Stephen Mejias

For the last couple of days, I've been listening to one special CD from start to finish, and over and over again. I don't want it to ever end. Elizabeth must be sick of it. I'm sorry, Elizabeth. But, no: she's not sick of it because she understands. She knows what this is all about. And when I'm not listening to it, I'm holding onto it tightly, smiling over the lovely cover of sweethearts and peaches, reading the song titles from top to bottom and then from bottom to top. Memorizing the shade of red, imagining her hands putting it all together.

JA captured the image: I watch as Michael Bishop works with a dirty pot. Robert Baird sits in the hotspot. Lukas Lipinski monitors the session.

It must have been at Herald Square, where I was transferring onto the Bhttp://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/service/bline.htm">B;, that I realized JA had left a message on my cell. I couldn't listen to the message below the ground — no service down there — but the display let me know that the call arrived at 7:58am. Why in the world would John be calling me at 7:58 in the morning? It was now almost 8:30. Shit:

It's been quieter than usual.

You should see Elizabeth right now, in blue sweater and black jeans, hair obscuring her sharp eyes as she preys over hundreds of black & white photocopied pages of equipment reports, columns, and, of course, "Recommended Components."

You know, because, at first, all I had was the Arcam Solo, and the Arcam Solo does everything. It's a good-looking, easy-to-use, single-box multi-purpose solution; a CD playing, AM/FM receiving, integrated amplifying dreamboat of a component. It does everything I want it to do, does it all very well, and takes up almost no space and draws very little attention to itself while doing it. I love it. If you're interested in a fun and easy, one-stop ride into the high-end, then I think you should definitely get to know the Solo. But, like Reading">http://gpn.unl.edu/rainbow/">Reading Rainbow, you don't have to take my word for it. I can't go assuming authority around here. I may not know audio all that well yet, but I know cool. And the Arcam Solo is cool. Art Dudley, who is way smarter than me about this, and most other stuff, also liked it. He">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/705arcam/index.html">He said:

Me: We're gonna go see Brokeback">http://www.brokebackmountainmovie.com/getflash.html">Brokeback Mountain tonight.

Elizabeth: [Gasp of horror!]

Me: What? What's with the gasp of horror?

Elizabeth: Steel yourself.

Me: Why? Am I gonna cry? I'm not afraid of crying. I cry all the time, anyway.

Elizabeth: No, I don't think you're going to cry. But you might wince. A lot.

Me: Oh.