I’ve been putting off writing most of the night. Now it is 9:21 PM and I figured now is the best time. Here I am. Outside fireworks are going off for the ending of the local Italian festival. It was supposed to be fireworks last night but what with the rain and all…People are probably freaking out over their pets freaking out. It’s loud enough through an open window and we’re probably about a half mile away. There are a couple of thousand residents between here and there.

Bill and I walked through this afternoon after Bill got his RSV/Covid/Flu shot. He tried to get the RSV earlier but it’s only available to people 60 and up and he was but a wee lad of 59. The fireworks must be nearing their conclusion as it’s getting much louder. I did the bike ride again. North Bergen and back. About 12 miles more or less.

I posted a video on the social medias yesterday about the different types of pedestrians one comes across while bicycling. It was pretty much on the money. And today confirmed that. I wrote last week about having to use the Brazilian carnival whistle, almost always as a last resort.

Today was nothing but last resort. I did see online a device that sounds like an oncoming Mack truck which caught my attention. I thought what I had was good enough but having to use the whistle so often lately makes me think a louder effect will have to do.

The current device I have which seems to go unheard has 3 sounds, a bell, chimes, and a buzzer. It can’t compete with headphones or earbuds or indifference. After I was done with bicycling I went out again and met up with Bill, walking through the Italian feast. Bill knew someone he used to work with. I didn’t know anyone which makes me think they saw me first.

I’m presently quite tired. I was really tired earlier but I think I’ve gotten used to it. Bill and I watched the second part of the David Cross documentary and it made me want to watch the Sopranos again. So brutal, but so compelling.

Now we’re watching Sherlock, The Abominable Bride. I’ve seen it before and it’s one of the episodes I did not buy. Bill’s never seen it before and he likes it. It’s the episode which mainly takes place in the 1800’s.

Unfortunately, it is on during a pledge drive on Public Television. I would donate if they would cease begging for money once they got the money. I don’t need to spend $100 for a CD that I could get for $5. Or $85 for a rocks glass with Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing printed on the glass. With an image of a pipe. And I am not a pipeman.

Bill is so engrossed with the episode that he is going to stay up past his bedtime just so he can watch the end.

I went out earlier. It was overcast but manageable. I was only going a few blocks and then back home. I made it to the cigar store, picked up some sticks, and was hit by about 2 or 3 drops of rain. While chatting briefly with the guy behind the counter, Imran, I looked out the store window and saw people running.

Then sheets of water fell from the sky soon after I stepped out on the sidewalk. It didn’t seem so bad, then I turned onto 7th street which was right into the storm. Within a minute the front part of me was soaking wet, the backside not so much.

There was nothing I could do, so I just walked and made the most out of it. I don’t run these days and figured I’d be wet whether or not I walked or ran. I saw a young mother and daughter in a doorway, sheltering from the rain and said loudly ‘It’s wet!’ which made them laugh.

I was soon climbing the four flights and once through the door, was changing from my soggy duds. Even my underwear was soaked. I think it was from the rain. Since rain was on the horizon, I spent the day with Bill which has been nice.

I cooked the usual Saturday night dinner, penne, pesto and chicken. The experimentation continues and I admit to using Bill as a test subject. And to my delight, he likes it. Now we’re watching Anthony Jeselnik on YouTube. Very edgy and funny.

We caught a few minutes of a male choir singing contemporary hit songs which led me to a Key & Peele skit and down I went through a Key & Peele rabbit hole, presently winding up with Anthony Jeselnik. After this, who knows?

We are watching the two part documentary of David Chase on HBO. David Chase created the Sopranos back in the day. The Sopranos is still an amazing watch but the brutality is a bit much for my delicate self these days.

So, one of the voice notes I posted was about the Babbette brothers. They were friends of my brother Brian and our mutual friend, Dan Belle. One summer afternoon when I had a car, I picked up Dan and the Babbette brothers, going into the Village for records and whatnot.

I recall, going down Fifth Avenue by Washington Square Park. Since it was summer, there were a number of sexy people roaming the streets in the early 1980s. Now, the Babbette brothers were not particularly virile, on the contrary, they were on a spectrum of nerdiness.

And here were the Babbette brothers in the back of my moving car, hanging out the window and catcalling girls. I couldn’t believe it and I wasn’t having it either. I pulled over and asked what the fuck were they doing?

Dan Belle sat silently as I told the Babbette brothers to cut the shit or I will leave them right there on the sidewalk. I don’t know why the Babbette brother popped into my head but I thought it might be worth mentioning for this here blog. I don’t think I ever crossed paths again with the Babbette brothers. I remained friends with Dan Belle for several years and still connect on the social medias. The Babbette brothers are out there as well. I checked.