Fulbright riffs, 1991 — day 75, Monday August 12th

The phone rings in my room. It’s 6:30. Rowland’s ex has a problem with the other son, Chad. This is a re-run of the story from the other day, where Chad has been threatened with suspension from college for defacing an exhibition — the Swiss 750th Anniversary exhibition, no less.

I spend most of the morning selecting tracks for the WBGO programme recording on Thursday. A letter from my colleague Paul Wilson at the British Library informs me that Jazz FM has been sold. [Paul and I, along with several National Sound Archive music curators, had been providing a half-hour programme for Jazz FM since the station was launched in April 1990. The show was called Sidetrax. I don’t think I can have made it sufficiently clear to the station owners that I was going to be away for three months: they acted surprised when I left. Paul had devised enough programmes to last until my return but they asked another of my colleagues, Lucy Duran, to present world music tracks instead. So, that will be one less enjoyable routine to occupy my time when I get back].

My conversations with Dan Morgenstern have become more prolonged and very useful of late. I should have made more of an effort to engage with him earlier on. Today we talk, appropriately, about jazz radio, magazines and the oral history collections at Yale. Yale and Indiana universities are both on my list of places still to visit, but that’s now impossible as both are closed until after Labor Day.

Another very pleasant evening with the Heffleys in prospect. Robert drives me and their infant son Matthew to where his wife Diane’s parents live, in Alphabet City, on Avenue C, not far from where I was yesterday.

They have a nice view of the East River and the mid-town skyscrapers. Diane was brought up in this area, which is predominantly Puerto Rican [Avenue C is now better known as Loisaida Avenue]. She went to school there and tells of tough times as a young girl with oriental parents.

Her father owns a restaurant in New Jersey while her mother looks after the house and her younger sister Evelyn, who is mentally disabled, although able to communicate and get through high school. Diane’s elder sister, Evelyn also dropped by. They are really lovely people. Robert is obsessed with what will become of Matthew when he’s grown up: not surprising in these uncertain times.

We leave Matthew with the grandparents and drive off to pick up Diane from work. We’re going for an Indian at Mitali East on East 6th Street. I order chicken dansak, crab curry and a mushroom dish. We’re going to get together again the week after next, with Jayne, for a Korean supper.

Back in Maplewood I call Marya to wish her luck in tomorrow’s exam. She has to sell her car as the insurance premium has gone up since her accident last year. I’ve never known anyone attract so much bad luck.

Kyle has a bunch of friends over and they’re outside in the yard, Rowland included, making conversation until the early hours.