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.

Last day before a three day weekend. They always take their time, so today is dragging. Paul McCartney turns 84 today. The first record album I bought with my own money was Band on the Run. That was 1973 or 74. I remember hearing the title song at the St. Francis de Sales Bazaar, looking at the ‘Tip Top’ ride as the song played on the loudspeakers.

One of the first singles I ever bought was ‘Jet’. My mother used to bowl in a league on Tuesday nights at the Garden State Plaza, and while hanging out, she gave me some money, so I walked to the other side of the shopping mall and went to Sam Goody’s, where I bought the Apple Records single.

I knew the Beatles but not as much as I do nowadays.

There is no denying Paul’s talent. He really is something else. Even Bob Dylan is in awe of Paul’s talents, and Mick Jagger always has something nice to say about him. I know I would probably lose my mind should I ever meet him and I know I would not be the first to do such a thing.

I have seen Paul live twice. The first time was October 2005. Bill and I were on the outs, trying to negotiate time apart. So I went with Julio. We had seats close to each other but not next to each other. Paul came out and I screamed while he played Magical Mystery Tour.

When he was playing Maybe I’m Amazed I found a tear rolling down my cheek. Julio had the same thing happen when Paul played Yesterday. Paul loves to tour and certainly delivers with each show. And his band is top notch.

I met his drummer, Abe Laboriel Jr a few years ago on the street outside the shopping mall when I was working at the Davidoff cigar shack. Abe was a sweetheart. He was not with Paul on the season finale of Saturday Night Live last month, so I hope Abe is doing alright. I did a search online regarding Abe, but nothing came up, so perhaps no news is good news.

Tomorrow is Juneteenth and I am off of work. I look forward to sleeping in. Once again I slept so well and woke up before the alarm clock. In fact I was tired of opening one eye to check the time and was out of bed five minutes before the radio was set to go off.

Bill is at his dentist getting a tooth pulled so he won’t be in too good shape when we cross paths again. Mike is up in Harlem getting some soul food to bring back to his Chilltown crib.

Right now I am jonesin’ for a cigar and that is probably because I have been watching some videos of cigar store employees discussing cigar etiquette or the best and worst places to smoke cigars.

Now there is a little bit under 90 minutes…now a little over an hour. Soon I will be back on the mainland.