I did not go bicycle riding. It was too cold. I did go grocery shopping with Bill so that was fun. I ran into a local character, Captain Fun who used to hang around outside Maxwell’s back in the day. He’s a bit off, but ok when he’s on his meds. He was grocery shopping in the supermarket and asked about Steve Fallon and his sister Mary. They used to look out for him way back when almost 35 years ago I reckon.

We went to the supermarket earlier than usual and I had a nice breakfast, eggs and toast. Quite simple and easy to make with little fuss. We watched TV and I went and got a haircut, based on a photo of me from 35 years ago. Nick the barber is quite a character.

The barbershop is just a few doors down from us and I’ve been going to them for about 20 years. I used to get a haircut on West 37th Street in Manhattan at a Korean clip joint that was a front for a massage parlor. Climb the steps to the second floor. On your right is a barbershop, on the left are women lounging on a couch in bikinis.

One time as I was getting a haircut, manicured hands started rubbing my shoulders and asking ‘Do you like? Come in the back…’ I begged off saying that I had to catch a train to Long Island. I felt guilty passing the local barbershop, Mr. L’s, so I started going to them instead. I tried all the barbers, or perhaps stylists, Nick, Lou (Mr.L), and Tony.

Tony was the oldest, from Italy, and was my favorite. He’d trim my nose hair, eyebrows, ear hair and certainly earned his $10.00 tip on a $15.00 haircut. Tony being the eldest barber soon had some health problems. Sometimes he’d bounce back after an operation, including one where he reportedly died on the table. He told me all about it with a scissor in my ear.

Lou retired, Tony left due to the pandemic, leaving his son Nick and two or three women who I’ve tried and found to be lacking to put it nicely. They looked awful in bikinis. I posted photos on the social medias and my brother Brain asked it was cut at Pete the barber in Lodi.

I hadn’t thought of Pete the barber in decades and immediately remembered that I used to think it was a place to get a haircut if one was being punished. Pete was brutal. I preferred Phil the barber, a little farther away but still within walking distance on the border of Lodi and Maywood.

But I think my main barbershop memory of when I was a kid was one Saturday afternoon my father decided it was time I got a haircut. I didn’t want a haircut but had no say whatsoever in the matter.

It was a drive to Fair Lawn and on the way I chanted to myself, Hare Krishna, Hail Mary, Jai Guru Deva Om, basically anything I could remember from what I heard in life or a Beatles song. We pulled up outside the barbershop and the lights were off. I was elated.

Then my father saw his VFW buddy, John Fontana inside sweeping up and John Fontana put away the broom and let us in, my elation deflated. I got what I wanted, the barbershop was closed, but the owner was inside ready for one more haircut for the day. Hence, my distrust of chanting.

I did remember that once I had a school project where we had to interview someone and I did an imaginary interview with John Fontana who said in the fake interview that being a barber was like being a therapist, where people come in and tell their problems. I think I got a good grade and my parents were somewhat flabbergasted that I had created this interview out of thin air.

2 dreams from last night. One involved Mehcad Brooks and I going to South Korea. Apparently, we were a couple of sorts and I went to Seoul at his request. I found myself being ignored and cane back to the States. Mehcad followed and was not happy about that at all.

Then that dream segued into a dream where a Facebook friend, Steve Ziemkowski, and I met in a restaurant and as we sat at a table I found myself between Patrick Stewart and my brother Frank who was disgruntled by the fact I was sitting between them.

Frank was always easily disgruntled. It looked like a nice restaurant, and then I woke up.

I slept until the alarm went off and that was good. I gathered my senses and soon headed out the door after a shower and coffee. The Path train was not crowded at all. No youngish man was upset they had to sit next to a guy wearing a jacket that smelled of cigars. I washed the jacket when I got home again, so now I have to stalk the youngish guy and figure out what was bothering him.

The office was quiet and empty and I stretched out my tasks until it was almost noon. I usually play quiet things but today I was compelled to play Dead or Alive, remembering a night out with my late friend Jet Watley at the Pyramid Club.

A song was playing as we were out on the dancefloor and I asked Jet who it was and he pantomimed Pete Burns from Dead or Alive. The song was In Too Deep which is probably my favorite Dead or Alive song, but there are others that are always tied to the memory of Jet.

As my break time approached I noticed I was cc’d on an email. I had sent out a kit, actually 2 kits to a Benjamin Taylor in West Hempstead. One of those kits had the paperwork of Jean Horonich. These are not their real names.

Both Taylor & Horonich had kits sent out on October 22 and were delivered on the 23rd. Nine days ago. This morning Taylor sent an email stating that he received someone else’s paperwork and it was not a good sign when starting a relationship with a legal office. Schlomo the DKB came to my desk to tell me this information.

I told him I already knew about this then I went on my break where my mind was consumed by this. So Taylor got 2 kits and was signing one of them, leading me to believe that one of the kits was for him, and the other was mistakenly sent to him.

No word from Horonich leading me to think that her paperwork was OK as I kept in mind this was delivered nine days ago and we were only hearing about today. They did try to reach Horonich but she was incommunicado.

I send hundreds of these kits and requests out weekly.

One or two aren’t a big deal statistics-wise and I hoped Taylor could be trusted to be an honest man and return the paperwork he accidentally received or destroy it. In his email, he requested a Non-Disclosure Agreement which drew the attention of lawyers who now feel the need to instruct me on how to do my job properly and damn my statistics.

I myself resolved to not seal anything until I actually check the work I do 2 or 3 times. Now I do it when I am paranoid and have a feeling that something needs to be checked and when I do I find there is no need to be paranoid but that is what I do as I maintain those statistics that no one but me seems to care about.

It is supposed to be brought up on Monday and I hope it does not occupy my mind this weekend but you know me, it probably will. I’m sure my mind was not in a good space as it was the day after la matrone enfermée dans le placard threatened me on October 21.

I hope to go cycling tomorrow, maybe that will help. I know it will.