October | 2011 | johnozed

Back to work after a really nice day on Sunday. Sunday was spent sleeping in a little longer and then getting up and going out. Bill was sitting around the apartment as I headed out after a shower and a cuppa. As I was walking down the stairs, I heard some commotion below me and to my delight it was Stine and Alexander.

They were gathering things from their old apartment and I gave my Chewbacca holler to Alexander’s surprise. On the street was Julio waiting for them. We chatted for a while and made tentative plans to meet up later in the day. I left it up to them since they always have things to do.

After a trip to the supermarket I came home as Bill was getting ready to head out for the play he is stage managing. A nice breakfast was had, followed by coffee and emails and whatnot on the internets. Despite having some coffee I was feeling sleepy a few hours later so I thought that closing my eyes for a few minutes would do the trick.

But the coffee had other things in mind so I got out of bed and saw that Julio had phoned and texted wondering where I was. He and Alexander were in the park and were heading back to the building so Julio could collect his bicycle as well as Stine’s bike so the three of them could be a bike riding family. Alexander, 3 years old is already riding a bicycle with training wheels.

I have a key to the basement where the bicycles are so I went down and let Julio in. I recommended putting air in the tires so it would be a little easier to walk them up to their new apartment. That done we walked up the sidewalk Julio walking his bike, me with Stine’s bike and Alexander a few yards ahead on his bike, heeding Julio’s command to stop a few feet before the corner.

Within a little while we were in the garage were we parked the bikes. Then we walked over to a biergarten on 15th Street in Hoboken. I had heard of this place but hadn’t made a visit, mainly since I really don’t drink anymore. We sat and Julio and I had half liters of German beer while Alexander drank some milk.

Maybe it’s because I was out of the habit of drinking, maybe it was the really strong German beer but I was positively buzzing. We walked back to the apartment where Stine had made some lasagna. Stine is an excellent cook so of course I devoured everything on my plate and had seconds, and then with some prodding from Julio, thirds.

Then Alexander entertained us, well mainly me since Julio and Stine have seen his antics time and again. After all that it was time for me to go home and time for Julio and Stine to get Alexander ready for bed. Alexander and Julio walked me out and Stine gave me a care package of yet more lasagna to bring home.

The buzz wore off as I walked home, past Hyman Gross’ last residence. Totally unrecognizable, looked in better shape than it was when Hyman was alive. Then again how many home improvements could an 80 something man on a fixed income make on his own?

Bill was being photographed with Cornell West after a question and answer period after the day’s show so I watched Boardwalk Empire on my own, surprised at how violent this particular episode was. Then it was time to watch Pan Am, a guilty pleasure for sure which Bill walked in on halfway through.

A friend of his was in the show last night so I made a point to record it for him. We had a lot of laughs as we described the action as we triple fast forwarded to the scene where his friend was. It was a good day all around. Today was back at the cigar shack and it wasn’t so bad. Zack and Jerry Vale were in and it went well despite a few glitches in the system.

And with all that in the past, I am quite glad to be home now.

Well here I am again after a long day at work. It wasn’t so bad though. I did great, connected with quite a few new customers and I was really very funny. I got a lot of laughs. It started out OK as well. I was up before Bill, got myself together with a shower and some coffee and cereal. Bill was up and quite active, he doesn’t need coffee whereas I need a daily infusion.

It’s a balance and we manage quite nicely. Bill was out of the apartment a few minutes before me, a long day for him stage managing. I was out a little while later, waiting for my bus. Using latitude I could see Bill caught an earlier bus and was on 14th Street while I waited at 5th & Washington Street.

Eventually my bus arrived and I settled into a seat. A few stops away about 20 girls from Stevens Tech got on board, the first trip into Manhattan for a few of them. They chatted nervously as the bus rolled along, becoming standing room only before it usually does. And of course with all the nervous young women from Stevens Tech it took a while for them to get off the bus and then stand around waiting for their chaperone to take a proper head count.

They went one way and of course I went another. I walked up the avenue, stopping to get my egg sandwich before heading to the cigar shack. The shack wasn’t too busy, Frank Burns behind the counter. I settled into a quiet spot to eat my egg sandwich before signing in when I saw Frank Burns inundated with customers.

I stepped in and relieved some of the pressure before signing in, yet getting credit for the sales. Pressure off, I went back to the sandwich, then I finally punched in. Jerry Vale made it in a half hour later and the day started accordingly. A new set of drawers came in which needed to replace the old set. Zack told me about it the night before and I set about emptying the old drawers and moving it out.

Then I did the bank run and came back to see that Frank Burns and Jerry Vale moved the new drawers into the man cave. The old drawers were still usable so we kept it to the side instead of throwing it out. I was playing music in the shack with my iPod and a song came on, making Jerry Vale to think it was Delaney and Bonnie.

It wasn’t. It was Joe Tex. That prompted Jerry Vale and I to have a discussion about Delaney and Bonnie. Jerry Vale said that Bonnie was dead. I said she wasn’t. He insisted. I looked it up and saw I was right. I then told Jerry Vale that Bonnie Bramlett was alive, Delaney Bramlett- not so much. Jerry Vale insisted that Bonnie had died a few months ago and that the Wikipedia entry was not updated (as if).

He seemed annoyed and I went to lunch. I had a nice chat with Annemarie for a few minutes as I sat on a bench near the park. Then I read the New Yorker and smoked a cigar. Soon my lunch hour was over but I decided to stop by some girls selling home baked goods by the park for their high school. I bought four blondies and headed back.

Frank Burns was dealing with a hip woman and I asked the woman if the coat she was wearing was a Vivienne Westwood. She said no, she bought it at a Salvation Army. We had a nice chat about clothes and rock and roll and things like that as Frank Burns tried to ring up the sale. The woman was buying cigars and Frank Burns had clipped them before completing the sale.

Well it turned out the woman’s card did not go through and that made Frank Burns very angry. And he also left two cigars unable to be sold again since he had clipped them. I spent the rest of the time with Frank Burns avoiding him since his mood was more poisonous than usual. He finally left, leaving me and Jerry Vale to have a good time and a few laughs about Bonnie Bramlett.

It was a good day and once again I led in sales which was nice. October is turning out to be a much better month than I expected and to watch Frank Burns have his pissy little melt down made it all that much better.

The Rutles – Cheese and Onions