here i am, back on earth, now what?

thank you, friends, for injecting my life with a serious dose of much needed something.... or nothing-something? i'm still downloading.

i think of each one of you daily with love! and cannot wait for our next voyage.

xoxoxoxox

c

i leave you in the care of:

joan jett and the blackhearts

tommy james and the shondells

A TRUE ACCOUNT OF TALKING TO THE SUN AT FIRE ISLAND

The Sun woke me this morning loud

and clear, saying "Hey! I've been

trying to wake you up for fifteen

minutes. Don't be so rude, you are

only the second poet I've ever chosen

to speak to personally

so why

aren't you more attentive? If I could

burn you through the window I would

to wake you up. I can't hang around

here all day."

"Sorry, Sun, I stayed

up late last night talking to Hal."

"When I woke up Mayakovsky he was

a lot more prompt" the Sun said

petulantly. "Most people are up

already waiting to see if I'm going

to put in an appearance."

I tried

to apologize "I missed you yesterday."

"That's better" he said. "I didn't

know you'd come out." "You may be

wondering why I've come so close?"

"Yes" I said beginning to feel hot

wondering if maybe he wasn't burning me

anyway.

"Frankly I wanted to tell you

I like your poetry. I see a lot

on my rounds and you're okay. You may

not be the greatest thing on earth, but

you're different. Now, I've heard some

say you're crazy, they being excessively

calm themselves to my mind, and other

crazy poets think that you're a boring

reactionary. Not me.

Just keep on

like I do and pay no attention. You'll

find that people always will complain

about the atmosphere, either too hot

or too cold too bright or too dark, days

too short or too long.

If you don't appear

at all one day they think you're lazy

or dead. Just keep right on, I like it.

And don't worry about your lineage

poetic or natural. The Sun shines on

the jungle, you know, on the tundra

the sea, the ghetto. Wherever you were

I knew it and saw you moving. I was waiting

for you to get to work.

And now that you

are making your own days, so to speak,

even if no one reads you but me

you won't be depressed. Not

everyone can look up, even at me. It

hurts their eyes."

"Oh Sun, I"m so grateful to you!"

"Thanks and remember I'm watching. It's

easier for me to speak to you out

here. I don't have to slide down

between buildings to get your ear.

I know you love Manhattan, but

you ought to look up more often.

And

always embrace things, people earth

sky stars, as I do, freely and with

the appropriate sense of space. That

is your inclination, known in the heavens

and you should follow it to hell if

necessary, which I doubt.

Maybe we'll

speak again in Africa, of which I too

am specially fond. Go back to sleep now

Frank, and I may leave a tiny poem

in that brain of yours as my farewell."

"Sun, don't go!" I was awake

at last. "No, go I must, they're calling

me."

"Who are they?"

Rising he said "Some

day you'll know. They're calling to you

too." Darkly he rose, and then I slept.

-Frank O'Hara

Something Something Sandwich

We are There.

Our life is in boxes and we have spent the past couple of days between homes. Telepathic messages were sent amidst housepaintingcleaningpackinglugging.

Yesterday , for lunch I had a Ham and Tomato on Ciabatta. Denise had a Reuben on Rye.

Of Glee and Isolation

On Saturday, we traveled to Fort Pulaski in two cars and explored the (relatively) natural environment, for the most part, on our own or just in sight or out-of-sight of one another. Deer, raccoon, and a profusion of birds kept us company. Sandra whistled a duet with a bird; Hilary lay outstretched on the ground, face skyward; Joe confronted nature; Kyle ran; Chriss walked the oyster-laden shore; John stayed mostly within the wooded shade. We continued on to Thunderbolt as the subsequent location, and walked new routes there until evening chill grew and drew us into Tubby's for spuds, Bella's, and lifted silence. Back at the 'bun,' chocolate bread (from Back in the Day) preceded a meal gradually made throughout the evening, of tube spaghetti and grilled vegetables. Questions such as, "What brings you joy?" led the conversation, and John typed a poem while Louie solicited supper through the power of his gaze. Dance music continued through the early morning, until sleepers were waken in darkness to prepare for the journey to the sunrise.

