The day didn’t start out so good. Rather the commute didn’t. I couldn’t find my Path Quick fare card and I think I might’ve left it at the turnstile like a dodo. No wonder they went extinct. They lost their Quick fare cards at the turnstiles. So I had to pay for a one way trip and waited for a second for it to be returned to me from the turnstile. Dodo redo.

The day was ok otherwise. A glitch here, a glitch there, but nothing out of hand and they were easily remedied. The most major thing was the fact that a decanter broke when I was filling it with coffee to put in the refrigerator. It went crack and promptly spilled lukewarm coffee all over the counter. So it looks like I’ll have to buy the replacement. Felicia was out of the office. She reminds me of Brenda from Six Feet under a bit. Maybe not, it was fleeting thought.

I had an appointment to meet up with an old Rasta pal, Jesse in midtown and jumped on the subway. On the way to see Jesse I ran into another old Rasta pal, my friend Marcus’ woman, Marcia. She hasn’t been in town much but picked me out of the crowd. We always got along fine Marcia and I. I used to bring her hot chocolate if it was cold out or water if it was hot, when I worked at Wanker Banker. It was generally appreciated by both parties, Marcia and myself.

I walked through Bryant Park, talking about Marcus and his brothers, Clarence, Kenneth and Jamal. I knew them all fairly well. I don’t know if they knew me very well. Sexuality never came up. The brothers stayed in one apartment, Marcus in one of a few crash pads that he had. I ate dinner at the brother’s apartment a few times, all Ital food. No blood food. Very good stuff. The three of them were all good cooks.

I’d usually catch a train back to Manhattan and then a dollar van to Weehawken, all red eyed and reeking. I was oblivious, just coming back from a party. It was great to see Marcia. She and Marcus split up and she seems to be doing fine. My friend Miriam and I can’t seem to figure out how old Marcus is. She claims that he’s fairly older than us, since he has gnarly bony hands. Sure, why not?

Hello AARP Mon.

I found some Gauloises in midtown after I saw Marcia I visited a store I used to buy my Gauloises from. I chatted with the guy behind the counter. The guy who I’ve spoken to and seen for years and never got his name, nor he mine. He didn’t have Gauloises but said the guy around the corner with a store just like his, has them. They might be old, but he’s got ‘em. I walked over there and sure enough there was the familiar blue pouches offering comfort and unmentionable things.

I snapped them up… like someone snaps up a dropped Quick card.

I then walked back to the other guy who sent me there and thanked him for the tip. Walked the route I used to walk hundreds of times to the Path train. Had to buy another Quick card.

Tried to work it out with Transit check but it was a fiasco that is unresolved until 8:00 tomorrow morning.

Bill was at his folks after having an infection dug out of his back by a dermatologist. He was scheduled to spend the night at his parents anyway. He had an infection under his skin and it started to make its presence known through a rather unpleasant odor. So he hightailed it to a dermatologist who hooked him up with a hack. So there is a hole that needs dressing on occasion and that’s something that doesn’t sound like fun since I’m the one who will be changing it.

It’s a cyst! A cyst filled with old sweat, which became infected. And funky, not in a good way. I will be changing the dressing soon. He said that before I go to bed I would see it. Julio calls it the bacon. He had to do the same thing with his ex-roommate years ago. Nearly the exact same situation. I had a crush on Julio’s ex-roommate years ago and he had a cyst on his back. Am I attracted to men with cysts on their back? Is there a support group? Or a chat room?

It was a busy day. I woke up out of sorts, since Bill was at his folk’s. I stumbled about the apartment and had my breakfast. Walked to the Path train, and got off at Christopher Street, all the while listening to Burning Spear, “Social Living”. I had to set up once again for a breakfast meeting and pulled it off. The other day I had to purchase more food than I originally ordered. It went untouched and I was reimbursed.

It turns out though, that the meeting was cancelled. No one told me so I was off the hook on that matter. I was able to have a muffin and some grapes. The day was fairly quiet. Felicia had her thing going on regarding her cancer treatment. I was able to work at a relaxed pace which was easy since a lot of people were out.

I wonder though, if Felicia is leaving the company. I recall after my first interviews I saw a listing on Glocap.com for the office manager position in Soho for an advertising agency. I applied to it then and was considered and declined. And this situation with Felicia makes me wonder.

High drama, if not Shakespearean, then Marsha Norman.

I was able to help a few coworkers with their tasks and they were most appreciative. It was relatively stress free. I didn’t feel the need to run around like I’ve been doing the past eight days. It was really a relaxed atmosphere.

I had yet another in a series of salads for lunch and talked to my brother Frank on my cell while I ate in the park. I once made out with some guy from Queens in this park after a gay pride parade. Or was it a Queen named Guy? I also parked on this block when I saw New Order at the Paradise Garage in 1982. Mescaline. So there’s a history of sorts.

Uh huh.

Nothing to write about in the afternoon. Afterwork I walked down to the World Trade Center Path train, smoking a Padron. Tribeca has changed considerably since before 9/11. Lot’s of Bistros and café’s. Very trendy.

It was a great walk, the weather was perfect. I got on an in a not too crowded train and sat reading ‘The Love You Make” by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines. Peter Brown was an aide to the Beatles in the sixties. It’s a fun gossipy read.

Now it’s time to put the gauze into Bill’s open wound. It’s about a centimeter wide and thick. He just took a shower and now it’s time to put new gauze on it.

After a few attempts Julio guided me through it while judging with Bill’s threshold of pain.