Whereas yesterday was a bit on the crazy side at the big fruit stand today promised to be a bit more chill. Or so I thought. I did get a good night of sleep, uninterrupted except for one trip to the loo. Mike was over again doing what he does after I hit the hay at 10:30.

Bill phoned a few hours before that. He was ready for bed and phoned while in bed, while I sat in front of my computer doing whatever it is that I do, and Mike napped on the couch. This morning I was up with the alarm clock and started the day puttering around while Mike slept.

And as far as promises go, thinking today was going to be chill was not going to happen. I looked forward to working at my humble fruit stand and got my bagel, and walked to the PATH train. Me & Julio by the Schoolyard played in my head and I tried to figure out the lyrics in my head. I figured I could sort it all out when I got to my desk.

After changing from my sweaty clothes into dry clothes, I got a phone call from Marcus. It seems that it was a very busy week at the fruit stand, and today was going to maintain that craziness. I did not want to move from my comfort zone to a less than comfortable zone, but Marcus insisted that this was not a request.

Yancy was out of the office today and knew how it was going to be and trusted us enough to manage it. Kimberly was out as well. So I was needed once more. Janis was running late, but I did not know if she was going to make it in. That left Violet and me.

I sat at Kimberly’s desk, which was where Janis was going to sit, and found the password I used a few weeks ago was no longer valid. I was frozen out on this day that was supposed to be crazy. Help was offered and then withdrawn when they realized that they could not help me.

Janis made it in and I figured I would be free to go back to my fruit stand but there was Marcus blocking my path. I mentioned to Violet that today was certainly not as busy as it was yesterday. She could not tell the difference though it was obvious. Obvious if you’re not on the spectrum and it seems that Violet is on the spectrum, said a well placed source.

Violet ran off to the post office on her break. She wants to take lunch at 1PM and I am accommodating her so I will take lunch at noon. I don’t want to but then again, nothing that I want is going to happen today.

The day is rife with bullshit, and the day is not even half over yet. My plans have fallen by the wayside. Nothing crucial just inconsequential I suppose. Yesterday was so crazy that I was unable to write. Today I have written before 11 AM.

I took the PATH train twice today, both going in the same direction. The second time, I stepped over a pool of urine that an elderly woman was letting go of on the steps descending into the station. When the trains arrived, I was astounded by how crowded it was.

What a difference an hour makes.

It is quite hummus out. I know I will be advised to change it to humid but I like hummus and substituting one word for another. I was at the main fruit stand today. I thought I would be filling in for Kimberly but was told Yancy likes Kimberley’s desk, and the day had some bold-faced names coming and going. I didn’t mind. That meant that Janis had to find a spot to work at since I was commandeering her desk next to Violet.

Janis was promoted a few months ago, and while she still does the menial tasks that I do, she has more responsibilities and is not shackled to her desk. Violet is closer to my age, and she’s a quiet type. Jimmy Chile insists that she is on medication, he claimed to have seen the tell tale eyelids fluttering. We get along fine and the only friction was deciding when each of us would take lunch.

I, being the noble sort, opted for 2:00 PM lunchtime, freeing Violet to have her 1:00 PM session with her therapist or someone like that. We were told no more late lunches like that. So Violet would have to have a non lunch and I will pull rank and take the 1:00 PM slot.

Bill is on the road and expected back tomorrow. Mike is here. He came over last night. It is good, the chemistry Mike brings fills the void, even if he just sits there looking at his phone. We watched some TV last night, alternating between Harry Potter Deathly Hallows and the last Star Wars movie.

Of course I have seen both before, several times and as Bill calls it, it’s comfort food, especially when compared to the awfulness of what is going on in the world these days. Familiarity breeds relaxation. By 10:30 PM I was tired but too tired to get a proper good night of sleep.

I did fall asleep on the PATH train home from the fruit stand, one end of the route to another. I nabbed a seat since I know where to stand when the doors open up and after reading Mojo Magazine a bit, closed my eyes and did some dreaming. I woke up in time as the train pulled into the Hoboken station.

Getting to and from the PATH station in Hoboken was a chore though. The NBA playoffs are going on tonight and most of the area surrounding Madison Square Garden was in lockdown with barricades and NYPD. The NYPD were somewhat belligerent as they’ve had to deal with rowdy crowds watching the games on the streets outside, and when the NY Knicks lost on Monday, they lost their shit and started fighting and jumping on cars and climbing lampposts. Not my scene.

In the 1990’s, I was more of a fan of the Knicks, and that was because of the people I was hanging out with. Julio, Miriam, Marcus, and a few other Rastas. But that was almost 30 years ago. Marcus is back in Guyana, Miriam is a married mother of three girls in upstate New York, and Julio is doing his paternal bit with his two boys. Those were the daze.