Author Archives: johnozed

About johnozed

I'm 50+ years old, 210-ish#, 6'2", reddish blonde, blue eyes with glasses (and without) masculine, funny, relatively intelligent, enjoy the company of assorted friends and family especially sordid friends and family. I love music, reading, writing, conversing, laughing, going to films, shows, concerts and smoking cigars. And I also enjoy looking nice in a suit and tie. Looking more like Lewis Lapham than Tom Wolfe. I'm sure there is more, but we'll just have to find out when I write about it. In a lifetime relationship with partner Bill Vila.

Sister Midnight

7 Replies

Well Saturday came and here it is. Turned out to be nice weather after a day and night of rain. Watched the TV last night, chatted with Juan before that. He made some suggestion about going out, I plead poverty. He lost his cellphone and doesn’t have internet where he’s been living at school. He did have a sketch of a plan to come up and visit his mother in Union City, so I told him to give me a call if he was in the area.

By 11:30 I was having difficulty staying awake so I went to bed, only to be woken by the buzzer at midnight. It was Juan looking to hang out. I was almost asleep and had to turn him down which sucked, but perhaps if I had gotten a phone call I would have made an effort. But he didn’t so I went back to sleep.

Then the phone rang and it was Bill calling to wish me a good night as well as tell me the latest tale of woe with regards to looking after his mother. I tried to reassure him that he should get some sleep and it might be better in the morning. When we spoke this morning things hadn’t gotten any better but they didn’t get any worse either. Poor Bill, at wit’s end. His mother can’t be left alone yet Bill has to get on with his day to day routine somehow.

I did my Saturday morning routine and shocked at what used to be cheaper a month or so ago has nearly doubled in price. Everything is getting more expensive. Even bagels which I now butter myself at home, thank you very much. Did the laundry, read the papers had breakfast. I also watched the Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer.

If you were a fan of the Fantastic Four like I was and knew the Silver Surfer saga you will be disappointed. A real must to avoid. Stick to the comic books. I still want to see Iron Man though, which would probably be the first time I listen to a Black Sabbath song with out the urge to leave the room.

Decided to head into the city after that. Took the Path train in and got off at Christopher Street which I hadn’t done in a long time, not in a year maybe. Walked around neighborhoods that were very different years ago. Favorite stores gone, even Washington Square Park is being redone. I think they were re-centering the fountain that used to be in the middle, a little off of center, which added to the charm but the new powers that be decided it must be aligned with something so now a good portion of the park has been dug up, behind fences and unaccessible. The Bottom Line is gone, Tower Records is gone, and we all know CBGB’s is gone too, and Washington Square isn’t the same. .

Sheridan Square/Christopher Street

Sixth Avenue and West 4th Street

Washington Square Park

The former Bottom Line

formerly Tower Records

Lafayette Street and Fourth Avenue

I walked up Lafayette Street, overhearing a conversation on Leslie Van Houten, one of the Manson Girls. Walked up to 110 Fourth Avenue which is where the best god damned card shop in Manhattan is, known as Farfetched. Farfetched is owned by Susan Zappone and Lois Marsilio, 2 old friends of Harpy’s that I’ve known about 10 years now. Farfetched is a fascinating store full of knick knacks and do dads and the occasional whatnot. Harpy was working with Susan and the atmosphere was full of happiness and good music. The customers were plenty and in need of a lot of attention, excepting the steadfast customers who have been shopping at Farfetched since 1945. I believe Harry Truman bought himself a picture frame on a whistle stop tour of Manhattan in 1947. Either Truman or Eisenhower, I don’t know, I could be wrong on that count.

Harpy and Susan at Farfetched

I then walked around a bit, chatted with Annemarie on the phone too near cell phone dead zones and avoided the recently infested with bed bugs, Union Square. I walked up Park Avenue, puffing on a Padron and listening to the B-52’s Funplex which gets better each time I play it and I’ve been playing it once a day at least.

Walked up to 33rd Street so I could finish my cigar and get a seat on the Path train back to Hoboken. An uneventful ride with me reading ‘God is Not Great’ by Christopher Hitchens. Hoboken was busy, people walking up and down the boulevard and shopping. Since tomorrow is Mother’s Day, the card and gift shops were busy, which explains the busyness of Farfetched.

