Date: June 15, 2000 11:30am
Subject: are things getting better or are things getting worse

i went for an ice coffee this morning
it's a habit i start once the weather gets warmer
some places charge $2.50 and others only $1.50

i've been feeling a bit broke lately
so i try to get the less expensive
ice coffee

sometimes
i'll spend the extra money because the cups are bigger
and the shops are in a direct path from home to office

i went up bleecker today
because i had to return a video to kim's
and by-passed all the expensive places

dizzy's was my destination
$1.50 for ice coffee
the nice price

as i squeezed through the few remaining meat packers
and slippery squidge covered concrete under my feet
the construction dust permeated the air

fourteenth street was abuzz with activity
past the homeless people planning their next move
i lift my head from a downward caffeine-less gaze

only to discover
the hand scrawled signs declaring
dizzy's is closed FOREVER
lost our lease
FOREVER

i had to confirm this because i know signs often lie [advertising]
gazing inside, the interior was empty
the bagel racks gone
pepsi-sponsored coolers barren
mountains of cream cheese in the trash

it appears that construction had already begun
without my approval
for another UPscale restaurant or bar or gallery or jeffrey

the loss i felt
was that of an old friend who's always there for you
who never asks for much in return
twenty-four-hours-a-day
never failing you...just someone you could always count on

so now, the neighborhood that I discovered six years ago
me, the vegetarian, in the meat packing district
has been killed by an overzealous economy
greedy landlords and fuckin' yuppies

alas i morn
dizzy izzy's "the best bagels in new york city"
the one thing that i thought would always be there
ole reliable, reasonable dizzy's

goodbye to dizzy's
goodbye to the meat packing district
goodbye to new york city

the beginning of the end
has more than begun
it's here now

i cry for a bagel shop . . .

CB COOKE is an artist who focuses his energies on the integration of digital art and real world objects. His work includes interactive new media installations, mixed media painting, web-based art, and experimental video. Digital and film-based photography serve as the base for all his artworks. He has a public-access tv show, scopOphilic (www.scopOphilic.com), which airs Monday nights at midnight on channel 67 in Manhattan and is simulcast on the web (www.mnn.org). He has exhibited at numerous venues including: Sundance Film Festival, Creative Time's"Art In The Anchorage", Ricco-Maresca Gallery, The Alternative Museum, Outfest, and The MIX Festival. He is also owner of Glyph Media (www.glyphmedia.com) a web & new media production company in Manhattan. You can find more information about his work at http://www.cbcooke.com