Post-Partum New York Stories> Act One: Sid Yiddish Visits Mykel Board

Every once in a while you take a vacation that is so fun, so exciting and so memorable that it stays with you long after the reality of the world kicks in. I had one of those a few weeks ago, in New York City. What I hope to present to you from now until the end of the photos I will share with you, 441 in all, some of the more outstanding highlights and lowlights.

I'd been planning this trip for over a year. I was originally scheduled to go last fall. I had been previously scouted by poet & venue host Roxanne Hoffman at a previous poetry event at The Bowery Poetry Club in New York City April, 2005, but the surgery and extraction of three wisdom teeth drained me of my trip funds so I had to postpone it until the following year when I knew I would be on solid financial ground.

This trip was a two-fold purpose; to perform at a few nightclubs and to have fun, the latter of which I did everyday. New York City despite all its criticism by those who either used to live there or those who disdain it otherwise, is a very vibrant, beautiful city. Sure it's had its share of misfortunes like 911 and losing baseball teams, but there is no place on earth like it. Other cities pale in comparison to it and that's no lie.

I left the morning of Saturday, October 7, just excited to be going there once more. For a long time I hated New York City and for the life of me, I cannot remember why now. Well, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I love it now.

I stayed with my good friend Mykel Board. Like me, there are many sides to him, most notably author and columnist for Maximum Rocknroll. He's a good guy, no-nonsense and everytime I see him, he teaches me a new trick or two.

But I had two requirements; get him a bottle of Everclear and don't be a pest. Being a pest I did my best not to be. The Everclear was another story, as my friend Pierre who owns a liquor store in the town I live in, didn't want to sell me a bottle as I told him I was transporting it in my checked luggage.

"I don't want you to be arrested, man! That stuff is 120 percent proof," he exclaimed. Mykel suggested that I put it beneath my clothes which I did. I also snuck my screwdriver set and my Furbies inside. Just imagine all the possibilities you can have with a bottle of Everclear, a six-piece screwdriver set and two Furbies all stowed away beneath a jetliner carrying tons of fuel! Think of all the terroist possibilities! Well, I solved the problem. I bought a couple of ice-like holders for the Everclear, kept them inside my freezer, while I kept the Everclear in the fridge until the morning I left town.

But where to put the car? Seems the city I live in has a some sort of obscure law, that says you cannot leave your car on the street for more than seven days undriven! Stupid law, considering the last few places I've lived I never had a problem leaving it on the street when I went on vacation. So, only having lived here for less than a month, I found a friend who knew someone who let me put my car in her garage during the week I was gone. I hate stupid laws, not laws in general, but stupid ones!

Mykel Board's apartment is like a living inside a museum or a thrift store! Every possible little trinket or book you might imagine is there, plus a lot of Yankees memorabilia. Naturally, he's a Yankees fan, but I still don't know why.

He also collects Negroes. Yes, you heard me right, Mykel Board collects Negroes. Not the human kind, but the trinket kind as you see by some of the photos here. In this first act, besides photos of yours truly, you get a mini-photo tour of the inside of Mykel Board's apartment& his trinkets.
Enjoy!