Tag Archives: Lodi

I Believe In Father Christmas

Just had a nap where I was in the southern part of Lodi, waiting to get a Frappuccino at Starbucks. A cover version of What’s My Name by the Clash played as I found myself trying to find where the Starbucks was that I left to escort a young woman from the coffee shop.

It was a rust belt version of Lodi, old machines decomposing in the deserted industrial areas. It should have been easy to find since it was across the street from Immaculate Conception high school. Inside it was dismal, with a few people milling about waiting for their beverages.

My server was actually someone who used to work at a pub in Saddle Brook called Gleason’s. I was doing some leaping and running as well as scaling down some iron walls designed like steppes while trying to get back to the Starbucks.

My knee was no trouble at all in the dream. Lots of running and jumping but still no Frappuccino.

I guess the Frappuccino was in my subconscious after getting an email from the corporation telling me I could get a free download of summer songs if I just go into the Starbucks. Although I wound up in Lodi in the dream I believe the Starbucks was actually in the vicinity of the cigar shack. There is no escaping the cigar shack.

A nap when the weather is close to 100 degrees outside is very nice. A fan blowing on my half dressed body as I lay on top of the bed was quite nice. I didn’t sleep too well last night and that helped with the nap. A Xanax that I took earlier in the day certainly helped quite a bit.

The Xanax came in handy when I made a phone call to someone. It was a day off and I tried calling them twice in the past week, left voice mails both time. This person usually calls me up and is generally upset that I never call.

Of course I never take into consideration that they have a phone that cannot dial out, they can only receive calls for some reason.

A few weeks previous this person contacted me about going to see a benefit show at Maxwells on June 29. I explained that it’s Bill’s birthday that day and depending on my work schedule I wasn’t sure at the time whether or not I would be able to make it.

It turns out that I was able to request that day and the next day off, not actually days off but when Calvin does the schedule I would like to be able to be off and make up those days off later in that week or around that time.

Well the person on the phone seemed harried as I walked around outside in the record high temperatures answering his questions concisely. He asked if I was upset about something, remarking that it sounded like I was angry with him. I explained that I wasn’t angry or upset, far from it, thanks to the Xanax.

Well it turns out that I wasn’t able to buy the tickets locally in Hoboken, that I would have to make the purchase online when I got home. That was no problem.

But what actually did upset me was the fact that me and the guy at the other end of the phone were once quite close and I do make an effort to rebuild what past we may have had, but sometimes it gets so hard to do so.

It’s not always like this but on occasion there is such a chemical reaction between the two of us that it almost always ends badly. And today was just like that.





Farewell to Harbor House, the Hoboken rehab center. Must've been some party...

I Had the Craziest Dream

Yes I am tired. Yes I went to work today. Yes it snowed quite a bit last night. Not enough for the NJ Transit system to stop running, not enough to slow down the bus and train schedules. I took my time getting ready for work, walking to the bus stop.

The bus filled up enough with what seemed to be people like me who did not want to go to work today. That was one of the rare times where I identify with the other riders. Most of the time I don’t like them, I don’t care for them and think they’re stupid.

Sometimes it seems like I am on a bus tour to Bala Cynwyd.

A song popped into my head as I rode the bus, and I did my best to duplicate the song in a voice message to Bill’s iPhone. He didn’t know what song it was but I eventually figured it out with his help, the song being Birdland by Weather Report.

I thought of Stanley Siegel whom had Birdland as his theme song for his talk show I think in the 1970’s. That made me think of a major storm in maybe 1975, things shut down, my father not going to work. Me and himself, trekking in the snow to the Lodi A&P to get who knows what. I think my mother was working.

My sister in law Elaine made an appearance, living a block or so away with Frank on Main Street. She gave me a book about the Who which I thought was cool. I more than likely had something to eat before heading out with a sled and heading down Gunther Avenue and wiping out before spilling onto Main Street.

Wilson Street was more of a daredevil street, a steeper hill and a few hills where we would literally go flying a few feet in the air.

I just had a thought, if there were any kids in that neighborhood and if so, do they take their sleds down those hills. It seemed like a personal hill for me and my friends, no other kids from other neighborhoods would go sledding down Gunther Avenue or Wilson Street.

Such carefree times.

Now I commute into the city to a job I don’t particularly care for, no hills for sledding anymore. It was a long day at the cigar shop. Not much foot traffic in the cigar shop area. A lot of people either had the day off or took the day off, opting not to bother with the frozen mess.

It was Calvin and I mostly, with Sean coming in mid-afternoon. I decided to treat myself, a reward for making it in. I went to Whole Foods and had a Shepard’s Pie. I never had it before but it had loomed in my mental menu for the past few days.

I had to find where they made hot foods and took a chance and got a Shepard’s Pie. I was wary since I never had one before and if I didn’t like it, then I would have thrown good money away. But I bought it, and I liked it and will probably have it again.

It certainly was a hearty meal. I had an early lunch and 6 hours later, I was still satisfied with what I had for lunch.


Hopper-esque?


-fin-