Category Archives: Communication Breakdowns

I Lost It

It’s a Saturday and it’s been a good day. Bill came home this morning from driving a bus to and from Atlantic City once again. I of course stayed home and watched TV. I’ve never been to Atlantic City and I’m not a gambler so I guess I would sit on the beach down there, that is if people still do that sort of thing. I haven’t been to the beach yet and I suppose I will once Annemarie gets to town in a matter of a couple of weeks. It should be nice having the chance to chill out on the ocean and think once again how nice it would be to have a house down there.

I’ve been busy enough today, some more grocery shopping, some more laundry and picking up Bill’s dry cleaning as well as several walks past the barbershop. Almost every time I walked by, my barber Tony had someone in his chair. Since I live but a few doors down from the barbershop, I just turn around and head home rather than sit there watching other people get their hair cut. Just when I resigned myself to probably getting my hair cut on Monday, I walked by once more and there was Tony on the street.

I sat, Tony cut and we talked. My hair is so thick that it’s like wearing a hat so I needed to do something since it’s been so hot out that I sweat while sleeping, waking up to damp pillows which is no fun. Tony tells me a lot of guys would like to have hair as thick as mine, so I shouldn’t complain. Now I have the summer haircut, no muss, no fuss and not even a comb or brush is needed since it is that short.

I played guitar last night and I think I sounded good. This afternoon I played and it sounded like crap. Perhaps I was more open minded and nimble with the fingers. Maybe it’s because I was alone. Bill was getting ready while I played this afternoon and he doesn’t criticize, especially since he doesn’t know the rock and roll stuff I attempt to play. Still it was muffed chords and a general let down as far as I am concerned. Luckily I tried it at home, thinking I was going to go to the river and play but I knew it would not be a good idea.

Maybe later I will play again as my guitar stands there looking forlorn. But now I am getting hungry and will eat after I write this. No plans for tonight, I still have the Elephant Man to watch on DVD. I also have Withnail & I which might be a bit more entertaining. Last time I saw that was when it first came out, when there was a cinema underneath Carnegie Hall. I liked it but as time moved on, I read more and more things about it, making me think it warranted another look so perhaps that look will occur tonight.

After I eat, I will go out and walk off dinner, perhaps have a cigar by the river and read some of the Love & Rockets stuff I have. I still have Mojo & Uncut to read, but those magazines deserve a special time and place to be read and since I will have them forever and the Love & Rockets stuff is from the library and will have to be returned I am prioritizing I guess. Tomorrow is Gay Pride day, so happy Pride to friends and supporters of the LGBT world. Don’t know what Bill wants to do about it, surely we will watch the fireworks but between him coming home and going to sleep, and the fireworks there are a few hours to fill.

Happy Gay Pride 2012!

Bill 6.23.07




2-07 Long, Long, Long 2

I Like It- Gerry & the Pacemakers

The first time I saw Daniel Rodriguez was probably over 20 years ago. He was an occultist then, dressed in black almost all the time with a pentagram hanging around his neck. I never really spoke to him, nothing more than the small talk one says when conducting a transaction. I was working at the Little Shop of Video in Hoboken back then and came across a lot of people when I was there. There were regulars like Susan Howard that came in almost every day with her dog, there were guys that had positions very deep inside city hall renting transgendered porn almost daily.

I still see these patrons from time to time on the street and usually think to myself, ‘I wonder if he ever returned ‘She Male Action Volume 6’. They’re older now and collect nice city pensions while sitting on benches watching their waistlines expand with every passing day.

The owner of the store was a nice guy, Peter Kressley. When I first met him I could have sworn he was gay, he was with his number 2 guy, Leonard and they were so close it led me to believe that they were a couple. It wasn’t until I met Peter’s wife Karen that I figured out what was what.

I just brought that up since I had just seen Daniel Rodriquez on the street, he didn’t recognize me but I recognized him. Time has not been kind to Daniel Rodriquez. The Little Shop of Video was one of the retail gigs I had in the past.

Another retail gig I had was at Pier Platters in Hoboken. That was owned by 2 friends of mine from Maxwells and it was not a steady job. I was on the list of people to call when the regular staff couldn’t make it. It mainly was a job where I sat behind the counter and rang up CD’s and vinyl. It was around the corner from the main store as this shop was set up to sell mainly CD’s which at the time were new. The vinyl was used and I snagged a few choice albums from people who were trading their old stuff in so they could get it on CD. Pier Platters faded away though, a victim of rising rents.

Then there was Farfetched. I first started working at the Fourth Avenue shop in the Village in 1997. I met Susan at a party at the Paramount Hotel that Harpy was throwing for his then girlfriend. Farfetched had just gotten robbed at gunpoint by a guy named Delroy Kemp. Susan and Harry discussed having a man work the shop and until they could find one, I would do.

There was a bit of a worry that I would play nothing but reggae since I was deeply immersed in the reggae world. I worked with Susan and her business partner Lois, and their friend Denise. It was a good place to work, once again called on to sit in for whoever couldn’t work. I enjoyed my time there and I am still in close contact with Susan and Lois and of course Harpy.

I told Susan and Lois at Harpy’s party that Farfetched spoiled me, that they had my back as much as I had theirs. They had no illusions of grandeur, and it was always a good time to work there, even during the hellish holiday season. Farfetched fell victim to the times, rising rents and a zealous neighbor who coveted their space.

I always think of Lois and Susan when I have a glass of Riesling.



Talk Talk – Lifes What You Make It The Fluke Remix