The Only Living Boy in New York Page #2

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- My life is not unpredictable.

- Life is as much a dream

- as it is a nightmare.

- My life is conventional.

- My life is boring.

- No.

It's as random

as it is deliberate.

You know, as funny

as it is tragic.

Yours is no exception.

I got to piss.

Dinner parties were

Judith's safety blanket.

A tableful of artists

took her mind off herself.

The swirl of distraction,

seating plans,

gossip, food...

anything

to keep away the dread.

They were the perfect antidote

to her childhood dinners.

The silences,

the drunken outbursts.

Artists came to New York

from all over,

and she always took them in,

clinging to the illusion

of an open, happy family.

Do you miss getting mugged

on central park west

- while walking your dog?

- Exactly. Exactly.

No, but I do miss

the 2nd Avenue deli.

- Uh-huh.

- I miss the lenox lounge.

I mean, do you know what are

in those iconic places now?

Urban outfitters,

- a Starbucks...

- Star...

There's a John Varvatos

where cbgb's used to be.

New York's lost its soul.

What was that, Thomas?

Well, I was just agreeing

with David

that New York

has lost its soul.

Ever since he returned

from three months in Peru,

he's decided to hate

where he's from.

No, it's true.

New York's most vibrant

neighborhood at the moment

is Philadelphia.

That's very funny, Thomas.

So, uh, Ethan, I heard that

you've commissioned Nick bilton

to write the biography

on Evan douriff.

Our mandate at kenta

is very simple...

BIOS on any haircut under 40

as long as they're still

within their 15 minutes.

Self-help, political rants.

Nobody reads fiction anymore.

And once a writer.

- So cynical, Ethan webb.

- -I know. -

if I were a writer, we'd be

having this conversation

in a two-bedroom in bushwick.

Oh, that's true.

- Bushwick is expensive now.

Yeah, exactly.

I'm serious.

I'm really serious.

I mean,

most novelists these days,

they don't earn enough money

to support themselves.

- True. -No matter

how talented they are.

That's why if Thomas came to me

with a desire to be a writer,

well... I'd talk him out of it.

So, you're still

tutoring, right?

Yeah. Just for some extra cash.

- He could be a Spanish teacher.

- Yes, he could.

I don't know if I could be

a Spanish teacher.

If he went back to college

for a year.

For some reason,

he refuses to do it.

He lives on the lower east side

without any direction.

The only thing missing

is an opium habit.

What about

doing a smartphone application?

This man moved in

across the hall from me.

I don't know what he does

or who he is, but...

He seems familiar to me.

He's my new friend.

- Aw.

- Yeah.

- He asked about you.

- Me?

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