Two weekends ago I took Boo to Central Park, early on a Sunday morning. A few inches of fresh snow had fallen during the night. Boo and I were alone on the bridle path. He was ahead of me, and suddenly he stopped, turned and looked back at me. The image was perfect--snowy woods, dark dog, early morning winter light. I didn't have my camera, and all I could think was--you need to remember this moment--how beautiful it is, how quiet it is, the smell of the cold day. Try to freeze this image in your brain.
I had another moment like that tonight, although the setting could not have been more different. A bar in my neighborhood is closing tonight. I went over to the P&G for a final drink there with a few friends, to pay our respects to one of the few remaining neighborhood joints.
The first time I was ever in the P&G was after a Springsteen show at the Garden. I was with my brother and his friends, and I remember the adrenaline from the concert was still running through us as we recounted our favorite performances of the night. The P&G had Bruce on the juke box and even after a three-hour show, we couldn't get enough of him. We were all smoking and drinking Budweiser and I thought I'd never found a better bar.
I can't say that I ever became a regular at the P&G, despite the fact that it's only 3 blocks from my apartment. I just don't go to bars that much anymore. I was there often enough to recognize a bartender, the owner, and a few of the regulars. I knew the decor, the layout, the mural on the back wall, the winter village they put in the windows every holiday season. Mostly, I just walked by it, day after day, night after night, with Boo on our walks. I looked in the windows, saw what game was on, wished I went in there more frequently, wished I was the kind of girl who could go to bars alone, and wondered what they would say if I tried to bring Boo in with me.
So tonight I sat inside the P&G with friends, and a Budweiser, listening to their jukebox, scanning the crowd, watching everyone celebrate . Peter Gabriel was playing--Solsbury Hill. And I thought again, I have to remember this, I have to freeze this image in my brain. I'm never going to be in this bar again and I don't want to forget it. And I realized when I left, that I'm really going to miss the P&G. I was a regular, even if only in spirit.
Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city lights
Wind was blowing time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night...
