I thought I would write throughout the day as I have been lately, but I was on a manic high and was distracted by many things. It’s a Tuesday, March 24. Bill is once again on the road, in the District of Columbia this time. He was here last night and it was good. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I am the only one on the planet that can listen to him over and over. He throws the minutiae about long distance driving and buses and whatnot and I listen. Or more like listen to the rhythm and cadence of what Bill is saying and say ‘Uh huh’ and ‘Oh really?’ in the right place, most of the time.

He was in bed last night by 10 PM and I was planning on being there by 10:30 but I was waylaid by a fun phone call with Mike which lasted until almost 11PM. I have been using Google Gemini here in various replies to my posts. I started using Gemini for photos of Mike and photos of his beloved. Mike was blown away by this perhaps figuratively. I explained how he can use the AI app on his own and sure enough he did. He went to town on it and quickly hit his limit. He was hoping to come over tomorrow but I moved the goal posts to Thursday. He reluctantly agreed.

Last weekend he did not want to come over and now he’s chomping at the bit. ANd of course it can all change at a moment’s notice should his parole officer call and demand that he stay in his apartment for an impromptu visit that most of the time does not happen. Of course this news is all through the filter of Mike so a grain of salt is sometimes added.

Yancey was scheduled for his bi-weekly visit to my small fruit stand tomorrow. That is usually an all hands on deck moment for myself and the other fruit stand workers. Last time he visited I was not in due to being beaten up by my allergies. Today I was feeling fine and set about making everything relatively presentable. But to my chagrin, he backed out at the last minute. He will not be visiting. Next week I will be at fruit stand headquarters on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The usual stage fright occurs. It’s getting me to the stage, or in this case, the fruit stand that is the problem. Once I am there everything tends to go well or perhaps smoothly. There’s more people involved at the fruit stand headquarters and more possibilities for things to go awry. Not that they do. At the smaller fruit stand where I am situated most of the time, it’s usually me with an interaction with the same five or six people on a daily basis. Marcus, Jimmy Chile and a few others. There are dozens more at the fruit stand headquarters, more names to remember, more rules to follow .

March 23, 2026. A Monday. My niece Meghan’s birthday. She’s also my goddaughter, though, since I am now an atheist, I do not think that carries much weight. She was upset when I told her that years ago. 30 years ago? Maybe more, maybe less. Meghan was born on a Monday in 1981, when I was on the HBJ bowling team.

I remember in the middle of the three games of bowling that I was summoned to the courtesy counter and was handed the phone, telling me Elaine had given birth by cesarean section. and that everyone was fine and doing well.
I was called a ‘Punkle’ since I was very much enamored with Punk Rock back then.

Meghan has grown up to be a fine woman, and a good mother to Shelby and wife to Rob. She’s smart and seems to have it all together, which is weird considering how my family could be. I can’t say I was that good a godfather since my own godfather was my father’s brother, who lived out on Long Island, and I saw him maybe once a year. According to my brother Brian, he was a mean drunk and was close to my father up to a point.

Last night Bill was home. He will be off once again until next week. Mike has been suggesting coming over, but I am holding off until maybe Thursday, though Friday would be ideal. Bill and I watched ‘Prick Up Your Ears’ by Stephen Frears, screenplay by Alan Bennett, and starring Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Wallace Shawn, and Vanessa Redgrave. I thought I was showing it to Bill for the first time but he said I had shown it once before. We both figured it was on DVD which makes it maybe 20 years ago.

I initially saw it in a cinema on the Upper West Side with Steve Saporito, back when I was smitten by his swarthiness. It was probably the first time I had seen Gary Oldman or Alfred Molina in a movie, and now I know I am generally in for a treat when I see a movie that has one of them in it. It was good to watch again despite the brutal story and ending.

It is a dismal Monday. Rainy days and Mondays and all that. Paul Williams is still with us. Not sure about Roger Nichols. I am guessing Paul wrote the lyrics and Roger wrote the music. That seems to make the most sense. I did play the Carpenters first thing when setting up my desk. I grew up with Karen’s voice and I do get a kick from the story of how Karen Carpenter and John Lennon were passing each other at a restaurant, and John took the time to tell Karen how much he loved her voice.

Karen was surprised by this and asked her companion who might have been a mutual friend of the both of them if he meant, ‘I have to tell you Luv, I think you have a great voice’ to be true, and the mutual friend assured her that John Lennon did not dispense compliments halfheartedly,