Cure for the Common Valentine

Write a Relationship Obituary.

Highlights from my NYC trip include fun people and fun times.

AWP 2008 has come and gone. I tried to register too late to get a badge but in the end it didn't matter, as I got to do all that I'd hoped to do. Thanks to Marie for letting me crash on her spare bed for a week, and to Alexi and Vanessa for traveling out to the city so we could spend some time together!

Highlights include:

--Spending too much money on four black dresses (and one pink dress, and one coat) at a sample sale with Marie

--Drinking beer with my agent, Desmond, at the Empire State Building while talking books

--Meeting Marlon James randomly at the AWP book fair and getting a little fan-girlish, then gushing about it to the guy behind the table at the Akashic Press booth

--Discussing ways to encourage at-risk girls to write with Keren Taylor, Executive Director of WriteGirl, at the private CLMP party hosted by Jeffrey Lependorf, then scoping the room for cute guys

--Shopping at Uniqlo with Alexi and later beating him soundly at Taiko Drum Master

--Meeting Maud Newton at a fabulous Japanese dinner hosted by Marie and Gordon, and going from there to a strange Japanese speakeasy karaoke parlor where we belted songs from the 70s and 80s until two in the morning

--Hearing about Colm Toibin's workshop at Stanford from Vanessa and seeing pictures of her brand new niece

Seriously, I almost *died*!

So last Wednesday, after a dinner of Korean barbecue, my New York friend Marie took me and our Upstate friend, Alexi, to the top of the Empire State Building.

I had never been.

It's late, after eleven, actually, so there is no line and no wait.

We go right to the top and don't have to jostle for space on the observation deck, half of which is closed due to high winds.

Beautiful skylines in every direction.

We're up there for a while, outside, leaning against the walls and looking through the wide wire mesh and it's cold out. I mean, really cold. January in New York cold.

I go inside.

When I find my friends through the window I see they are looking out across the city, in the direction of La Guardia.

They peer into the night quite intently.

Later, I find out the extent of their conversation, which I am recreating here:

Marie: There's La Guardia.

(Planes land and take off in linear formations, following a strict path.)

Alexi: What is that?

(He knows very well what it is. It's a plane that has taken off and veered what seems to be off course, headed straight for, yes, the Empire State Building.)

My friends look at each other. They're thinking, is this really happening? Is this really our fate? Can we do anything about it?

Marie: Is there time?

Alexi: No.

No, there is not time to get to the elevators, to descend 86 floors, exit the building and get out of the area.

And they think, This is it. There's no time to run, no time to even think of something eloquent to say other than, it has been fun being your friend.

Meanwhile, I'm watching foreign tourists take pictures of each other, I'm thinking their pictures won't turn out because the flash reflects on the glass. I'm mildly surprised by an Asian guy who speaks English with an Australian accent. Then I'm surprised by my surprise.

Outside I see Marie and Alexi are sharing secrets and I want to know what it is that has them so fascinated. But I don't want to go back out in the cold. So when they start hustling to the door, I go to meet them. They stop, so I go outside.

It's still cold out.

They point up.

I see a plane directly above us. It's larger than a Cessna, smaller than a 737. And it is so close to the building I can see its windows despite the fact that it's nearing midnight.

And I say, "That's not okay."

For obvious reasons, that is not okay.

We decide we've had enough of the 86th floor. It takes us mere minutes to descend as again, there is no wait and no line.

And no, there wouldn't have been time. I think, but don't mention, about the fire that would have shot down the elevator shafts.

Alexi: For a minute there I was sure it was headed straight for us.

Marie: Some diplomat must have received special permission to fly over the city.

Alexi: Tom Cruise.

Me: That really offends me. Someone "important" gets to buzz the Empire State building, with no thought to what that might do to those of us who just want to see some city lights.

We are quite bothered, so much so that we have to either get a drink or get dessert.

We need something to steady our nerves.

To reset our minds and regulate our heartbeats.

We pick dessert and decaf coffee at a Korean bakery, but in the immediate after-minutes nothing really helps.




Now that I'm not only safe but across the country, I kinda like the fact that I got that scare. People live with scares like that all the time, all over the world. We're pretty insulated here.

It can hinder our empathy with a very unfortunate but very human experience.