Another night of uneasy sleep. I was tired enough to sleep but shutting off my brain seems to be impossible. Thoughts keep pouring in. I suppose sitting in front of the computer is a distraction enough and sometimes as I lay in bed trying to sleep my mind wanders to the internet while my body stays in bed. But it’s not the internet, it’s the past.

I think about growing up on Riverview Avenue, of my godmother Lee Merlino and her husband Tony. I think of the Benkovitch’s who lived across the street, of the Williams family who live a few houses away. I spent a lot of time in the Williams house. I was friends with Barbara and Scott and can easily picture the lay out of their house. I think of Lucille Drive and how it might have looked before Route 80 displaced the Woodmere section of Lodi. That happened when I was just an infant but I lay in bed thinking of a aerial photograph from the early 1960’s of that part of town.

But my time awake is not spent entirely in the Lodi of my mind. I think of Maxwell’s from 30 years ago and Martha Griffin . I think of Steve Saporito catching grief (and perhaps rightly so) for wearing an t-shirt based on Sharon Tate’s autopsy as he waited tables. I think of Tom Prendergast yelling at the bartender who I was backing up, telling him to get some clean bar rags to help someone who had a beer mug hit them in the face the night the Pogues played Maxwells.

Eventually I do fall asleep and it’s usually too late. Despite having blinds on the windows, the sunlight still comes through making sleep once again, just out of reach.

Now having been awake and unable to sleep I find that most of Hoboken is out of water. There was a water main break a block away which didn’t really affect us here, but a little while after that water main break, at a construction site at 14th and Willow a 30 inch water main was accidentally broken making Hoboken effectively without water. Luckily I showered already. Helicopters hover overhead for the local news channels.

Bill has offered to bring water home from Manhattan when he comes home later but I tried to dissuade him from that, thinking it would be a pain in the tuchis to do such a thing.

Hours later, the water is back on but it advised to boil the water before using it.

I really should eat three meals a day. I skipped lunch and paid for it by crashing both physically and emotionally. I just ate after taking a nap and I still feel groggy but with some energy. Definitely running at a low flame today and probably for the rest of the night.

I really hope I sleep well tonight.