Fly is still in the neighborhood – her squat now a legitimate homestead. I met her in the early 90s,  a few years after I wasn’t squatting any longer. It’s a hard-earned life, and harder when the reality is we have value just simply because we exist – even though we are brainwashed every single damn day that we have prove ourselves by paying the rent rent rent, and playing by the rules and having a regular job job job – art is not legitimate work, writing is not legitimate work, music is not legitimate work, you don’t really exist unless you have a job, unless you have a spouse, unless you have children . . . the stakes get higher and higher if you keep pouring yourself back into the fake reality machine.

Fly made fanzines regularly – and I am so grateful she did.

She posted this today on facebook:

“Some writing frm early 90s… in my zine “MEANWHILE”… I wuz living at 209 but at that point the East stack was still a burned out gutted shell … it wuz Brutal Cold Conditions… with no heat or hot water… electricity was pirated from street lamp so we couldn’t run many space heaters… we had wood burning stoves… mostly made from old steel barrels… we didn’t have many functional doors or windows so the sun-zero breeze would waft through … I remember shoveling snow drifts out of my hallway…. Winter back then was like the Ice Age… Gawdam we were tuff as nails… now I’m olde & busted up… I couldn’t live that way now… But we Won in the end! Rebuilt our (now 125 yr olde 6 floor) LES Tenement…
I started making zines in approx 1985… I can’t even count how many zines I’ve made at this point & the massive variety of subjects…
For this zine – MEANWHILE – I remember living/surviving was brutal… & I wuzza big fan of Kathy Acker….”

Fly put her fanzines out on little pieces of cardstock, 4.25″ x 5.5″. I might have a few of these artifacts floating around somewhere, if mice haven’t made their way into my plastic tub of photos and memorabilia.

~ ~ ~ ~

February 17, 2024
Bearsville, New York

Images: top – Anarchy in the East Village © Holly Troy 2023

Fanzine – Dedicated to Glass House . . . and the Squatters of the LES . . . NYC. . . ’93 © Fly Orr 1993

~ ~ ~ ~

February 17, 2021: Writing Prompt 53 – If you see the Buddha in the road . . . 

February 17, 2020: Music Monday ~ God, I know I’m One

February 17, 2019: Flash (R)evolution

February 17, 2017: 108 Days of American Sentence, Day 8 – Diffused Longing

February 17, 2015: Under the Cold Surface

February 17, 2012: Mantra to End Financial Worries

February 17, 2012: Props by Robert Alvarez

February 17, 2010: Vulcan