I had celebrated the new gig by getting drunk. I left before Alice woke for her yogurt job.

"You think you can hack having a real job?"

"It's been two years since I had a real 9 to 5 and that was more a 9 to 3 as a substitute teacher at South Boston High School during the Bussing riots."

"Take it day by day. That's all all of us are going to do for a month."

"Then what?"

"I have something good planned, so just do your job. We'll see you tonight." John Kemp and Jim were coming over to my apartment to work on the NRP Manifesto. They are much more serious about politics, whereas I like to like to get laughs. Grant Stitt said at lunch, "They only want to help because you're cute."

"I thought John was straight." The British shoemaker was a good friend,.

"No one's straight."

"I am."

"Straight in deed only, but what goes on that head of yours. Hot hot hot."

I go off at 4 and walked over to Monthly Review, a socialist printing house. I read ALBANIA DEFIANT, waiting for Roz to finish at 5. We no longer have sex, but I like drinking with her and we wandered down the the Riviera Cafe on Christopher Street. Her friend Robert, a tall handsome dancer, was there and hit on me several times.

"I haven't been with a man in ages."

"Liar. you've been with them in your mind. One day you'll find one to change you back to one of us."

The Shah left the Pahlevi Palace in Tehran without a forwarding address. The Communists will be killed by the rural mullahs and Persia will resort to a land ruled by religion, just like the USA.