A Map of the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike Road
THE SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF
Sat. July 21, 1984—New York–M.H.and I headed off to Princeton in a pouring rain. She brought along a bag of cherries and we drove slowly down Rte. 1 in New Jersey with cherry pits shooting out from first one side of the car, then the other.
At Princeton we visited the Art Gallery and ate 2 eggs and toast each at Harry’s. I don’t suppose I care to live there. It reminded me of a prosperous stock broker town in Westchester. Oh well. It was only ever an idea anyway.
We stopped in Little Falls and telephoned Zach. Back in NY we got Chinese to go at Egg Foks or something. Zach arrived and ate one egg roll and off we went to see a suspension. Some man hanging by meat hooks on a wire over 11th Street. I was quite hoping that the police would arrive in time to do a suspension of their own but they didn’t. M.H. was up in the window—she was on hold in case they—can you believe it!—needed somebody to put the hooks in.
It happened and got over with by maybe 8 o’clock. Some Puerto Rican super was extremely impressed when I explained to him what the mechanics of this thing were going to consist of. We took M.H. home then went to see Ghostbusters. It was all right. There were plans to go to Mystic in the morning so I went right to sleep.
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Note: More on the suspension: It really did happen and you can learn more at the Art Gallery NSW. The artist was Stelarc, the suspension was organized by the Mo Gallery. He was suspended from the fourth floor on a cable between two buildings on East 11th Street. The suspension lasted 12 minutes. I did witness it and was appalled at such a macabre, useless presentation of what? Was it uplifting? Was it inspiring? Or was it just a disturbing spectacle in a strange period of time full of them?