Category Archives: NARTH

I Heard It Through The Grapevine

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Today it’s Friday. It wasn’t such a bad day, at least not as bad as yesterday. Yesterday I wrote over 800 words, today I feel it will be a struggle to reach 500 words. But here I go again, once more into the breach.

The day started with Bill running around, upset that he wasn’t able to burn a disc on his mac. He needed to have a few discs burned for the show he is working in tonight at the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe. It’s also the rare show that he is in that I am unable to see since I am working the horrid hours of retail.

Bill was out later than usual this morning and I was up and out of bed soon after he left. Woke up to the sounds of Eddie Money, Baby Hold onto Me. That song is always on the radio, or at least the oldies station.
I did my thing, breakfast, shower, coffee and emails and got dressed early enough. I was planning on being late today, since I would be working with Calvin I thought I’d let him open the register and therefore have to close the register.

Don and Bradley had the early shift leaving Calvin, Sean and myself to close. But as usual, as late as I try to be, I generally wind up being on time. Not a bad thing I know, but it never works out that I can be fifteen minutes late.

So I made it in, and still I had to open the register, Calvin lurking about nowhere near the register. It was a full staff what with Bradley filling in Raymond’s vacant position.

I was prepared in case the Susie Essman damaged clone made it in today or someone of her ilk came in. I brought my digital voice recorder in to the shop today to record any heinous conversations that I might be privy to.

But there was no need for it. Most of the conversations were nonchalant and not worth recording in any event. I had a nice lunch on a bench by the park, enjoying a cigar and reading the biography of Paul McCartney that Julio gave me as a Christmas present last year. I’m enjoying it more now than I did when I originally tried reading it earlier this year.

Back to the shop, more boredom, but Calvin was out of the way, enjoying his two hour lunch, supplemented with alcohol and cigars. My co-workers used to get upset about his long lunches until I reminded them that he’s out of the picture for two hours at least.

Don and Bradley left at 7:30 leaving Calvin, Sean and myself to close the shop for another long 90 minutes. I spent a good part of the 90 minutes in the humidor with Sean while Calvin chatted with a customer who though being a very nice guy, won’t shut up.

Finally I got them out of the shop and I closed the store by myself in about 11 minutes. I prepared beforehand behind Calvin’s back.

I made it from the shop to the bus terminal in 15 minutes, 41 seconds. Hot Chip, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Heptones and ESG guiding my feet through the clogged sidewalks of the avenue.

I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun

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It’s now Friday and lucky me, I have off Saturday and Sunday. Maybe now I will see what all the fuss is about. It’s been a while I think that I’ve had Saturday and Sunday off. This was arranged a few weeks ago when I requested to have August 22nd off to see the Specials at Summerstage.

Then to my dismay, the State Department wouldn’t give the band visas. So the show was canceled but I still have 2 days off. Instead of a free show to see the Specials, I am going to Joe’s Pub tomorrow night to see Adele Bertei, backed by the Raybeats with Gail Ann Dorsey from David Bowie’s band on bass.

It’s so unlike me and I’m going alone. There may be tickets still available so feel free to join me. It’s only $20.00. I felt I should see some music over the weekend.

And though I’ve seen the Raybeats several times back in the eighties, and I’ve met Gail Ann Dorsey, I’ve never seen Adele Bertei, having missed the Contortions and the Bloods back in the day.

I had to set reminders to let me know about the show, so rarely do I go out these days.

I even thought about checking out some galleries tomorrow, perhaps an early start. Some things to do about the apartment, laundry, general cleaning up so an early start should occur. I wrote that with a straight face.

Straight meaning, not laughing.

Today was a pretty good day at the cigar shop. Pretty busy and money was made. I did almost $2000.00 worth of sales. Still I was in third place. I do like working at the cigar shop, the staff is alright to work with and the customers are mainly OK.

My Friend, My Friend hasn’t been in the shop the past couple of days, I hope he is well. He’s an intelligent bloke and is good for smart conversation.

I suppose reinventing oneself for a job goes on everywhere, but it’s not a total reinvention, more like the tweaking around the edges. I thought I would have to do a complete overhaul but obviously it wasn’t to be.

Some people know me as one person, others know me as someone else and my co-workers know me as someone entirely different. Or am I. It’s all in perception I guess. We all see things differently.

It’s all like Rashomon, but where and who is the ghost?

I treated myself to a Good Burger dinner tonight. I ate at the shop in the back and figured I would work it off as well as walk it off, which I hope I did when I walked from the cigar shop to the bus terminal.

Tonight’s musical journey was courtesy of the Pretenders first album, called Pretenders. 16 minute, 57 seconds, from Precious (not based on the book Push by Sapphire) to Space Invaders.

Funnily enough, I think I bought the Pretenders first album at EJ Korvettes in Paramus, the same day I bought the Specials first album.

Ah, 1979. A pretty good year for music.