where

七人の侍 (Seven Samurai 1954 Japanese) - the first week of the last year of college, day one through seven left me exhausted but optimistic: I can do this; I can take all that was good from last year and make it better. I am present I am here (I am not in Berlin I am not in Moscow I am not in Manhattan).

Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum 1979 German) - the second week I started re-started the movie club. I don’t think I could have eaten after that film but soon it was Yom Kippur and I was fasting anyway.

Soy Cuba (I am Cuba 1964 Soviet-Cuban in Spanish) - The Land The Land. Friday I approached the black car from which Hannah waved at me, parked in someone else’s driveway, bags ready. We drove past our destination and parked on an empty lot. We walked along the highway, past skipping silhouettes of deer, then up and through rows upon rows of pear trees. I untied the string and swung open the gate. The yellow moon was rising.

We felt up the trees in the dark, picking apples in the light of equinox eve. Hiding 60-70lbs of spoils in the bushes, we ran back to the car, feeling the pressure of imagined ski masks on our faces. We drove up and picked up our bags (apples, pears, quince) the tires grating against the gravel, the gas pedal pushed as Dean changed gears and said “I think we got away with it”. We threw our heads back and laughed.

The next night we were good citizens and went to Poughkeepsie to see Nina in a community theater rendition of The Children’s Hour. On the ride back Nina said that a lot of the cast members (of all ages) idealized Bard as a place where people are free. Be present be here be present be here.