Daily Archives: May 4, 2006

The Joker

The day didn’t start out so good. Rather the commute didn’t. I couldn’t find my Path Quick fare card and I think I might’ve left it at the turnstile like a dodo. No wonder they went extinct. They lost their Quick fare cards at the turnstiles. So I had to pay for a one way trip and waited for a second for it to be returned to me from the turnstile. Dodo redo.

The day was ok otherwise. A glitch here, a glitch there, but nothing out of hand and they were easily remedied. The most major thing was the fact that a decanter broke when I was filling it with coffee to put in the refrigerator. It went crack and promptly spilled lukewarm coffee all over the counter. So it looks like I’ll have to buy the replacement. Felicia was out of the office. She reminds me of Brenda from Six Feet under a bit. Maybe not, it was fleeting thought.

I had an appointment to meet up with an old Rasta pal, Jesse in midtown and jumped on the subway. On the way to see Jesse I ran into another old Rasta pal, my friend Marcus’ woman, Marcia. She hasn’t been in town much but picked me out of the crowd. We always got along fine Marcia and I. I used to bring her hot chocolate if it was cold out or water if it was hot, when I worked at Wanker Banker. It was generally appreciated by both parties, Marcia and myself.

I walked through Bryant Park, talking about Marcus and his brothers, Clarence, Kenneth and Jamal. I knew them all fairly well. I don’t know if they knew me very well. Sexuality never came up. The brothers stayed in one apartment, Marcus in one of a few crash pads that he had. I ate dinner at the brother’s apartment a few times, all Ital food. No blood food. Very good stuff. The three of them were all good cooks.

I’d usually catch a train back to Manhattan and then a dollar van to Weehawken, all red eyed and reeking. I was oblivious, just coming back from a party. It was great to see Marcia. She and Marcus split up and she seems to be doing fine. My friend Miriam and I can’t seem to figure out how old Marcus is. She claims that he’s fairly older than us, since he has gnarly bony hands. Sure, why not?

Hello AARP Mon.

I found some Gauloises in midtown after I saw Marcia I visited a store I used to buy my Gauloises from. I chatted with the guy behind the counter. The guy who I’ve spoken to and seen for years and never got his name, nor he mine. He didn’t have Gauloises but said the guy around the corner with a store just like his, has them. They might be old, but he’s got ‘em. I walked over there and sure enough there was the familiar blue pouches offering comfort and unmentionable things.

I snapped them up… like someone snaps up a dropped Quick card.

I then walked back to the other guy who sent me there and thanked him for the tip. Walked the route I used to walk hundreds of times to the Path train. Had to buy another Quick card.

Tried to work it out with Transit check but it was a fiasco that is unresolved until 8:00 tomorrow morning.