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.

I Know A Place

777-9311 by The Time is playing right now. I remember having an in depth discussion with Peter Holsapple of the dB’s when he was working at the Music Maze at 23rd and Third in the city and when I was totally enamored with the dB’s. He explained what sounded like a drum machine was actually Jimmy Johnson and here we are 30 years later and it still sounds incredible.

Yesterday was a day off and it went well. I did my usual shuffle about Hoboken, Bill came home from his reading and it sounded like a very good reading, something I should have attended if only I was invited. He stayed up for a little while before going to bed and I watched the Daily SHow, followed by The Colbert Report.

I usually watch the Daily Show in the morning but I was planning on being busy this morning. I had a meeting with a company that liked what they saw when they came into the cigar shack a week ago. I would like to think the meeting went well but I really couldn’t say since it was up to them and not me.

It lasted about 45 minutes, met with 2 representatives from a well placed cigar manufacturer. I think they are trying to pick my brain about how the big cheeses run things and since Zack is unavailable for somethings and Bradley being a possum at times, they asked me and how could I refuse? It was eerily close to the cigar shack anyhow so I had to watch who I saw when I entered and exited the building.

Beautiful loft space where the meeting was held, so much so that I felt the view warranted a picture. I left feeling pretty good about myself, no trade secrets given away. A slow and easy walk to the cigar shack was had afterwards, heading in the opposite direction, then turning around and retracing my steps.

There was Bradley, sitting on Zack’s throne since Zack was off doing a public access radio show downtown for most of the morning. Bradley of course felt like he was the big man and Thomas and I let him think that he was. He’s not that tall so opportunities like this don’t come around too often.

Lunchtime came at the right time for me so I was able to sit on a bench near the park once again and read Retromania while smoking a damaged cigar. It wasn’t unsmokable but you realy can’t sell a $20.00 cigar with such obvious defects on it. And Retromania is entertaining though a bit dry. It’s rare that I read a book that you have to meet halfway where most of the other books just open up and fall into your lap.

I did hear about a dirpy program that allows you to convert videos into mp3’s. My niece mentioned it last summer but never came through on the details. Now I have the details and I was going through my favorites on YouTube but it turned out I have just about everything I want (a major subject of Retromania), so I downloaded Robert Wyatt singing Shipbuilding which it turns out I had 3 downloads of it already.

C’est la vie. The hope thing is springing eternal and the waiting game goes on.





06 When You Dance I Can Really Love

I Know A Little

Well today was a day off. Yesterday wasn’t. Yesterday was working with Thomas and Jerry Vale. Thomas and I finally had our talk, about how upset I was when he stole a customer from me. According to Bill when I am upset with someone I freeze them out, or in Bill’s words I send them to Siberia.

I got that from my father. Not the best way to handle a situation, but it beats biting someone’s head off. But the talk was had and Thomas seemed contrite, saying that if he ever does that to me again to let him know and he would rectify the situation. It made for an easy afternoon.

Jerry Vale was out of sorts though. He messed up a shipping order earlier in the week and still has difficulty on the cash registers. So after all this time, he still needs to be watched closely. I came home last night, closing my register and leaving Jerry Vale in the shop. He’s been hiding out there avoiding his roommate until it is time to go home.

I had a cigar and walked down the avenue to the bus stop. It was a great feeling knowing that I had a single day off which is better than no day off. On Saturday the sales were very good and warranted an email from Zack telling us what a good job we had performed. Yesterday the sales were not as good therefore no email was forthcoming. I had top sales both days by the way which was nice.

I got home, Bill fast asleep. I chatted with him as he slept and grumbled, eventually watching Nurse Jackie which was very good thanks to the appearance of Rosie Perez. The Big C was also very good as well, once again with guest stars Susan Saradon and Victor Gerber.

I saw John Benjamin Hickey on the street the other day, he plays Laura Linney’s brother. Being in New York I didn’t say anything or make a scene. I think I saw Rupert Murdoch the other day as I was heading into work. He had a big bodyguard as he left the overpriced supermarket nearby. I didn’t say anything to him though I did meet him twice before. I shook his hand which felt like I was squeezing mashed potatoes and thanked him for the great party that I was attending.

I watched Mad Men which was good but not as good as the week before which had Roger’s trip on LSD as the centerpiece. I stayed up for a while watching the news and whatnot, Bill had gotten out of bed for a little while before heading back.

This morning I had a telephone interview which went well. Whether or not anything comes of it remains to be seen. I can’t afford to invest hope in these matters since my spirit gets crushed each and every time. So ambivalence is the way to go.

I called Bill as I do most mornings and tried to tell him about the interview that I just had but he wasn’t much interested since I had so many of these things the past few years. I should try apathy next time he goes up for an audition. I won’t but the devil on my shoulder insists.

I also heard from Pedro who I had no contact with for the past few months. He wrote that he hates my Trayvon Martin Facebook hoodie profile picture, labeling it white guilt. He’s getting to be more of a reactionary conservative (probably because of the lack of contact between us, me offering the liberal voice of things which usually opens his mind somewhat).

For me there was no white guilt involved, it had more to do with a sense of injustice. Of course I didn’t tell Pedro that, the guy who was so upset when Radio Raheem gets killed by the police in Do The Right Thing.

My how we’ve grown since 1989.

there is a hawk in this photo


10 Five Years