And so this blog post, this passage, happens to be about one of those blast from the past Facebook messages I got from Angel the other day, about HOBO Theater company and KITCHEN, a theater company consisting mostly of homeless and squatters, that I rehearsed and acted with back in my homeless days in New York City, about 30 years ago. And he found me from Stan Mack, who documented HOBO Theater in his Stan Mack’s Real Life Funnies in the late 80’s.  And this was an era before the age of the internet, social media and the digital age, where one could document things more easily. And some of those I guess you can call it underground or progressive groups have become a forgotten part of time. Unforgotten Voices, a homeless artists group that I once participated in can be one of them. It was the era of the 80’s and 90’s, of Tompkins Square Park and Tent City , an era that Amy Starecheski documents in her Ours to Lose WHEN SQUATTERS BECAME HOMEOWNERS IN NEW YORK CITY book, it’s description that reads: “Though New York’s Lower East Side today is home to high-end condos and hip restaurants, it was for decades an infamous site of blight, open-air drug dealing, and class conflict—an emblematic example of the tattered state of 1970’s and ’80’s Manhattan……”.  And it was also an era of when I met Bobby Fuller when he was recruiting people from Kochville, a 200 day encampment at New York City Hall Park in 1989, to be a part of his HOBO Theater Company. This City Hall Park encampment was something similar to the more recent Occupy City Hall.  And so Angel wanted to get whoever was still around 30 years later after HOBO Theater had disappeared, together for a memorial for Bobby, for his wife’s Chea’s birthday, via a virtual zoom video conferencing meeting. And this email thread for the zoom meeting, titled “Merrie Melodies and the Toons that knew em”, consisted of myself, Stan Mack, Casey, Angel, Mary Beth, Dave, Jack and Liz.  And it is Chea that I remember as an infant of 1 years old with her mother Mary Beth and dad Bobby at those HOBO Theater rehearsals and events, mostly at a squat in the Lower East Side, before her dad, Bobby, passed away of cancer in 1989 when she was 1 years old.  And Chea is how I remember the passage of time, as she is now 31 years old, with her own family, 30 years after Bobby passed away. And I missed that zoom meeting as I attempted to vend that DecorForU  Black Lives Matter jewelry at Washington Square Park the other day. Though Dave and Chea shared some really interesting blast from the past photos from HOBO Theater 30 years ago, including one of that Hare Krishna tree in Tompkins Square Park where Bobby’s ashes were scattered, that find themselves posted in those photos above. And I was able to add a couple of blast from the past photos to this blog post also. And so fast forward in time, to current events of the year 2020, 30 years later. These are now the days of that scary virus that came from out of nowhere earlier this year and Black Lives Matter protests seemingly on a daily basis, and both have gone global. And I guess because of this coronavirus panicdemic, old New York is back and everything old is new again. Babylon is falling as New York City slides back into the 70’s and 80’s with headlines of the day that read like: Escape From New York: Wealthy Residents Flee In Droves As The City Degenerates Into A Hellhole, Retail Chains Abandon Manhattan: ‘It’s Unsustainable’, NYC moms fleeing Upper West Side amid crime and chaos, New York City may take YEARS to recover after mass exodus, A mad rush for the exits as New York City goes down the tubes, New York has grappled with gentrification for years. Covid has brought it to a head, Empty apartments in Manhattan reach record high, topping 13,000, ATM ripped out of Manhattan deli as new crime ‘trend’ hits NYC, New York City is dead forever and Hollywood’s Apocalypse NOW: Rich and famous are fleeing in droves as liberal politics and coronavirus turn City of Dreams into cesspit plagued by junkies and violent criminals. And I can’t really think of any way to end this blog post, that seems to be about theater, birth, life, death and the passage of time, except to say, the only thing constant is change and it is given to us all an appointment once to die, and one generation passes away and another one comes but the earth abides forever.  Have a great HOBO Theater Company and KITCHEN blast from the past day. In Memory Of.

