The Second Day in NYC

That would be Thursday, 13 July.
I woke up rather late and had coffee and read a paper around the corner at Starbucks.
The Special Viewing of Ray Johnson collages had been cancelled, so I wasn't expected anywhere until 6:00pm. Wandered around the neighborhood, waiting for noon as I was treating myself to a Sushi lunch. After lunch, I went back to the hotel and got suitably dressed for the Bill Wilson "Black Tie reception". Over to Chelsea and the galleries, where I saw a couple of hundred Group Shows (it was the dead of summer). Surprised to find two Boston artists that I know in the mix. Nothing bowled me over, but it was good to see what was out there. Stopped in at Printed Matter Bookstore... kind of interesting... kind of interesting, I decided that I don't really have a clue as to what it's all about. Stopped for a beer at an outdoor place before I headed over to Wilson's. Ran into John Held Jr. and BuZ Blurr and we arrived together.
Bill Wilson has this wonderful old house... 3 floors+. Ray Johnson and his mother, May Wilson artwork throughout. The downstairs sitting room is crammed with books and artwork. The upstairs Kitchen has been remodled and the crowd of 35 or so of us was spread throughout. CrackerJack Kid arrived... he hadn't been at Katz's the night before... the same with Jo Ann Hill from the UK. Joel Cohen and Honoria made a great pasta dish and we ate, drank and we socialised. Catching up with old friends and meeting new.
At some point Mark Bloch arrives with copies of PANMAG 53, which he'd produced over night. Eight pages with color. He was defining and copywriting his "Storãge" concept. I was impressed.
We continued on with lots of photo taking and chatter.
When it was time to go, Mark offered me a ride to near my hotel. (what's he want a car on Manhatten for?) He was still pissed off about John Held Jr. and I listened to it for mercifully short drive.
I stooped in at O'Reilly's and had a beer before I went to bed...
More to come