Teaching

As part of the structure of NSS, we were invited to teach something to our fellow participants, which we did, more or less.

• Chriss demonstrated how to make tea lights from the shell of a clementine and olive oil, and one burned long into the night.
• Joe taught (mostly Chriss and Sandra) how to juggle Clementines (until they got squishy).
• Hilary gave us a lesson in making porcelain beads, and a wonderful varied collection was produced, in the middle of the night.
• Sandra sampled everyone's handwriting and signature and taught a few of the key principles of graphology (at Tubby's).
• John modeled the best way to pick up and to hold Louie.

Also, Emily's mailed gift warm socks (darned together) arrived.

Yoko Ono

Everyone is in place -- Emily and Kyle arrived yesterday in the morning and Chriss and Joe got here at night. Discussions continued late into the night, and it was determined that the original format of an eight hour silent walk was still appealing.

This morning, amidst steady rain and a forecast of snow, we fortified ourselves on Hilary's amazing tofu breakfast along with mango, Asian pear, and pineapple in preparation to begin.

Our meanderings took us to our house for additional outerwear, and then we headed generally south and westward toward Daffin Park. Others in the group will probably write observations of the variousness of events (umbrella formations, playground excursions, piggyback, woven candy wrappers, the Al Salaam deli), so I'll move on to the time following our return to Hilary's, where we began a collaborative sumi ink and watercolor drawing. At its midpoint, Emily and Kyle called the rest of the group to the porch --- to see the thick flakes of snow falling! In 17 years in Savannah, I have not seen this! This is the NSS snow.

I stayed on the porch awhile, enjoying watching the flakes fall, and melt. When I went in, Hilary was the only one remaining on the porch. As I came in, a small, bright yellow book caught my eye. I picked it up, and opened to a page:

"TAPE PIECE III

Snow Piece

Take a tape of the sound of the snow
falling.
This should be done in the evening.
Do not listen to the tape.
Cut it and use it as strings to tie
gifts with.
Make a gift wrapper, if you wish, using
the same process with a phonosheet.

1963 autumn"

NSS weather report

Weather report made by Banana Peppers for NSS from weather.msn.com:

Thursday Feb 11Mostly Sunny	Friday Feb 12Rain	Saturday Feb 13Partly Cloudy	Sunday Feb 14Partly Cloudy	Monday Feb 15Mostly Cloudy
Hi: 51° Lo: 32°	Hi: 51° Lo: 32°	Hi: 49° Lo: 35°	Hi: 53° Lo: 38°	Hi: 52° Lo: 37°

We Require Stories

Not able to find his favorite swimming hole Heraclitus

eats the lunch he's packed in the parking lot and reasons

"there must be a better way to proceed than this."

Later

Anaxogoras slurs into his ear: "Heracli, listen,

don't you see

everything is made of everything, but the object it is has most of that,"

and Heraclitus thinks

"avert from my tongue the madness of such men";

he thinks

"if i could get a few more dollars

I could get those forty acres

and grow my olives in peace."

from Presocratic Blues by Joel Bettridge

Dear Mr. Mendez,

Thank you for the auspicious donation to the Nothing Something Sandwich Archive.

In honor of your absence we will read between the lines.

Best Wishes,
Lettuce

En Route

Hello, Everyone -- I put packages for you in the mail today. Joe, John, and Raul, wonderful to receive yours! Sandra

The poem is from Eulogy to the World, by Gu Cheng
The music is a Gondellied in A Major by Mendelssohn

native seed....

untitled

(telepathically)

We have lost two of our ingredients.  Denise &  Raul will not be able to attend the inaugural Sandwich, but will continue to participate in the blog and telepathically.