Ann Grauso passed way. She and her family lived a few doors down from my family growing up on Riverview Avenue back in the day. I can’t say I knew her, I barely knew her kids. They were older than me and would not want to have anything to do with kids 5 years younger than them.

I couldn’t blame them. I was just struck by a melancholy thought. How things were easier and simpler back then. Nothing to worry about except to get home when the street lights came on, and during the summer that was around 9 PM. Just about all the adults from back then have passed on.

Ann Grausso might have been the last one. Some of their children have passed on, Susan Lucas, Jimmy Grant, Jimmy Williams, Suzanne Williams, my brother Frank, Dorothy Foglio, and Audrey Iwanicki.

I’m sure there are some that slipped past my radar. My world was so much smaller then. I never considered how much it would expand. Then again I never thought I would move from that neighborhood. I never considered that I was desperately want to get out of there.

There is no going back. That world has changed very much. Still recognizable but the residents have changed. I believe the only one left is the heinous Natale named Debbie. She was awful back then and more than likely her awfulness has intensified.

In other news, Clive Davis has passed away. He was 94 and had been cicrling the drain for a few weeks now. I worked for him at Arista Records at 6 West 57th St, a building that no longer exists. I was told he was not easy to work alongside.

He was prone to throwing items at his staff during his Thursday morning meetings. I worked for a woman, Suzanne Savage who worked directly for him as the chief A&R Administrator.

She, too was known to throw items at her staff though not at me since I was at a difficult angle to throw things at. After I left the music business and worked in the corporate world in my then fetish of suits and ties, I was invited to a holiday party where I was told I had Clive’s attention.

I found that out after I shook his hand, thanking him for the wonderful holiday party. That world is gone now, the buildings are gone now, and Clive Davis, perhaps the last of the legendary record men of the second half of the twentieth century is gone now.

I sent a direct message to Miriam who responded with a sad emoji. That world is just a memory and now I am at the fruit stand. Miriam and I have a mutual friend in Corey Williams who is in that world of the music business and seems to be doing alright for himself.

After Meta killed off two of my accounts, I tried to reconnect with Corey Williams but it seems fruitless. He is in a position where he more than likely has thousands of people trying to contact and befriend him in one way or another.

It’s Juneteenth and it’s a Friday. A federal holiday means it’s a day off, a three day weekend. I rarely write when I am off of work yet here I am. It’s been a lazy day. I slept well last night. Bill and I watched Ahmir Thompson aka Questlove’s latest documentary about Earth Wind and Fire.

I knew it would be entertaining. Earth Wind and Fire were a part of the soundtrack of my growing up. To me, Maurice White always seemed to be a goody goody compared to his peers back then. He certainly does not come off as such. A few kids with different women, his business sense of dealing with the band were revealed to be less than appealing.

But the songs are still timeless. And I admit while I had grown tired of hearing September over and over, it’s still a great song and when it’s played in the documentary, it proves to be a salve.

Mike’s been doing his thing in Chilltown, I woke up to find his videos sent to me, erotic for lack of a better word. They’re for the collection, I tell myself. I know the thousands of followers Mike has, will eat it up or would if they had the opportunity. I myself rarely look at Mike’s menu these days, like I said they’re for the collection.

Bill had a tooth extracted yesterday and is paying the price. I’ve had it done numerous times, the last time in 2017. Now I have 5 teeth left in my head and I’m happy with the prosthetics that occupy the space most of the day. They fit just right and the upper denture is mainly held in by suction, no need for glue or adhesive pads.

I did use those initially until I realized there was no need. It’s all good. I don’t wear the upper when I go cycling. The saliva between the denture and the roof of my mouth get bothersome so I go without and it seems to work just fine.

Most of the time when I am at home the upper is in a cup of water, in my mouth when I am eating. I too shoot videos, not erotic like Mike, and most of those show me smoking a cigar without the upper denture. Does anyone notice? I don’t know, no one has ever said anything.

And I just made some egg salad for Bill since soft food are the way for him to go for the time being since his mouth is still sensitive to chewing food. He said it was good. I expect to be doing more of the same for the next week or so.

Mike planned to hang out with Bill and me on Sunday for Father’s Day, but he was told of Folsom East, a leather/kink street festival in west Chelsea. I had gone a few times, a couple of times with Bill, including one time when my dearly departed for Nevada friend Pedro joined us.

I went with my truly dearly departed friend Juan as well. It wasn’t really my scene and I preferred to hang out in a pub a few blocks away drinking Guinness.

So this year Mike is going, but on his own. I’m sure he’ll have a good time being the budding leather man he is. Who knows? Maybe some of his thousands of followers will be there. I’ve gone back and forth in my head regarding joining him.

Of course, it always ends with ‘forget about it,’ though last night the idea did come through loud and strong. Then I went to bed.