The Coming of the Light

Tomorrow is the shortest day of the year. With sunrise coming in at 7:16am and a sunset at 4:31pm, the day in New York City will be 9 hours and 15 minutes long. So, make sure you get up early, New Yorkers. You still have plenty of holiday shopping left. There's your Christmas office party and you haven't yet figure out what to get your well-intentioned, but-completely--nlike yourself boss, who will most likely get you a gift certificate to Pier 1, or as i like to call it "Wicker Chairs R Us." You've still got time to make gifts for your cousins; scarves aren't that hard. Just don't get too ambitious - with only four days left, sweaters are out of the question. And then there's The Bodies Exhibit you've been trying to get to for over a year. That might be a nice thing to do on the shortest day of the year. You need a new coat, though, and would be better off using your money for that. Well, maybe. While you're downtown, you could call K:. You haven't seen her in a while and she's always more receptive to spontaneous hanging out than to pre-planned kickin' it. But maybe you don't want to bother her because she's most likely busy with something cool or out of the country doing something amazing and making a difference in the lives of thousands. Taking yourself out to brunch seems like the perfect thing to do on the shortest day of the year, but you're working during prime brunch time and you can't go back to the office after a liquid lunch...anymore. And brunch isn't brunch if it's not on Sunday in your book. Bev is always available for a dog run date. But you're seeing her and the dog on Christmas. You could reaquaint yourself with New York City, for fuck's sake. When was the last time you took the train north of Union Square? You'll get on the subway, choose a person at random or maybe make up a rule beforehand - the first guy i see wearing a Yankee's hat - and whenever that person gets off, that's where you get off. Remember, you used to say to yourself, "Look at all the places you can go for a buck-fifty. I can go anywhere in New York City." Why don't you? But, perhaps something more familiar for the solstice. Perhaps instead of branching out, you return to what feels like home, knowing that resolutions for newness and derring-do and adventure are right around the corner. A walk in Prospect Park might be perfect. You could spend your time looking at how the tree branches make arms and legs and remark at the orgiastic nature of barenaked branches. Which would, of course, lead you to thinking about the uniqueness of every blade of grass. And you'll start to think, Isn't that a Walt Whitman poem? No, wait, Leaves of Grass. And you'll think, This is a good day, the shortest day of the year, to celebrate myself and sing. And you'll believe that you could

Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of
all poems,
You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions
of suns left,)
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look
through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in
books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.

Now that you've got your day planned, here are a few suggestions for the longest night of the year:

Valley of the Dolls at Clearview's Chelsea
I have to admit that when an old roommate had a copy of this, i could not get through it. I think it would be significantly more fun to see it on the big screen and scream "Neely O'Hara!" with Patty Duke and a bunch of gay boys. And stoned.

A Benefit Concert for SaveDarfur.org down at The Living Room on Ludlow Street. This will be the most i've ever done for Darfur.

Literary Girl-on-Girl Action at KGB.

The Dreidel Slam at Makor. It's an all-night Hanukkah party. Something about latkes and ninjas is involved. $25 at the door.


Whatever you do with your shortest day, your longest night, remember that the light is returning. Here's hoping we'll all be seeing more clearly soon.

SG