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Continuedyou be successful. The only thing I ask is that you don%u2019t one day run against me for office. Who knows, maybe a poet would m ake this pity wnrk. And now. so you won%u2019tgo away empty, or enriched either, here in advance, your yearly honorarium, one dollar.%u201d He holds up the bill. The audience applauds. %u201cNext year we might raise it to two, if the budget allows. The point is, my friends, money is not the point. The poet does things for beauty, though I%u2019m sure he can pick a winning horse if necessary to pay the rent. I also give him, along with the symbolic dollar a bottle of sherry in the English tradition.%u201d He hands me the bottle, wrapped in silver foil. Cheers rising out front. %u201cMaybe next year we%u2019ll make it a case. And now, I hope the writer can give us a few of his words.%u201dI step forward, holding the bottle and the dollar. %u201cEvery true writer knows that man does not live by beauty alone, so I welcome money and drink in moderation. That said,I accept this honorary post, whatever my duties turn out to be. May they be small ones. And within reason. I ask Howard not to wake me in the middle of the night saying he needs a poem by morning for his daughter%u2019s graduation. I won%u2019t do that, Howard! But if an Arabian or any other beautiful princess is passing through on the way to an official visit to Manhattan, and we need a passing sonnet for the occasion, you can wake me for that. I insist you do. I can, if requested, open a meeting of your Board of Estimate with the reading of a poem. I won%u2019t do any of this often, so relax. May I leave you with a thought by a man whose name we mentioned here earlier. His is the most honored name from our borough, Walt Whitman, truly the first poet laureate of our country. He said in an essay about America a century ago, this man who lived and worked just a few blocks from here, %u2018For so long as the spirit is not changed, any change of appearance is of no avail.%u2019 He was telling us to look inward, and forget about a new shirt and tie. Uiank you.%u201dThere was silence, unexpected and ghostly, in that large hall. What had I said? Had I touched something too serious for the occasion? Then the applause rose 14), and the ceremony was over.Howard shook my hand until I winced. %u201cYou were great, kid. Everything you said.%u201dI had the dollar folded in my hand. %u201cHow about autographing the famous dollar, Howie? With a borrowed pen, he leaned on the podium and scrawled upon the bill, Hail the poet laur ... %u201cHow do you spell that word?%u201d He winked and finished signing. A small rush of friends and well-wishers swelled up around us. The party spilled into an adjoining room where tables were set up with dozens of glasses sparkling and ready for use.%u201cCan I kiss the poet laureate?%u201d a woman standing nearby asked Howard.%u201cOf course,%u201d he replied. %u201cBut only if you live in Brooklyn.%u201dLady Anonymous kissed me and moved on to the drinks.%u201cFollow me,%u201d Howard commanded. %u201cI understand you%u2019re a chocolate freak.%u201d In the far comer of the room, sat an enormous chocolate cake, easily three feet square, emblazoned with pink and green lettering: Brooklyn Welcomes You. Poetry and chocolate merged into symbolic unity.%u201cCut yourself a slice,%u201d said Howie.%u201cAfter you, ole Prez,%u201d I said.%u201cLet me, let me,%u201d called out the woman who kissed the laureate. She picked up the knife and cut the first three slices, one for me, one for the borough president, the last for herself. The knife was then passed around, and more slices were cut in earnest, with barely a dent in the three-bythree foot cake, or was it four-by-four?There were several impromptu toasts in my behalf; I may have offered one myself under the influence of the chocolate. Within an hour, most of the crowd had gone. The caterers had started to clean up. Howard and others of the official party prepared to leave while I stuffed myself in a manner unbecoming a man with new responsiblities.Howard came ova- and again shook my hand. %u201cI was proud of you up there. We%u2019re glad to have you mi the team .%u201d%u201cThanks, Howie. I liked your speech too.%u201d %u201cI%u2019m going to brush up mi this guy Whitman.%u201d%u201c Did you know he was an editor on the old Brooklyn Eagle for a while, the old bard himself, imagine?