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 Just Came Back From A War

Yesterday was Sunday and today is Monday. Yesterday was Easter and today isn’t. Yesterday was work and today is a day off. It was a long and slow day at the cigar shack and not much money was made. I would go so far as to say more money was spent paying salaries for Zack, Jerry Vale & myself than what came in. Maybe, it was a stab in the dark.

It wasn’t too bad. I wrote the cigar shack blog yesterday and added the photographs of David and Joseph and me in the humidor, as well as some other photographs. Zack usually makes some editorial suggestions and I follow them, but there wasn’t much in the suggestion department, just an idea to remove something that was a joke. Once I told Zack it was a joke he didn’t bring it up again. He thinks I am a good writer and I accept his praise. He’s published a book of poetry a few years ago so he certainly has a leg up on me.

The day did crawl and Jerry Vale nabbed the lion’s share of sales. I walked down to the bus terminal after work, 19 minutes, 49 seconds is what it took. From Modern English’ Life in the Gladhouse to Echo & the Bunnymen’s Heaven Up Here, I blazed a trail, avoiding tourists (tons of them) and walking in the street to avoid them.

The usual problem with my fellow commuters, on weekends courtesy is thrown out the window. People don’t seem to realize that schedules are kept and missing a bus could happen by mere seconds. It was a long day like I wrote and I had no patience for my fellow riders. And my antipathy was palpable. I sat by myself and ignored the people that pissed me off. I probably pissed them off as well anyhow.

Bill was fast asleep when I was home by 8:00 last night and I just let him sleep. He needed the rest and he wound up sleeping throughout the night, about 9.5 hours. I watched Bob’s Burgers which is one of the funniest shows on TV, then the season premiere of Nurse Jackie which blew me away. No spoilers here, but Bobby Canavale was on it and I would watch him in anything.

After that I watched The Big C which I totally missed last season and I enjoyed its return last night. It was good but not as good as I remembered. Still I was happy to watch it. After that was Mad Men which was very good and intense at parts. I did guess one thing right, though I did have to rewind the DVR to make sure I saw what I thought I saw.

Today was mellow. Bill was up and out as I lay sleeping, giving me the customary good bye kiss. I got up got some things together and headed out after a few cups of coffee, getting a hair cut from my barber Tony. His arm isn’t getting better and I fear the opportunities to get groomed by him will be running out soon. He was cheerful as he cut and cleaned me. Trimmed down my goatee, which was laden with white hair.

Then a trip to the supermarket. My favorite cashier, Isis was training someone so I got on a different line which took forever, but I didn’t mind. I came home to a nice breakfast before a stroll around Hoboken. I went in a different direction this time, heading north and winding up above 14th Street. A walk back home, then followed by a nap.

I woke up a little while after that and decided to head out. People coming home, walking up Washington Street from the Path train, me walking in the opposite direction. I picked up last week’s New Yorker since it wasn’t delivered to me and did some window shopping. A meatball hero purchase was the goal which I got and brought home for dinner instead of cooking.

Back to work tomorrow with a staph meeting at the end, followed by a visit to Maxwells to say hello to Steve Fallon. I am more excited about seeing Steve than anything else. Will I write? Will I have time to write? I do try to get a few words in while at work, but with a full staph and Thomas lurking about it seems unlikely.

No guarantees.







05 Computer Love

I Just Called To Say I Love You

I did the smart thing today. I took a Xanax before coming in. I knew I was working with Bradley and Thomas and Bradley is becoming more and more human lately whereas Thomas has been getting on my wick. I didn’t need any stress and Thomas has been the typhoid Mary of stress lately. He’s also a shark.

I knew that from the beginning when he came on board at the cigar shack and he’s been tolerable with regards to that. But today, he swiped two customers from me, unknowingly he claimed but still the deed was done. I helped out a customer and took a second to make sure I had the correct item to write up. By that time, the customer was at the register being rung up by Thomas under Thomas name. The customer was so kind as to thank me personally for helping him, in front of Thomas, but it did not seem to register.

Then just a few minutes agoo, a customer walked in, me chatting with him, headed to the humidor when Thomas strikes up a conversation about Ralph Lauren and proceeds to escort the customer into the humidor. I threw my hands up in exasperation and decided I would sit the rest of the time that Thomas would be working, away from Thomas, and sit in the man cave.

He’s a dick, he’s a shark, he’s an only child, he’s Thomas. And if I have to listen to the pearls of wisdom that fall from his lips regarding South Park or Family Guy I might just lose it. Whatever ‘it’ is, it maybe lost. He alsomtold me how he wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day I had off but switched so he could have off with his family. I told him at least he wasn’t working, and he replied, ‘Oh yeah. Thanks for switching.’

But he’s gone now and here I am, eating a banana on the sly as stragglers walk by the cigar shack, occasionally looking in the window, occasionally looking at Magilla Gorilla.

Brian Eno is singing how he would come running to tie my shoes which is a sweet sentiment. I would run to Bill to tie his shoes and I know he would do the same for me. The last 17 minutes on a Saturday in a holiday weekend truly makes this area like a cemetery.

I did have two online friends from a cigar group come in. Joseph and David, up from Delaware to visit the auto show at the Javits Center. Big burly guys, and quite nice. We’ve chatted online a few times and made the arrangements. A handsome couple they are.

I hooked them up with some cigars and set them up in the man cave. The two of them sitting in arm chairs while the usual suspects eyed them somewhat warily from the table, wondering why they were getting such care and attention from me, care and attention to such a degree that the usual suspects would never ever get from me.

Familiarity does breed contempt and I am quite familiar with these guys.

Tomorrow is Easter, and here is my Easter joke.

Easter is when Jesus emerges from his tomb and if he sees his shadow it’s six more weeks of lent.

It’s my joke, a joke a made years ago. Happy Spring!


Black Israelites, yelling & being ignored


Cigarmen David & Joseph with me in between


Have a Cigar