Windsurfing The Peace Train

Yesterday was the best TV day I have had in a while. The inevitability of John Kerry's windsurfing ways coming back to bite him in the ass was too funny. Only a few days before, my best friend Frank, who has a way better blog than I do, was known to say "Somebody has to stop that man from windsurfing. Now." The accusation of constant vacillating has largely been lost on me; after all, what politicians aren't hopelessly compromising themselves at all times? However, in the President's rose garden speech today with Allawi, for the first time, he struck a blow to Kerry that did give me pause. He intimated that Kerry might be an appeaser, leaving us open to an attack like that in Spain. It did resonate with me at least that no one could possibly think that bombing our subways could make Bush change policy; but would they think that Kerry would? Don't get me wrong, I am voting for John F. "Ichabod Crane" Kerry. But, to me, it was a blow that landed hard.
Another part of yesterday's viewing that I enjoyed was the rare glimpse at Cat Stevens. I noticed that only about half of the TV journalism pieces I saw mentioned that he endorsed the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. I especially enjoyed the footage of his describing how he begged the record company to stop making his records. It's sad how the Man sticks it to Artists by forcing them to keep their shitty hit records in print. I will always be soft on Cat, though, because the first time I ever visited NYC, which is now my home, he spoke to me. I was visiting my friend Haven, who was visiting her rich boho painter Dad, who didn't offer to pick me up at the airport. I had to take a cab by myself to Tribeca, fresh off the plane from RDU, having travelled previously only intra-state, to the NC beach and the NC mountains, that's it. My cab driver, who was learning English on the job, couldn't understand my accent I guess and gave up trying to find the location I had given him. He discharged me, and left me, crying, on the curb. However, he did give me a copy of "Islam; My Religion" by Yusef Islam, which I sat and read until I got myself together enough to use a pay phone and make my way in the Big Apple. Thanks, Yusef!