So now he’s the Legume. He resembles a bean. And he’s getting fatter. Not that I am in tip-top shape but I see how he hustles to and fro, waddling here and there, sometimes out of breath, sometimes sweaty. Always with the ‘yeah yeah yeah’. Like Cigar Shack Zack used to say ‘Exactly’ all the damn time and would follow it with a chuckle to cover his ass, this one is ‘yeah yeah yeah’ in a voice that carries.

Regarding the Legume, I’m reluctant to say what I told Cary Bell at John’s Bar years ago. I met Cary Bell at John’s Bar after responding to a Village Voice personal ad in the 1990’s. We didn’t connect but sat for a while and talked.

He was married to a woman for about 20 years. It was a loveless marriage, with three kids. Two older kids and one younger kid. I was hit by a bolt of righteousness. Cary was a decade or two older than me and in the closet. I told him, ‘You have more days behind you than ahead of you. Why would you want to maintain a lie? You should live your life.’

We exchanged numbers and I didn’t expect to hear from him again. After all, It was pleasant but there was no connection. A few days later, Cary called. He told me he took my words to heart and came out to his wife who was filing for divorce, and his children.

He told me the two older children were fine with it, the youngest had a problem. He was relieved and told me that a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. I never heard from him again but I have seen his online presence and he seems to be doing alright or was doing alright. At least I hope so.

Today was mediocre at best. The backward baseball hat wearing Bro in the mailroom did my tasks yesterday which was quite easy to do. I handled everything today and was done before noon again.

There are 3 methods to check the volume of work that I do. One is the folder with the PDFs that I print, fold, and make origami with. There is the Force Sales queue from which I create the PDFs. And there are the physical products that I manufacture out of thin air.

I ‘x’ the pdf folder and set the Force Sales to be approved (but not cleared yet) and the pile of kits. This is what confused Schlomo the DKB saying it takes the same amount of time to do A and to do B.

I didn’t understand at the time but then I figured it out. The man is a moron. I explained what he was seeing but he did not want to hear it and insisted he was right. He accused me of stretching out the work all day. So now I get it done as soon as possible and sit around for work to come through in drips and drabs.

Now that I am actively seeking new employment I really do not care a bit about what they might think. I do know the majority are dumb.

It was definitely an out of the ordinary day. It ended up with me surrounded by quite a few faces from the Maxwell’s days. I put on a brave face and did my best. The whole thing was planned weeks ago by Geri Fallo. One can’t help but like Geri Fallo and I know a few people have tried but there they were tonight being photographed alongside her.

Geri used to run the Cultural Affairs for the City of Hoboken. Then she retired a year or so ago, and this was her last hurrah as it were, and she was able to have a Proclamation from the City of Hoboken honoring Steve Fallon. That’s why there were so many Maxwell’s faces.

I sort of helped Geri in the planning when she asked for my input. I didn’t think about much after helping. Then she asked for an RSVP and I replied I would be with Bill, who could not make it since he was dispatched on some bus driving duties around Manhattan and JFK airport.

Going solo to these things can be dicey for me. It’s a bit like stage fright. Getting to the stage is the frightening part, once on stage, everything is groovy. Or at least it should be. The mischevious Steve Saporito texted me about tonight’s event.

I was nonchalant and he was somewhat enthusiastic, at least that is what I remember. I expected to see him or rather hear him as I approached what turned out to be a throng outside of Hoboken City Hall.

Those expectations were dashed as the mischievous Steve Saporito was a no show. I even mentioned it to Julio via text since he was disappointed he didn’t know about Kevin Craughn’s memorial. Julio was definitely part of the Maxwell’s crowd back in the day.

Basically, he was the reason I kept going, as it was our watering hole. But he’s not one to attend these events and people do ask about him. Sometimes they get offended by the fact I tell them he’s a family man with 16 years and 12 year old boys. They seem incredulous since when they had kids that age, they still went out.

So many faces from the past though. We have all aged. All aging gracefully too according to who and how they were and are. The lighting outside City Hall was ghastly which made for terrifying photos and selfies.

There was a party afterward and despite my reluctance, I went and had a good time despite myself. I was actually pretty funny, I think. People asked for Bill and that was nice. He enjoys seeing me with these people from the past, now scattered throughout wherever.

If I was brazen I would have used the opportunity to network. I have started sending resumes out and beating the drum for a new gig. That adds to my dispirited feeling recently. Nothing will be done regarding la matrone enfermée dans le placard as she is untouchable. So it’s best for me that I high-tail it out of there as soon as I can.

I did hope to play Holiday songs when the holidays come along but who knows if that is an attainable goal?