Well it’s Thanksgiving Day. Went to sleep at a decent hour, Bill asleep way before me, I crashed around midnight. It was a fairly busy day, hanging out with Juan. We came back from lunch and buying tickets for the train. We walked back through the cold Hoboken Hudson River air, came back to the apartment and watched Shaun of the Dead which was a lot of fun. Juan split, Bill came home and I napped around 5:00, waking up at 8:00, groggy but feeling somewhat better. Got text from Juan who was in Edgewater playing pool. Don’t know how he did it.

Woke up this morning around 7:30, Bill up and moving about. I jumped into the shower, drank some watered down coffee that Bill made. He did the best he could do, but I needed to remake it, if it was going to be the rocket fuel needed to get me moving. Bill wasn’t offended, and took my suggestion under consideration. After that it was getting our acts together and getting to the train station on time. We made it just in time for as we sat on the seats the train slowly pulled out of the station.

The train filled up with people and their packages, heading to wherever it was they were headed to. We got off at Secaucus Junction waiting for a transfer to a train to Trenton. Just a handful of other passengers waiting for their trains. The train that pulled in was fairly crowded and Bill and I were able to find seats together. He sat and closed his eyes, I read the New Yorker, an article about wild turkeys which in the New Yorker style was entertaining and informative enough to want to go hunting for wild turkeys, not to kill them but to watch them behave as the article said they would.

We were in Trenton soon enough, meeting up with my cousin Neil who was there to drive us to his house. His sisters Rosie and Theresa were there as well as Linda, Neil’s girlfriend, her son and assorted other people who I was introduced to and promptly forgot most of their names. Neil’s other sister Ginger was there with her husband Jim and their kids. Ginger’s not doing so well, after having a stroke. She’s lost most of her short term memory and Neil told me that if I have a conversation it would be best to ask only yes or no questions.

I did try but I wasn’t making any progress and it seemed like a strain to her. I wandered around Neil’s house looking at all of his railroad paraphernalia. Lot’s of antique things and things that would be of interest to other train spotters, like Rail Fan, someone I used to chat with online a while ago who had a similar train fixation and had the shoes to match. Madeline showed up at her brother Neil’s house after dinner at her own. She brought her daughter Shauna who just gave birth nine days ago, making Madeline a grandmother for the second time. Their sister Eileen was unable to make it since she was ill. She was missed and I hope she’s on the mend.

It was a good time all in all. Everybody liked Bill, Theresa outdid herself cooking. Her culinary schooling paid off and she’s making a living as a caterer. We exchanged addresses and promised to stay in touch. It’s great to see family without a meddlesome corpse around. Bill and I came back home by 9:00 tired and cold and a bit damp. Now we’re nestled inside the apartment watching TV, nice and toasty.

Well the past 24 hours were a bit fuzzy. It was all good and enjoyable as far as I could tell. Tuesday was pretty much an easy going day. I had plans to have drinks with Brenda, a former co-worker from Wanker Banker. I also had 2 boxed sets of Lord of the Rings that I had borrowed from another co-worker, Ahsen that I needed to return to him. These are the super deluxe versions of the first two ‘Rings’ films. Lot’s of plot holes filled. I wound up getting all three boxed sets for about 15 dollars a pop online.

It was odd going to the old office. I wandered into the lobby and was talking to the security guards who were happy to see me. We chatted as Christina my former assistant walked by. She didn’t recognize me so I called her name. She was going out for a smoke so I joined her. She confided in me about her man problems, specifically the guy she’s been living with who has another girl on the side. She was upset because the girl is bisexual and gives the guy what every guy supposedly want. Not a blow job, but a lesbian show. That’s something Christina just will not do.

I rode the elevator with her and walked over to Hansen’s desk where he sits with Gazi and Vinnie. It was great to see them of course. They’re the guys who created my computer. They’re quite silly and funny and I had a lot of fun talking to them again. They mentioned how great it would be if I came back, but deep down we all know that isn’t going to happen. I wound up going outside and having a cigarette with Ahsen and Vinnie, so much like old times.

After that I wandered around midtown killing time before hooking up with Brenda at the Carnegie Club. It’s a cigar bar and last night it was filled with quite a few handsome men in suits smoking cigars. I was also in a suit and fit right in. I just didn’t feel like wearing jeans and t-shirt. I do love wearing the suit and tie as you might well know. Brenda showed up and we sat and talked about how her life at Wanker Banker has been. She’s been going through her own personal hell for the past year. We just sat and talked as I smoked a cigar. It was fun once we got off the maudlin ‘work sucks’ stories.

We left and I walked her to 42nd street so she can catch her train to Westchester. I walked to the Path and caught a train back to Hoboken. Juan was in town for the holiday and he came over. We hung out all night watching movies and drinking beers. I had a lot of fun with Juan and with Bill staying at his parent’s house last night I invited Juan to crash. That was a lot of fun. We woke up late in the morning and walked over to the Spa restaurant on the way to the train station where I bought tickets for the Thanksgiving dinner in Trenton with my Powers cousins tomorrow.

We came back and watched ‘Shaun of the Dead’ which was just as good as Annemarie said it was. I napped for three hours after Juan left and Bill came home. And here I am.