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.

Traveling

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Tom Verlaine Traveling was an earworm this morning. It’s a song that made its way onto various mixtapes that I made way back when, in 1984. I can think of at least three people who got mix tapes with that song on them. It is a good song, I like it, but in hindsight, perhaps I overplayed it myself. I remember my brother played the import album of Cover on his radio show on WFMU.

And I had mentioned to him that I couldn’t believe that Tom Verlaine still had an American record contract, and someone, I think it was Mike Mountain, phoned up Frank, my brother, to let him know that he shouldn’t say things like that because Tom Verlaine was probably listening and that he still had an American record contract. Which, in fact, he did.

This morning, the PATH train was not running from Hoboken to Manhattan due to track breakage, which meant I had to take the bus and then a subway, which was a hassle, but I still got to work a few minutes early.

Marcus had a lot to say this morning, which is odd since Marcus rarely speaks in the morning, but we had an interesting talk about online shopping and buyer’s remorse. Then it was an online meeting with my peers, and it was also announced that I would be working at NYC 14/11 Penn Plaza for a few days next week, which is what I did yesterday, and didn’t like i,t so my discomfort will be stretched out to a few days next week.

I, of course, have no say in the matter, and we’ll have to go no matter what. I took a photograph of myself and found that I looked so much like my late brother Frank, it was unnerving. I sent it to my sister, who responded with omg. Mike was supposed to have his beloved visit again this weekend he couldn’t make it last weekend, and so this weekend he’s not making it again.

And Mike seems okay with it. It does seem to be a bit much, but that’s what he wants and that’s what he’s getting, which is nothing. I suppose I could take photographs with him on Saturday if he’d like, if he asks, but he has not, and as the date approaches, the window of opportunity gets smaller and smaller.

Just had some words with a man wearing a Neil Young and Crazy Horse- Love Earth t-shirt. He had more teeth in his head than I do, but his crucial teeth in the front were missing. A former Roman Catholic, he claimed that he predicted the shutdown of the government was going to happen and heard it as it happened. I asked for $1, and I gave him two. He asked for five, and I said no.

I tried to drink coconut water at least once a week to prevent leg cramps. Sometimes that coconut whatever lasts two weeks, I believe I had one last week, a can of coconut water, only to be disturbed this morning while sleeping with a leg cramp, but it was severe enough to get my attention.

chim chim cheree

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Jungle Love by Steve Miller Band
Chim chim cheree from Mary Poppins
2 songs in my head this morning.

NYC 14. Midtown, across from the Garden. A homeless guy who used to be a hassle in Tribeca was spotted by me on 31st Street. He was across from the homeless kitchen and focused on that, and chanting. He did not see me as I quickened my pace, not wanting any sense of remembrance.

On my way in this morning, I remembered everything except for my bottle of water. I went to J&M at 3rd and Garden.

I came into the fruit stand and was greeted with a hug from Janice.
I just told Marcus to stop throwing his nuts at me.
He was eating peanuts while also visiting this particular fruit stand. It shut him down.

This office space was where I initially started with the fruit stand. I much prefer the fruit stand downtown. Not that I have any say in the matter.

I am working alongside Kimberley, which is a good thing. She’s a 25-year-old sweetheart. Very pretty and clever, Kimberley is.

Being at a different fruit stand, I was not able to stretch out like I usually do. Adaptation was in order. Not that it mattered much. Any apprehension I might have had the past couple of weeks had fallen by the wayside, seeing how things are done with the fruit pickers around me showed me that the way I’ve been doing things was the same way they mostly have been doing things.

Right now, I am pretty much tired. I feel like I could go to sleep right now, but Bill mentioned that if I did, I would likely wake up at 2 AM, and that would not be good for anyone. I have been sleeping well the past couple of nights, not taking any chances. We’ve been running the air conditioner, which may or may not have had a positive effect on my slumber. This weekend we’ll see how that theory holds up.

Being at a different fruit stand, I could not work on this entry like I’ve been doing lately. In fact, I am presently typing these words. It’s just as well since dictating into the phone has been hit or miss, since the phone’s mic seems to work when it wants to, not when I want it to.

It seems my typing has fallen off somewhat today, or at least right now. It was sketchy at work as well, but not like now. I’m more relaxed than I was earlier, and Grammarly keeps its watchful eye on each keystroke.

I am inching toward the 500-word discipline, and it’s an uphill slog. But I persevere, and with each stroke of the keys, I am closer to attaining that goal.

So many political campaign ads are running and will continue to run for the next month. So much negativity, though Bill and I are firmly in the blue camp and thankful we are not in the New York City district, just across the river, where the New Jersey gubernatorial campaign leaves a lot to be desired.