Category Archives: Iron my Shirt

I’m Not Afraid

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It’s Wednesday I think. Annemarie flew off to California this morning. She had an early flight and stayed at a hotel near the airport. When she was getting on a plane, Bill was heading off to the gym before work and I stayed asleep in bed.

I heard While My Guitar Gently Weeps playing as I eventually woke up and started my day. A shower and a skipping of the shave, breakfast cereal and coffee.

I headed out and went to the cleaners to pick up some shirts and also to the supermarket and bought some groceries, and a rain check since they didn’t have my cereal on the 2 for $5.00 deal on my cereal. Back home for a few before I changed into my suit, tie in the bag.

Headed up to Washington Street and once again my shirt was translucent in parts. My bus arrived and I got on, sitting on the left side so the sun wouldn’t be beaming upon me as we rolled towards the Lincoln Tunnel. I decided to play Madness, One Step Beyond as I walked through the terminal. Still a classic record.

As I approached the subway turnstile I was directed by a police officer that I needed to have my bag checked. I obliged of course, knowing that I had no bombs or drugs or paraphernalia inside.

Sweated as I waited for the train and then chilled as I got on the A train, strong air conditioning. Headed into the shop a bit early. No rock stars from the 1960’s nearby.

I swear since I’ve started working this gig on June 1, I lost weight. 17.5 shirts are no longer tight around my neck, and the trousers I wear also have ample room. I’m not complaining. It must be from standing on my feet 9 hours a day.

Most of the usual customers came in. I went outside for lunch and had a very good cigar from La Flor Dominicana. It was unbearably hot and humid out and I wasn’t enjoying myself so I headed back to the shop and sat in the back.

It was crowded when I left for lunch and when I came back it was empty. And that was how I liked it. Someone left a New York Post behind and I read some of it, all the while feeling my IQ slipping a few points.

Hard to believe I would read it fairly regularly, now maybe I’ll read it if someone leaves it behind, like today. Calvin joined me for a bit and we talked about Lindsay Lohan and the mosque that is planned for construction down near the World Trade Center.

Calvin agreed that it was basically my god is better than your god. It’s all bullshit to me. The afternoon went by without much notice. I closed the shop once again and decided it was too hot to hustle on down the avenue to catch a bus.

And because I did not hustle, I missed the bus by a minute.

I was alone at the gate for a few minutes before other people showed up, including 2 twenty something girls who were having a conversation about living in Hoboken and how much they like it and that they don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

That’s basically all that happened today. Annemarie is back in Arcata, safe and sound. Bill is behind me, watching Lawn Hors d’œuvre and dealing with a bottle of soap that opened in his backpack.

I’m In Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/Workshop

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Late start tonight. It was a bus day of sorts, Marcus was in, his last day before flying to the Mediterranean for his honeymoon. Calvin was in a good mood, Raymond was OK at first, then morose later in the day and Sean was impetuous as only a 19 year old could be.

Sean and Raymond butted heads over something stupid and I wisely kept out of it even though both sides angled to have me on their own side. They were friends again an hour later.

Around 2:30 I had lunch and headed out to a bench by the park to enjoy a cigar. But it was overcast and I was sitting beneath a tree. A few drops fell and I wasn’t sure if it was rain or falling from the tree so I decided to head back to the cigar shop, rather than sit and wait and possibly get soaked.

I sat in the back room smoking the cigar and talked about the economy and war with some of the smarter customers. After that, the afternoon went by, not so fast and not too slow.

Most of the customers were decent people, just one asshole by my count. And he was easily ignored. Raymond is still being punished for what he did a few weeks ago, and he doesn’t have a key anymore. That means he and Sean get to leave at 9:00 and I had to stay and shut up the shop.

I closed the store and took my time and as I was getting ready to head out the phone rang. I didn’t answer it since the store was closed, and frankly, I couldn’t be arsed. It rang again and I checked it out. It was Sean.

He was about to start his evening and left some of his cigars in his bin. He asked if I could get them for him and he’d meet me outside the building. Ah to be 19 years old and thinking that the world revolves around you.

I did him the favor and got his cigars and headed out after setting the alarm. And of course Sean was nowhere to be found. You would think he would make it a point to be there since I had to catch a bus like I told him, but there he was a few minutes later so happy to see me.

I knew I missed my usual bus and would have to catch a later bus. Tonight’s songs were from Wild Planet by the B-52’s. Specifically the first 4 songs. It took me 13.8 minutes to get from the shop to the bus terminal.

Incredible time and it felt like I wasn’t moving that fast. But apparently I was. And tonight’s time was truer than last night’s. I was in the bus terminal as Give Me Back My Man was ending.

I’ve been getting better at avoiding people as I hustle my way down the avenue and there were quite a few tourists in the way. But still I made it, and in a good time.





Videos courtesy of Rand Hoppe.