A nice day today, though I am indoors, in air conditioning. I heard that it was quite humid out today, the air quite thick. Back at the fruit stand that I like. It’s Marcus’ penultimate day at the fruit stand. I believe it is the only job that he has had, having come to the fruit stand right out of college. 7 years is enough for him and I sort of understand his point of view. He’s in his thirties and looking to make a change. And he has a child that he is trying to place in private school and that costs a lot of money.

Janis mentioned how much Marcus made, and compared it to how much she has made. It’s more than me that’s for sure. Janis and I are closer in income than Marcus and me, or Marcus and Janis. I bear no grudge and have no jealousy.

I remember working at the HBJ warehouse. Laszlo, who I used to work with had left, moving onto something else. He was out of the employment picture and when we crossed paths again, he belittled me for remaining where I was. That set me off and I wound up looking for work elsewhere.

My luck was running out at the book publishing company anyway. A company called the 1330 Company swept me up. They were based somewhere in Tennessee or Kentucky. The job was to drive around in their van, using their tools and materials and go to dentist offices to place racks for pamphlets and whatever regarding modern dentistry and procedures.

Once when in training I took the HBJ van to go to a seminar in Queens by LaGuardia airport. This was back in the day when smoking was allowed everywhere. I was also smoking pot at that time and would stash a joint in the pack of Marlboros I was smoking.

A crumb of the joint fell out and wound up in the cigarette. I lit up and was oblivious to the situation and wondered why everyone was looking at me ‘that way’. It didn’t matter, I had the job and soon left HBJ for the 1330 company. It was not a good fit and I left a few months later.

A friend of mine, Kartha Meavney, got me a job at the messenger company she worked with, En Route. It was right around the corner from where I am right now. That was not a good fit either and I left that job for Friedman, Alpren and Greene, an accounting firm that was at 53rd and Broadway. It was a grown-up job working with Tyree Thomas and Patricia McKnight.

Tyree was a good guy, he had a plan for us to all get together for New Years Eve in 1999. It never happened. I left Freidman Alpren and Greene soon after that, after I felt snubbed by some coworkers on Broadway. I was walking down Broadway, they were walking up.

I said hello and they acted like they didn’t know me. It was a good job though but my ego was wounded. It was also where I bought my Fender acoustic guitar and sang across the street after work in McCann’s bar. I sang Dirty Old Town and Walking After Midnight