Pretty Pretty

Abstraction

Good doggy

Cement crib

Pigeon frenzy

Got a call from Julio, he was out shopping for Mother’s day gifts and I shopped with him for a bit. Of course we hit the card and gift shops and after spending time in Farfetched I headed out to the street to wait. I ran into Steve Pierson a former executive director from my Wanker Banker days. He was with his wife Stacy and their darling daughter of 20 months, Abby. Steve is a nice guy, he grabbed my arm as I was headed out to wait and got my attention. He and Stacy moved to Hoboken a few years ago. He’s a really nice guy, a bit right wing but I don’t hold it against him.

Looks great in a suit and tie though, really woof. I did have a chemically fueled discussion over cigars and drinks (I was fueled he wasn’t) at a holiday party a few years ago. About Bush. He was for him, and guess who wasn’t? I think I’ve been proven right, but it didn’t come up. They left and I wished Steve’s wife a happy Mother’s Day.

Julio bought all the proper things for Mother’s Day, presents for his wife who’s a new mom, a card from their son for Mother’s day and as well as for his grandmother, Julio’s mom. Julio told me he was going to be an uncle, his sister Maria is having twins. Baby crazy I tell you. None for me thanks.

Pimpin’ ain’t easy

Don’t Play That Song

Leave a reply

Well it’s an early posting today, so far at least. It also a rainy wet day. Nothing but rain. No mater how you dressed you were going to get wet. Last night I watched Daily Show and Colbert Report. Daily Show had Hank Hill’s father on it, Cotton Hill. No wait, that was John McCrazy. I couldn’t watch it so I played music while the old coot rambled on and on about what a nice guy he is. We know he’s a nutter and not trustworthy. And by we, I am including or incriminating you, dear reader.
C

So far I’ve missed three weeks of My Name is Earl and Scrubs. I have them recorded so there’s not much to worry about in that department, if worry is the right word to use. I did watch The Office which hit the degree of being uncomfortable that it used to. That humor which is funny yet makes you squirm. Job fairs and golfing were the themes, with Michael making one’s skin crawl accordingly.

30 Rock was near madcap brilliance of course and that was due to Alec Baldwin once again with support from Matthew Broderick as well as Dean Winters playing Liz Lemon’s low rent on again off again boyfriend. No one can play sleaze quite like Dean Winters. And good old Kenneth trying to get to the Beijing Olympics with help from Jenna was cute.

After that was Lost which was pretty good, minimal Jack which is usually a good thing. Too convoluted a plot line to get involved with here, so I recommend you go to the Entertainment Weekly website for recaps and theories about the episode. Way too myriad for me. Went to bed, woke up not wanting to get out of bed but since I arranged for Lydia to have the day off so she can spend time with her Japanese Brazilian boyfriend, I had to go in.

For the first hour it seemed that I would be solo but as the morning progressed one or two people trickled in. A total of 5 people came in out of 10. Around noon, Vivek made an appearance, saying that I could go home around 2PM. I stayed until 3PM. I asked him about the receptionist position and he said yes, we would need one for the summer.

Then I told him what Greg Stevens had to say about it yesterday and he effectively turned the matter over to Tom Chin who once again doesn’t know what the fuck he is talking about. So the ball is still up in the air vis a vis Juan working for me during the summer. Sorry Juan, no definite answer yet.

So I left at 3PM, hopped on the E train to the bus terminal where I got in the queue for the bus which was surprising to see so many people who had also left work early. Luckily I got a seat, unluckily I almost got an eye poked out by a umbrella with a jerk attached to it talking to his friend about the most mundane topics. Perhaps if the subject were more interesting I wouldn’t mind getting stabbed in the eye.

He was so annoying that I got off the bus a stop early just to get away from him. I didn’t mind walking in the rain and I noticed he got out at the next stop. I could see his gigantic red and white umbrella in the distance as he tried to mange walking with an umbrella and talking on a cell phone at the same time. I easily overtook him as he fumbled. Made it home, dried myself off and here I am. That’s about it for now.

No one except for dear Harpy commented on the MOJO letter, he being just as confused by the header as I was. I emailed MOJO about it this afternoon, no reply as of yet.