2009, in Black and White

At the moment, I'm sitting in an overstuffed armchair at my friend Kelly's apartment on Central Park West, and I'm completely engrossed in an Alfred Hitchcock Movie Marathon on Turner Classic Movies. After about 4 days of running around New York City trying to see as many friends as possible, and consume as many of the flavors of America as possible, last night jet lag hit me between the eyes like a 2-by-4. I could barely move this morning.

It's been a wonderful, wonderful trip so far. Except for that whole "close brush with terrorism on Christmas Day" episode. And my Zanzi-buddy Ron flew in from Chicago last Monday, so we've had some time to hang out and get caught up, too. I've spent literal hours on the phone, on email and Facebook getting caught up with folks, too. There's never enough time to do everything during an international furlough, but I really tried until I got gobsmacked last evening.

In fact, near the end of the first act of my third performance of "In The Heights," the Broadway musical starring my hometown buddy Chris Jackson, I almost started snoring. Literally. But at a critical point in the action, all the lights went out, after a big "popping" noise that sounded like a transformer had blown. Most of the people in the theater were startled, but I just shrugged. Actually, I'd forgotten that the first act ends with a big electrical blackout in the Washington Heights neighborhood the musical is set in. While the rest of the audience experienced a few seconds' panic, I just thought I had somehow wound up back in Nairobi.

And then I awoke this morning to a blizzard. Well, not quite a blizzard, but it was definitely snowing, hard. Now I grew up in the Midwest, and it's only been about a couple of years since actually saw snow falling in person, but I have to say, that was one scary scene. I even had to beg off on a couple of "dates" I'd had planned with friends, using the convenient jetlag excuse. But there wasn't no way in HELL I was gonna leave that warm, cozy apartment to stumble around in an Arctic Nightmare.

So I've been chillin' like a stone cold villain all day so far, mostly in this overstuffed armchair, staring at this computer screen and thinking about life, the past year, and what's on deck for 2010. Ron and I just had a long chat about the way forward, especially in our personal lives. The bottom line is we'll have to make room for love and light, and banish fear and uncertainty, if we want to attract positive energy and lasting companionship. I think we're both very ready for that.

And of course now I'm watching "Psycho" on New Year's Eve, after catching "Shadow of a Doubt." Two Black and White classics that I could watch a hundred more times and still not tire of. All my life, there's always been something strangely comforting, even restorative about watching black and white movies. Even ones where psychotic, sexually confused young men stalk and fatally slash hapless young embezzling co-dependent hussies. And I'm recharging my own battery, to forestall a personal power outage. There's still way too much to do over the next week of my time in my homeland.