Wednesday which is weird since Monday was a holiday and yesterday felt just like a Monday, so there is this discombobulation with this time frame. Last night Juan came over and hung out with Bill and myself, watching one of the Beatles dvd’s from the Anthology. Found out my niece Cory has an infected tonsil. Annemarie called me with that news. As if they didn’t have enough to worry about in Garfield. Jeezy Creezy. Bill crashed and I kicked Juan out around 11:30. Slept badly last night though I woke up relatively rested. Could have used another hour or two. Bill was up and ready to go. I showered, shaved and had some cereal and sure enough I too, was out the door headed to the bus stop. Got on the bus and read the New Yorker. I finished listening to Juan’s cd and it’s definitely one of his best. Next in the queue was Bob Marley and the Wailers, Kaya which sounded great as I walked through Bryant Park.

Got to work on time. Everything ho hum, samo samo which is more than fine by me. No need for any stress in my life. Got enough, thank you very much. I did have an errand to go to Chinatown to find out what exactly the printer is doing to our stationery. I couldn’t understand them over the phone on Tuesday so I thought it best to go down and see for myself before giving my approval. They had very thick accents and after I re-explained what my company wanted done I was glad I went down there and talked to the face to face. The work will still have to be double checked because from what I heard they’re notorious for making spelling erros. That is next weeks plan.

I was in at 8:00 and out by 3:00. I walked across town and caught an express bus to Hackensack, filled with Bergen county commuters. They all fell asleep as soon as the bus hit the road and I too nodded off for a spell. Must be the oneirogenic fumes. I got off a block too soon for some reason, perhaps groggy from the bus and had to walk to the top of the hill as the bus drove up. I got to the hospital and saw Elaine and Frank in the hallway. They both were glad to see me and Frank patted me on the back and Elaine gave me a big hug.

We walked back to the room, I gave Frank, Revolution in the Head by Ian McDonald. It’s all about every Beatles recording session and who played what on it, what they were thinking etc. It’s a fun read especially if you’re a Beatlemaniac and you’re actually listening to the songs as you’re reading about. I knew he would enjoy that. I also got him a few more British music magazines, and a very funny article from the Onion http://www.theonion.com/content/node/62177, and an article by co-founder of Spy magazine, Kurt Andersen about being with Phil Spector. The three of us just sat and talked as if we were in the kitchen in a garden apartment on Main Street in Lodi NJ. That’s how cozy it was. Frank is still having difficulty speaking and sometimes it seems like we’re playing charades, with Elaine and myself trying to guess the second word, and how many syllables was it?

Elaine had to go around 6:00 and Frank and I talked about our mother and father and Brian and Annemarie and about how I didn’t go to college yet seemed to have turned out alright though there was the insinuation that there’s something missing in my life because I didn’t pursue a higher education, but that could be me being a touch sensitive. Juan was nice enough to come up to Hackensack and drive me back. He’s here now writing out his resume and I’m giving him terrible advice on how to write a resume.

It’s back to work again. I didn’t mind though things got better for me yesterday with Julio and Stine and Juan. Julio who knows me well enough for the past 20 or so years, knew what he had to do. He and Stine had me over for burgers last night for diner and I hung out with them for a few hours, talking about how Frank is, how I am, and how Julio dealt with his father’s passing a few years ago. It was a good talk for me and I guess for Julio. Julio also hit the nail on the head, which was the fact that I was feeling so badly about Frank because of the guilt of having my meltdown at the Arcade Fire show.

That was true and I also heard the same thing from Juan who didn’t exactly know how to broach the subject. Of course, Julio has 20 years of dealing with me under his belt (same with Pedro, they both worry about me and know that something is up when they speak to me on the phone), so Julio can come right out and say it. Juan was a little more cautious which is understandable. Juan made me a cd of songs that he knew I would like or at least be interested in and he was right on the money with that. Don’t know if there’s any messages in what he burned for me but it definitely sounds great on the iPod walking to and from work.

Bill was at his folks last night because his father had an MRI to be performed at the VA hospital. So that meant I was sleeping alone after Juan split. I slept really well despite waking up at 4:00. That was no problem as I went right back to sleep, awaking once again before the alarm clock. I did eventually get out of bed, showered, shaved and had some cereal and was out the door, headed to the bus. Got into the city in no time, and I listened to the Black Keys singing She Said, She Said which is an admirable cover and despite what Juan says, is not better than the Fabs version, and I’m sure he knows that deep down.

Got to work after listening to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as I took a short cut through Grand Central Station. It provided a great soundtrack to the visual of the morning hustle and bustle of commuters going to their offices. Almost as good as that scene in the Fisher King, though I really couldn’t tell you what role I would have played, but I’m sure I would have been dancing. Everyone at work caught up with what they did over the weekend and then they asked me how Frank was doing. I told them what I knew without giving too much away, don’t want to turn into Debbie Downer. After that, the day ended fast enough and I walked to the bus terminal, smoking a Padron 5000 and listening to Coco Rosie which is another track from the cd and so far, my favorite.

Check This Out
cut and paste
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/5/28/123944/992

The War Prayer by Mark Twain

from jockohomo
War Prayer Face of the Dead
May 28th, 2007 | Category: warriors, usmc, war

Compelling animated video of Mark Twain’s War Prayer posted on The Grist. The short story is a scathing indictment of war, and particularly of blind patriotic and religious fervor as motivations for war. A Wikipedia entry notes “The piece was left unpublished by Mark Twain at his death, largely due to pressure from his family, who feared that the story would be considered sacrilegious. Twain’s publisher and other friends also discouraged him from publishing it. Twain instructed for it to be published after his death, however, and is said to have quipped ‘I don’t think the prayer will be published in my time. None but the dead are permitted to tell the truth.’

Not that anyone is ALLOWED to put a face on the dead siting the military’s coercive and unworkable 11(a) of IAW Change 3, DoD Directive 5122.5: “Names, video, identifiable written/oral descriptions or identifiable photographs of wounded service members will not be released without the service member’s prior written consent.” This means that memorials for those courageous that have lost their lives in Iraq can no longer be shown, even when the unit in question invites coverage.