And so it was another day that I found myself attempting to vend those DecorForU Jewelry , necklaces, magnets, key chains and pins for $2 each at Tompkins Square Park yesterday, and it was also another day that I found myself taking a bunch of photos of people holding those Fly Orr PANicDEMIC flyers  again and taking a bunch of photos of DJ Spike Polite, Pinc Louds  who has been playing at Tompkins Square Park  and that Tompkins Square Park Police Riot 32nd Anniversary (1988-2020) concert yesterday, with the text to that concert flyer reading like as follows:

“First Show of the Season !
Finally.. A 2 Day Special Acoustic Chapter .. First Ever Acoustic Show in over 30 years.. Acorn Slim Scott Newman and John Lane Dean Rane Gass Wild
Rew Starr Dead Dean Chris Iconicide Spike Polite. And SEWAGE and Direct From Long Island.. The Beautiful
Karen Bella.. Its Saturday and Sunday Friends.. ( This Weekend ) So Lets All Show Up.. Like we Always do, Support Our Locals. And have a Great Time ” ….. 🖤😎😷😈🤘
Taking Over- “OUR PARK “

Tompkins Square Park, August 1st-2nd, 1pm
Both Daze ….”

And there was a moment before the concert began when someone from the New York City Parks department came from out of nowhere and tried to shut that concert down, though in the end, the concert was allowed to proceed.  And there was a moment when Pinc Louds played at that Riot Reunion concert for one quick second, and then they went off to play at that Temperance Fountain during that Riot Reunion concert yesterday, as in some of those photos and videos that find themselves posted above. And there was a moment when @iamrandyluna shared this instagram story of my black lives matter jewelry on his instagram page.  And there was music, music and more music again. And they played into the night at Tompkins Square Park. Bring your dancing shoes to Tompkins Square Park I guess. #blacklivesmatter

Here is what’s happening today, Wed. July 15th, in NYC. As always check listed Instagrams for more information. pic.twitter.com/obTaeEBLAQ

— NYC Protest Updates 2020 (@protest_nyc) July 15, 2020

And in the midst of the coronapocalypse, the control a virus, the PANicDEMIC, the pandemic, the plannedemic, scamdemic or whatever you want to call that scary virus that came from out of nowhere in the year 2020, and now nationwide and seemingly worldwide protests that have seemingly turned into riots for George Floyd and all victims of police brutality, I have found myself attempting to vend those DecorForU Black Lives Matter and S#!t Just Got Real necklaces, magnets, key chains and pins for $2 each at Tompkins Square Park the past few weeks or so, so much that I have come across a couple of The People March Black Lives Matter protests at Washington Square Park, Union Square Park and Tompkins Square Park and there are these photos that I have taken in my travels that I find myself posting in this blog post. And there are no words that I can think of again to say for these crazy times we are living in, as I start to wonder if it’s the end of the world or the end of the world as we know it. And fly_peops PANicDEMIC flyers were handed out to people at Tompkins Square Park and a few flyers were taken to Occupy City Hall this past weekend, and unless it rains or I get shut down, I am planning to vend #blacklivesmatter.#S#!tJustGotReal #notmypresident #occupywallstreet #nopolicestate #yoga #morus #theshadow #squat #tompkinssquarepark #eastvillage #lowereastside #brooklyn & #iloveny necklaces, magnets, key chains & pins for $2 each at Tompkins Square Farmers Market this Sunday, 1-4pm for anyone who may be interested. I am planning to wear a mask and observe social distance
Because hey, s#!t just got real. #coronavirus

And I don’t know who wrote this, though I find myself posting the words to that photo above that I came across in internetland:

I don’t know who wrote this,

but 👏❤️ It’s probably the most powerful words the world could ever hear!

We fell asleep in one world, and woke up in another.

Suddenly Disney is out of magic,

Paris is no longer romantic,

New York doesn’t stand up anymore,

the Chinese wall is no longer a fortress, and Mecca is empty.

Hugs & kisses suddenly become weapons, and not visiting parents & friends becomes an act of love.

Suddenly you realise that power, beauty & money are worthless, and can’t get you the oxygen you’re fighting for.

The world continues its life and it is beautiful. It only puts humans in cages. I think it’s sending us a message:

“You are not necessary. The air, earth, water and sky without you are fine. When you come back, remember that you are my guests. Not my masters.”

And what, if anything, does this have to do with a No Police State. #blacklivesmatter