Daily Gratitude List 9.25.22

I’m grateful to be home. I’m grateful for a pretty funny morning. I’m grateful things are pretty much the way I left them. I’m grateful for being able to call things what they are. I’m grateful to be sober today.

Statens Museum for Kunst—Copenhagen

Is it good to be home? Yes, it is. I had a great time but I was pretty happy to get home. In fact, I’m going to tell you the exact moment when I first thought, “I am very glad to be back in New York.” I know from hard experience the importance of getting as near as possible to the front of the pack heading to Immigration and Customs—particularly at airports like JFK. I was like a rocket¹ when the doors opened and I was gratified to arrive at a pretty empty arrivals hall. I started ducking under the ropes—you know those things they pull into place with the removable tapes to establish the lines?

I’m ducking under them so I don’t have to walk the whole ridiculous switchback thing as there is almost no one in front of me. Of course, my overstuffed backpack is complicating the whole “ducking under” thing and maybe I’m not quite as agile as I once was. I’m basically “breaking the tapes” in succession as I make my way to to the Passport Control counters. The woman supervising the line was very displeased with me. I tried to fix the tapes behind me and she waved in disgust and told me to keep going. Which was good, because there were two other people right behind me and because the agent at the next available counter (it was Number 29) was spinning his index finger in a circle and yelling, “Move it, let’s go, people, let’s go, I’m trying to help you.” I was a little out of breath after my clumsy dash through the tapes and I fumbled with my passport for a minute, I quickly apologized as I handed it to him. He just shook his head, handed me my passport and wordlessly waved me through. Welcome F***ing Home. How could I not love New York?

Statens Museum for Kunst—Copenhagen

The Liner Notes are coming out this afternoon and, owing to my vacation schedule, they will be a spectacular combo version for both Episode 22 (Paulina Pinsky) and Episode 23 (Tatiana Gallardo). Wait, you haven’t listened to them?

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Episode 22 featuring Paulina Pinsky

Episode 23 featuring Tatiana Gallardo

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I’m not trying to assign homework or anything. I just want you to make sure you have the richest possible experience.² It's awfully good to be back home.

Thanks for Letting Me Share

1. Ok, so “rocket” might be a bit hyperbolic.

2. Like the chef at the restaurant in Stockholm who insisted it was necessary not just to slather the bread with the hand-churned butter, but also to dip it into the accompanying buttermilk.