yesterday i had an unexpectedly free afternoon because the state liquor authority closes at 4:30. the sla is way up in harlem, so it was scarcely worth the trouble of going back down to work. i thought about going to one of the neglected museums up there, el museo or the hispanic society, but instead i took the train down to 72nd street and got lost in the park. found myself walking down a deserted avenue in the purpling dusk, elms winding up to the sky. just by was the white white skating rink and smaller pools all filled up with wet leaves. tired carriage horses went by in a line, dragging their horsey smell, and then i burst back out into manhattan with rush hour traffic and all the shop windows done up for christmas.