%u201d%u201c Anybody who did any good mice lived here, it%u2019s a fact,%u201d Howard said. And he meant it.I washed down some cake with champagne. %u201cBy the way, what happens to this cake, what%u2019s left of it, when we leave?%u201d %u201cWhat do you mean, what happens?%u201d%u201c It can%u2019t all be eaten.%u201d%u201cThey walk off with it, whoever, we don%u2019t keep track.%u201d He leaned closer. %u201cGo ahead, you want it? I%u2019ll turn my back. Better still, I%u2019ll wrap it for you, how about it?%u201d He found several plastic bags and carefuly fitted the slabs of cake into them. %u201cBetter the laureate steals than the cleanup crew. Go, live it up, and think of your first official poem!%u201d We embraced like two generals in an old Russian movie.Out in the street, armed with a title of no practical value and carrying ten-twenty?- pounds of chocolate cake, I wondered if my darling fates had meant this day as a warning. If asleep, must I wake? If awake, must I know where I%u2019m going?I wait for the light to change. An image leaps to mind of a driver rounding the corner in his street sweeper, a song at his lips, joy in his h e a rt... with the rotary brushes off the ground and useless. I lean against the light post and hear someone laughing. It must be me.NEIGHBORHOOD TALES by Norman Rosten, published by George Braziller, Inc., New York, 1986, 156pp. $14.95.MBGSmUSIc/Fulton Ferry Landing Brooklyn N Y 11201 r (718(824 4061Chamber Music With A Different ViewFulton Ferry LandingB ro o k ly n , N Y 11201 (718) 62 4 4061July 17, 20 Mozart * SchubertEdward Auer: pianoChristian Bor: violinJuly 24, 27J.S . Bach: Contrapunctifrom A rt o f The FugueM. Arnold: Brass quintetother works will beannouncedCarl Albmch: TrumpetDavid Braynard: TitbaRonald B onor: TromboneWilbam Purvis: HornScon Thornburg: TrumpetFor Reservationscall 624-40611%u201c Karate Kid%u201dF i t 5S al-M o n. 1 ,3 0 5 T u rn T h u n : 6%u201c Legal Eagles%u201dF i t 7:25,9:40 S at-M o n: 5 :1 5 ,7 :2 5 ,9 40 T u M -T h u n : 8:05 ,9:55R o d n a y D a n g w tM d%u201c Back To School%u201dF i t 5,8:40,8:25,10:15 S a t 1 ,2 :4 0 ,4 :2 0 ,6 ,7 :4 0 ,9 :2 5 , 11:10Su it M o n : 1 ,2:40,4:20 ,6 ,7:40 , 9.25T u a s -T h u rc 6,7 :4 0 ,9 :2 531%u00ab F L A T e o S H a l 716 AVE , PARKS^Oet %u2022 .(7181636 0170.c o n f c ir u in i n i *265 COURT STREET, BROOKLYN 596-9113Walt Disney%u2019sTHE GREAT MOUSEDETECTIVE1 ,2 3 0 ,4 ,5 :3 0 ,7MY BEAUTIFULLAUNDRETTE6:30,10:15TDavid Bowie InLABYRINTH1,2:50Danny DeVito & BetteMkJtorRUTHLESS PEOPLE4:45 ,8 :3 0 ,8 :1 5 ,1 0ICON.PALEY ITD.FINE WINE & SPIRITSftfl SEVENTH AVEbtiwttN BERKELEY & UNIONMONDAY SATURDAYK )a m - 9 p w %u2018(718) AS7-7008pftOMpi !%u00abh IcxaI drlivtKydthvtuy thitoixjroui * y sv ia ups'Ptopli Mf commc, back %u00bb BaooUvn. Wfc NfVf* Irfl *Joe%u2019s PlaceRISTORANTE264 W averly Ave.Brooklyn, N.Y.N.Y. Daily NewsO c i 18th, 1979 * * * *%u201c Joe%u2019s Place is the kindof restaurant to takeManhattan friends whobelieve that Brooklynhas no interestingrestaurants.\PHOENIXO c t 28, 1976 We Ve expandedOur GardenFor YourEnjoym entOpen 4-12 Every Nightexcept Monday end Tuesday5 m in . fro m B AM 2 b lo c k s fro m P ratt 622-9244 Credit CardsA SpecialtyFood StoreWe Make PicnicsA Feast%u2022 Cured meats, sausages and smoked fish%u2022 Fresh Breads & Rolls%u2022 Pies and Cakes%u2022 Pates dips and sauces%u2022 Cheeses, salads, pastas, soupC atering For All Occasions382 7th Ave., M-Sat. 10-7, Btwn. 11 & 12 Sts.Call: 499-69284All the News o fThe Arts EveryWeek in the PagesOf The PhoenixNew American & Regional Cuisine71 7th Avenue, BrooklynReservations: 718-230-8450New Summer MenuWe are open for LunchPrix Fixe Specials at DinnerMonday-Friday 12-10:00 Saturday & Sunday 5- 10:00ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS1 FRONT STREETRESERVATIONS REQUESTED(718)852-3137Another Brooklyn TraditionTHE BARKProspect Park West a t Ninth Street in Paik Slope For information and reservations te l 768-3723T A N P O P OJAPANESERESTAURANTOpen for Lunch Tues-Fri, Dinner Tues-Sun 36 Joralemon St. %u2022 Brooklyn Heights %u2022 596-2968O l d \H u n g a r yj== %u201cAn authentic Hungarian restaurantright here in Brooklyn%u201dLunch from 83.9 5 D inner from 86.9 5C O C K T A IL S %u00ae W IN E S - L IQ U O R SO P E N 7 D A Y SM a jo r C re d it C ards AcceptedI 6 2 5 -1 6 4 9 1 4 2 M e a iig s e S t.^!iinninirinijniiiiiiiiiiifiii|iiiiiiii[iiuiiii[iiiiiijjni[iij|lSubscribe to Thp Phnenix andGet Our Award-Winning CoverageOf Brownstone Brooklyn EveryWeek, Delivered to Your Mailbox.July 17,1986, THE PHOENIX, Pag%u00ae 9