I can see clearly now
That song is currently residing in my head

The fruit stand is deserted except for me, a handful of cleaners, and John the security guard. The wind blows through barren branches in the orchard. There is no AC on, there is no heat on, it’s just dead air.

Mike unloaded quite a bit last night, telling me the story of what happened 15 years ago or so, perhaps 14 years ago, when he was 30 and in Newark and dropping out of the Culinary Institute of America. It’s not a good story, but it’s a story that he felt I needed to hear.

I did want to tell him that I knew the facts but not the details of what happened when he was 30. I did look it up once when I swore we’d never be friends again, and I had washed my hands of him. But I kept my mouth shut and just let him spill his guts. He’s a good kid who made an awful mistake and has paid the price for it and continues to pay the price for it.

Meanwhile, at the fruit stand, nothing is happening.

The PATH train was not crowded. A few Xavier High School boys who headed in were probably getting an early dismissal. I’d like to get an early dismissal since there was an early dismissal last Friday. Jimmy Chile suggested that Yancey might give a call with a thumbs up for an early dismissal.

I have ordered Smashburger for a 12:30 pickup. It is close to 60°, and I went out earlier because it was so hot in the office that I needed to get some fresh air, so I went out and had a mini cigar.
My cigars were delivered yesterday, as was my Eagle Creek bag which I still have to get used to as well as Mike’s external hard drive, which is exciting for him, so he can take the porn off my computer and put it on the hard drive and watch to his heart’s content or until he’s dry between the legs on his laptop.

I spoke to my sister-in-law last night with regards to our visit on Thursday. We shall be out there at the usual time, 2-ish, with Mike in tow. The menu is stuffed shells and shepherd’s pie. Turkey and all those other things are too time-consuming, and since she is making the food, she decides the menu. And as far as Mike is concerned, as long as there is no pesto, he should be fine.

So I am at the main fruit stand in midtown Manhattan. I am sitting at Lex Luthor’s desk. Lex has an owl fetish, as well as putting bling on most everything; he is definitely queer. And I am definitely gay.

I will make an effort to leave the desk as I found it, restarting everything on the computer when I leave, which I hope will be earlier than 5:00 p.m. Way too many eyeballs here, even though they’re all mechanical and attached to cameras, since there are no humans here.

I am getting a lot of use out of the iPad, but not necessarily for work reasons; Prawns

I am now sitting opposite 1220 Broadway smoking up a Padrón 3000 natural. It’s a humid, clammy day; it rained quite a bit yesterday, and today is the remnants of that. It’s awfully quiet in the office. Jimmy Chile suggests that we might be dismissed early, but I see no proof of that. He also suggested that we would be getting paid today, and I definitely see no proof of that.

A Tribe Called Quest- Low End Theory
Talking Heads- Speaking in Tongues, two records that I played from start to finish while I worked.

I am still reading the book about the cars, and they’re in the middle of making Candy O, and it’s just not that interesting because Candy O is just not that interesting an album. I found each successive LP less interesting than the one before, so I would like to know if my disinterest will correspond with the remaining chapters. I am halfway through the book

I did place a request for Cameron Crowe’s book, but I think there might be a long wait for it

Still the same

Still reading the book about the cars.
I was behind some chick that I had to instruct to push the door rather than pull the door, took my spot outside as I smoked my little cigar.

So Mike has convinced his beloved not to make the trip for Thanksgiving since it would have been outrageously expensive, over $1,000 for a round trip from San Francisco to LaGuardia, which is a relief for me.

A bus driving friend of Bill’s passed away, had a stroke, and soon after, I entered hospice care within 24 hours; he left his mortal coil. Bill asked if I would attend the memorial service in December with him, and of course dragged my feet and said no, I didn’t know the guy, and regretted doing that, so I will be attending, but he does not know that yet.

It’s not a bad day weather wise today in Manhattan on November 25, Tuesday. I do like to sleep, and I slept well last night, although the night before, the carbon monoxide detector went off, alerting us that the batteries need to be changed, and of course, it did it at 2:30 in the morning.

Usually, there’s a chirping sound to give us some info that the battery needs to be changed, but not this time, it was straight up and get the hell out of bed and change the batteries, it’s 2:30 a.m.

Other little Catholic boys wearing uniforms to high school around the block just passed by, and the funny thing is, they’re old enough to be my grandkids. Perhaps children out of wedlock? There’s nothing sexual about them that I see, because even when I was their age, I was not interested in kids that were my age. I like older men, and I still do, and I still look for them even though now I play the part of the older man, which is ironic, wouldn’t you say?

I just dictated a text to Bill that he can know I will be attending the memorial, and then he will say I don’t have to, and I will say I know, but I will. Mike actually convinced me to go since he had gone to a memorial with his ex, Jason, years ago for someone that Mike did not know. So I figure if he can do it, I can do it, that’s the way love is

And it’s still crazy quiet, at the fruit stand, and tomorrow I’ll be at the main fruit stand in midtown, where there will be more space and more quietude.

Mike ordered an external hard drive, which was supposed to be delivered on Friday and was delivered today via FedEx, which is not the method I would have preferred, but Bill was home to buzz the package in.

For lunch today, I had halal food once again, and it was good, but not as good as it was last week, which was the first time, and is it ever as good as the first time?

David Salidor, his name pops into my head after seeing someone who sort of looks like them.

One fruit stand employee came in today. He didn’t have to; he’s getting paid for staying at home, but here he is saying it’s the only time he can get work done, with no one around to distract him.

Last week I ordered an Eagle Creek bag. It is being delivered by a company I have never heard of before, and I contacted them and asked them some questions. I asked if they were partners with FedEx or USPS, or UPS, and they said no, it is being delivered by On Track, a company I’d never heard of before.

So after I got off the phone with them, I did a little research and found out that on track delivers it to the post office, which then delivers it to the customer. So they say it was delivered, I can only hope it’s indoors on the floor waiting for me to bring it upstairs. So Mike’s hard drive has been delivered, the Eagle Creek bag has been delivered, and also some cigars that I had ordered or were supposed to be delivered today, so perhaps three items will be waiting for me when I get home.

The fruit stand has given me an iPad to work with as I monitor the doors at another fruit stand. Since I will be working at the main fruit stand tomorrow I have to bring the iPad with me and remember to bring the iPad with me so that’s that. It’s all about memory. Which, for me, sometimes resembles Swiss cheese due to the amount of marijuana that I inhale sometimes, hahaha.

This dictation into the phone is a bit unnerving since it translates what it thinks I said rather than actually taking my words into account. And I suppose the prosthetics in my mouth can make me slur my words, which can be frustrating for me as well as whoever is ever taking the dictation notes.