January 30, 2012: Go Go Gadget Flow
Letter: L
CD Number: 7
Track Number: 3
Song: “Go Go Gadget Flow” by Lupe Fiasco from Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool
(Picture taken from http://www.masterfile.com/stock-photography/)
ELI and Brian sit opposite one another in an airport food court. They are clearly in the midst of an argument.
ELI
Empire State Building. Classic. Everyone knows it.
BRIAN
Sears Tower. Taller.
ELI
Isn’t it called the Willi—
BRIAN (interrupting, insistent)
It’s the Sears Tower! Anyone who says otherwise is from out of town.
ELI
Fine. Bronx Zoo.
BRIAN
Shedd Aquarium. Next.
ELI
Grimaldi’s Thin Crust. Pizza how God intended.
BRIAN
Pequod’s Deep Dish. Pizza how man perfected it. No offense to God, of course.
ELI
Of course.
BRIAN
Millenium Park.
ELI
Pfff… Central.
BRIAN
The Kapoor Sculpture.
ELI
Really? Art? Fine. The Met. Guggenheim. MoMA. The Bronx Museum of Art. The Brooklyn Museum of Art. The New Museum. Dia. Whitn—
BRIAN
Yeah. Fine. I get it.
ELI
Jay-Z.
BRIAN
Kanye.
ELI
Without Jay-Z, there’s no Kanye.
BRIAN
Without Kanye’s production, you wouldn’t know Jay-Z enough to reference him.
ELI
The New York Yankees.
BRIAN
The Chicago Cubs!
ELI (arching an eyebrow)
The Cubs?
BRIAN
Anyone can root for a winner. Supporting a team like the Cubs proves how serious our fandom is.
ELI
Maybe...winning’s better though.
BRIAN
Hey, at least the teams that have my city’s name actually play in my city.
ELI
What’s that? A Giants and Jets crack? Oh, by the way, two teams in every sport that matters. Three in hockey. And have you ever been to East Rutherford? It may be in Jersey, but that’s a New York City suburb, my friend.
BRIAN
The E.
ELI
Subway.
BRIAN
Graham Crackers Comics.
ELI
Midtown. And Forbidden Planet. Also, the books you collect? Made in my city.
BRIAN
O’Hare. Most airplane traffic in the world. And we also have Midway.
ELI
La Guardia and JFK. Both majors. Not major and one minor.
BRIAN (rolls his eyes)
President Barack Obama.
ELI (crossing his arms over his chest)
President Bill Clinton.
BRIAN
Oooo, good one.
ELI
Blagojevich.
BRIAN
Spitzer.
ELI
Ryan.
BRIAN
Weiner.
ELI
Blagojevich.
BRIAN
Spitzer.
ELI
New York, New York
BRIAN
Chicago, That Toddlin’ Town.
TOM has overheard most of their conversation and finally decides to sit down.
TOM
You’re both crazy. How about the Freedom Trail. The Celts. The Pats. The Sox. Historic Faneuil Hall. The Common. Harvard. The real Tea Party. The Big Dig.
BRIAN and ELI both look at each other, amused and confused.
BRIAN
Are you talking—
ELI
—Boston?
TOM
Of course. Best city in the whole worl—
The duo from NYC and Chi-town simultaneously push him out of his chair. Both start to laugh.
BRIAN (shaking his head
Honestly...
ELI
I know, I know…Boston.
Both lapse into a fit of giggles.
Reach out and touch me at tim.g.stevens@gmail.com or @ungajje on the Twitter. Let me know what you love and what you hate. And please, do spread the word.