Neither more nor less

Another old-time friend and member of avenue A society returned recently .I ran into her last night at Ray's Candystore where she stuck her tongue out in characteristic fashion as I photographed her . We talked for a while of old times and friends and how she was having an outrageously good time having a few drinks in the neighborhood and re-uniting with old friends like Kid C who was also recently returned .

"Hot Dog" , a.k.a. Marlene Bailey , has been away from avenue A for more than 4 years , though she did make a brief visit to the avenue a year and a half ago to celebrate briefly in the East Village her three years of sobriety... with at least one half pint of vodka . Being clearly as full of energy and as ready for high jinks as ever , not everyone ,especially Ray whose head she once clobbered with a steel cellar door , was happy to know that she was back in town fearing just how much fun she might have at their expense .

Saturday night a New Orleans style procession was held in the East Village for activist and former East Village resident Brad Will who was killed by police bullets in Oaxaca Mexico . Music for the procession was provided by the Hungry March Band . The 200 or so person strong procession wandered its way around the East Village stopping at community gardens , former squat sites , P.S. 64 and finally at La Plaza Cultural .

At P.S. 64 , the former Charas community center , several hooded and masked individuals from the procession used bolt cutters to gain entrance to the school yard and then to the school building itself where they and others from the procession rode bicycles around the hallways and graffitied several walls .

At La Plaza Cultural the procession participants gathered for a while in a large disorganized assembly but then formed in a large circle , arm-in-arm , around a barrel fire to howl at the moon , remember Brad and give many personal testimonials .