A new career beckons, even as the faint cries of "don't give up your day job" are ignored.
We're going live at the event itself in a couple of weeks, so I've got a week and a half to acquire an actual stage presence.
I have to get up to the Bronx where this was recorded to thank my Accessorizers. I had forgotten to bring shades prior to the recording studio session, so I stopped at a Duane Reade in the full bishop duds, and rummaged around that tree thing of sunglasses, grabbed three or four pair and went up to the register where two kids from that part of town were in charge. "I need you to help me here - I'm about to do a rap video," was my opener. The young man, in a loud voice, just went "Oh, no, you're not!!" So I responded, "Yes, really, I am." "No, YOU are NOT!!" Finally, the young woman said, "Try these", and we all agreed they were the best of the lot. I'm pretty sure they're women's shades, but the bling on the sides was compelling. So they're my Accessorizers. The Reyes Mets jersey was my idea. A David Wright would have come across as too white, even though Reyes is with the Marlins now. Plus, I already had the Reyes, and I didn't know they were doing shots of me from the back.
All for a good cause. The idea is to raise money for this 200 bed SRO that LSSNY operates on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. The coin operated washer/dryers there are dead to dying, so the residents have to fan out through the area and pay a lot more at laundromats to clean their clothes - funds will pay for new commercial washer/dryers on site. It's a well-regarded supportive housing site in NYC - and named very Lutheran-ly as Muehlenberg Residences.
Dave Benke
