The word from home is that all are safe and well – Stella is missing me and the builders may as well have been in France for all the progress that’s been made on the house … which is rather worrying.
But I’m in New York so can’t do much about any of it.
Yersterday was incredible busy and turned into quite a late night. I began by seriously trying to lock in some appointments for my time in Washington and so far at least one person has come back with great help and support and suggestions for people to meet and things to film. More needed but one is quite good.
I was supposed to ring someone back yesterday in Philadelphia but had to go out and forgot to do it before I left so that’s annoying. My mobile phone bill from Australia for last month was depressingly astronomical and so I have to be really careful about using it. For now I’ve just filed it away under too depressing and ignore until I get home. So not using the phone while I’m out means that following things up is tricky. Anyhooo that’s all a bit boring but in short things are falling into place painfully slowly.
So my outing yesterday involved first going to meet my distributor – well he’s worked for my distributor for the past few years – who was much younger and less corporate and altogether more fun that I expected – sorry Anthony but I’d imagined someone middle aged and a bit crusty and I was completely WRONG.
While I was waiting for him outside the subway station in Brooklyn I was approached by Michael (or John or some very ordinary man’s name), a black man who courteously introduced himself and offered me his hand to shake. “Just done 25 years in jail for killing a man who killed my mother” he informed me. There were more years of misery in that single simple sentence than most people could conjure up in a lifetime. At this point I noticed a large jagged scar around his jugular. We chatted a little more – his objective being the acquisition of some cash from my wallet (by polite begging not robbery) and he noticed my accent but couldn’t place it. For our mutual amusement more than anything I told him he had to guess where I was from before I gave him any money and that task was totally beyond him – despite my hints like – across the pacific, we speak English, etc. It was the Kangaroos that did it – “ah Crocodile Dundee” (he had been away a long time) he finally dawned, but the name of our proud country was still a while coming – “os, os, um oh I know it - Australia”. I gave him a dollar for his efforts, which were probably worth more but I didn’t have the change.
Thankfully Anthony arrived at that moment and saved me from any further details about his sorry life and so he shuffled off.
Anthony and I headed off for a coffee – miraculously we found a place that wasn’t Starbucks and sat down for a long chat and great coffee and cake. The thing that struck me was how envious Anthony was of my situation – the opportunity to travel the world with a simple camera kit and record interviews along the way…. Now lugging my gear on the various public transport systems of the world’s greatest cities (all of which can’t seem to manage to install lifts) makes me feel pretty miserable I must confess. I usually arrive at my destination in a lather of sweat and with new sprains or bruises in unusual places like the finger or the shin. I think I’ve stopped having the anxiety attacks I was having on the London Tube, which was horrendous but it’s still a mental as well as physical challenge. But Anthony’s comments and visible envy made me see my situation afresh and in a more positive light. So now I’m feeling somewhat more cheerful about it all – after all I can hear you all moaning – how dare she complain, of course it’s a fabulous opportunity.
So after my uplifting and fun hour of so talking about the joys of truly indie film making I got back on the subway for a further few stops to meet Warren Shaw – Historian (check out his website to get the full picture www.warrenshawhistorian.com). Warren is a New Yorker through and through and specialises in the history of New York City. Interestingly though his parents both had disabilities and his father in particular was a very colourful character and disability rights activist. Warren had invited me to his apartment in Brooklyn for the interview at 6.30pm and the whole thing went for a couple of hours because he had so much to tell and was a truly entertaining storyteller. He created a vivid world about a little known aspect of disability rights history … and with my new and very lovely additions to my lighting kit the pictures were the best yet.
After I finished the interview it was after 9pm and Warren and his lovely wife Debra invited me to stay for Pizza (2 nights in a row of Pizza – I must be in America. In Australia I’d be lucky to eat it once a year). Anyhow the wine, pizza and conversation flowed and so did the laughter. We all got on like a house on fire and before I knew it the time was after 11pm. Time to get the subway home.
Can I say that I’ve never felt so comfortable and happy in a foreign city – even a late night subway journey seemed just as safe as a day time one. The New Yorkers have been so friendly and warm. No rudeness at all (not like in Melbourne) and nothing is too much trouble – change for a subway ticket in a chemist – how much do you want? No problem. Directions on a street corner from a group of young black men – couldn’t be friendlier. Strangers in the street love my necklace made from sunglasses so much that they all stop me to discuss it. “Wow I love that – did you make it yourself?” I wish I did.
Got to bed last night around 1am and then up with the birds for a day at the American Foundation for the Blind foraging through their archives. Helen the archivist there, though English was as friendly as all the other New Yorkers I’ve encountered. She does her job with an infectious degree of enthusiasm and together we cruised the shelves – row up on row of archives relating to Helen Keller, plus a lot of general material relating to blind people – employment, gadgets, events, ceremonies – all in magnificent black and white. They also have some wonderful old manuscripts relating to Louis Braille and some really really old disability rights texts. It would take months to know and understand their collection and I had about 6 hours.
I decided to sidestep most of the Helen Keller material as much of it is accessible online – one wonderful film clip showed her teacher (Anne Sullivan I think her name was but I haven’t checked it) demonstrating how she taught Helen to speak and understand language. I want to use that clip next to one of Rosemary Crossley showing how she works because they are both equally amazing… but that’s another film.
I decided instead to look for more eclectic images that might work for my film. The day involved white gloves, lots of dusty boxes and some rather interesting and unusual images. Like the makeup without mirrors session from 1965, 2 blind boys exploring a pair of stuffed birds with their hands, and some of the gigantic and cumbersome adaptive technology that now seems so outdated and hilarious – imagine carrying a device the size of a large handbag that reads text? I’m not sure if any of the images I collected will make it into the film but I’m hopeful at least some of them will.
After the day at the AFB I met up with an Australian friend of Eva’s who is married to an American and lives in New York (got it?). We went to somewhere gorgeous for a snack and of course I now can’t recall the name of the place – large and French in style in the middle of Soho. She then took me for a wander through some lovely shops before she went to her dinner engagement and left me to my own devices and to shop some more wander home.
Bought a couple of light souvenirs as gifts and caught a random and not terribly direct subway train home. A long walk along 23rd street from the subway took me past the infamous Chelsea hotel – where Syd killed Nancy and many other colourful crimes have occurred and been written about. There was art hanging in the foyer so I wandered in for a look. Some attempt had been made to make the reception area look appealing but I got the distinct impression that none of it extended to the rooms. I was glad to visit and glad I wasn’t staying there.
Home to the computer and now off to sleep.
Tomorrow afternoon I take the train to Philadelphia but not before another interview and hopefully a final quick bit of sightseeing. I don’t yet feel ready to leave New York but I must.
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| I want the light on the left - not a very clear shot sorry |
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| Possibly the worst picture of the Chelsea hotel you'll ever see |
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| I ate all of this - profiteroles with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Now I feel fat. |
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