Several years ago, I made a deal at a rustic crossroads. A man, clad only in a red velveteen suit, told me that good things would happen under the following proviso: Mention anything Jonathan Ames is involved in and I might — just might — learn how to play decent bluegrass guitar. To this day, my bluegrass skills are shaky at best, although I can play a mean pentatonic riff if you ply me with enough liquor. But I am a man of my word and I still retain some dim hope that I’ll wake up from a scandalous dream involving a few topless librarians with the abilities to outplay Jerry Reed, only to cast aside my Taylor unexpectedly to play second banana to Burt Reynolds in a series of marginal cinematic comedies.

While things have been quiet on the Ames front of late, I’m pleased to report that they haven’t been flatline. A new outlet called The L Magazine has seen fit to publish a Jonathan Ames story called “A Walk Home,” and it involves, of all things, the Gowanus Canal.