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 Keep On Lovin’ You

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Back at the cigar shack and writing on the fly. Tonight I go to where eagles dare. Specifically I am going to the Eagle to drum up business for the cigar shack vis a vis the gay community. Hello bears, hey there leathermen, come with me to the man cave in midtown. It should make for an interesting night.

The weather seems better than predicted so it shouldn’t be so bad. I am able to leave the cigar shack a half hour early since the goddamned aerie is not easily accessible to public transportation. One part of me suggests taking a cab from 111th Ave to the nest and other part of me says take the train down to Chelsea and perhaps catch a crosstown bus.

Already I am planning my escape route, a cabbage from the Eagle to the Path train. That’s what I did last time and it seemed to have worked out fine, so why shouldn’t it tonight?

Today was also the day that Zack wanted my progress report back. They were handed out at the staph meeting and we were told to look them over and make some comments or suggestions on how we can improve ourselves. Well the thing is I agreed with the majority of what Zack had to say and decided on a more aggressive response.

My faux Zen outlook hasn’t served me well so I suppose being a cutthroat like my coworkers might be the way to go. So far it has served me somewhat well. Things seem to be getting back to what passes for normal both here and in the outside world.

Thomas is hovering around like a gnat from time to time, watching what it is that I write, or what websites I visit. Usually when that happens I shut everything down, clear the history cache and move away from the computer so that he can send yet another email to his girlfriend.

Keeping in mind that he is a mere 25 I can only make sure he has enough rope. It promises to be a swinging party.

On the bus this morning I listened to Charles Trenet singing La Mer. AT work shortly after I came in it was Michael Buble singing Beyond the Sea. Right now near the cigar shack, Time Magazine and it’s 100 Influential Doorknobs is going on. Cardinal Dolan is expected. Will his presence bring about a ‘sic semper tyrannis’ moment? One could hope.

I am leavbing in less than an hour. Did not expect to be able to write all this but here I did it. Close to 500, not the usual 600 as I’ve been doing lately. Thomas returns, the hovering will start so an abrupt end is expected.

Talking Heads Naked is playing. Didn’t care for it much when it came out, but after seeing Buena Vista Soical Club and developing a taste for Latin Rhythms, I finally got it, once again too late really. heading out soon enough. Weather permitting.

Back home now. Was it worthwhile? Hard to say, only time will tell.


back to the PATH


01 Pop Muzik
Persona non grata, that’s me!

I Keep Forgettin’ (Everytime You’re Near)

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Well yesterday turned out to be a washout. It started with me sleeping in bed, Bill hovering over me at 6:45 telling me we were going to have to get a move on. I told him my alarm clock was set for 7AM and to leave me alone for the next 15 minutes. I was able to get another few minutes of slumber in before I trudged through the apartment and into the shower.

Bill had the cereal all set up for me as well as some coffee brewing. I showered and got myself together and threw on a pair of jeans. Outside it was gray skies all around. Soon we were waiting for the bus under threatening skies. Bill had butterflies in his stomach, I had coffee and raisin bran. We walked over to the subway once we got off the bus and out of the terminal.

A 7 train was waiting for us and soon we were en route to Flushing. People getting on and off as we sat there staring out the window. We got off at Willets Point/CitiField, with no one else getting off there. We walked to the Gil Hodges entrance after a few cursory photographs, and were told that we had to wait until we heard from the guy who Bill has been communicating with.

We waited, it drizzled. Bill talked to his cousin Carmen on the phone and I looked around the empty parking lot. Finally Bill got in touch with the guy and we were finally allowed in at around 9:45. We were escorted to the Guest Room and Bill did his warm ups and I read the New Yorker. I also had a cup of coffee thanks to Bill who had to take a walk just to get out of the claustrophobic room.

The guy Bill had been dealing with reappeared and it was time for the sound check. Bill did great in the sound check, sang the National Anthem and God Bless America. They threw God Bless America at Bill at the last minute and Bill was up for the task. It’s a lousy song by the way and I much prefer This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie, written in response to Irving Berlin’s God Bless America.

I did record the sound check and tried to upload it to Facebook and the internet but it didn’t take, in fact I lost everything. My smartphone has been acting up lately much to my dismay and I was upset at the loss. About 45 minutes later with a knock on the door we were told that the game had been called due to rain.

So it was back outside to the subway, past hundreds of fans trying to get their Tom Seaver bobble head dolls. We were both disappointed but not surprised. All week long the forecast had been for rain and now it was raining. A bus ride home, and some bagels were bought once we were back in Hoboken. I ate breakfast and Bill relaxed.

He was fine most of the day, even going so far as to be ME in dealing with my phone service. It turned out I had a corrupted SD Card which we replaced after a walk to Radio Shack. Bill handles the customer service reps better than me. I seem to come down with Tourette’s Syndrome when I have to deal with these people. The day ended with some Grimaldi’s Pizza. It was good to spend the day with Bill but overall we would have preferred to have heard him sing in front of thousands of Mets fans.






02 – Dancing Barefoot