I Say A Little Prayer- Diana King

I did have a good time during the holidays and as usual, the doldrums followed. But as much of a good time that I had, I feel I may have pushed up the doldrums for me at least. That was something that popped into my head as I was doing laundry. Basically I think I am ahead of myself on the doldrums game. Nothing to be concerned about, there are less than 90 days until spring and I can do that time, standing on my head. It’s January 4, 2013 and I am already looking forward to 2014, he wrote with some snark.

Today I went to the optometrist. Lately I have been wearing glasses from a few years ago, maybe 10 years ago. My last pair was badly scratched and I could barely see out of them. Luckily I hang onto old eyeglasses as a backup and found these. My prescription hasn’t changed that much and they’re good for long distance and occasional reading. And I think I look cool in them, or whatever passes for cool in my poor line of vision. Bill asked me to pick up some cleaning cloths for his eyes so I went to the optician where I last got new glasses.

I was there last week and found the guy I was dealing with rather standoffish. Today he was fine. Last week he seemed to be pushing Tom Ford or Gucci glasses and I specifically asked for eye wear without branding on them, then I had to explain what branding was. Today I found a pair of glasses, without any visible branding, called Ernest Hemingway. And they were half price at $49.00 which was good. Usually the frames are crazy expensive, but these seemed to fit the bill. It’s the lenses where the money comes in.

Thankfully I do have insurance from Bill’s job. I also had an eye test with a young and funny doctor. I was glad I studied for it since I usually test quite poorly. No more eye charts on the wall, now it’s more like a Power Point presentation, all clicks and computers. And my eye sight is more or less the same as it was two years ago. Some tweaking is needed. I won’t be using paper towels to clean my lenses anymore. Nosireebob. I’ll get those cloths that seem to be specially treated and never around when you need one.

It has been fairly cold today but not as bad as previous days and I have finally grasped the concept of wearing layers. I seem to wrestle with it each season. Not tucking in a shirt is a good start I found in my travels around this mile square city. Heard from Julio and neighbor Deborah via text regarding our mutual landlord. Everybody’s rent is going up! No one’s terribly upset! It’s been ten years since Bill and I have been here and there has been no increase at all. I had more increases (and decreases) when I was living in Weehawken.

After 28 years

After 28 years


found in front of bldg

found in front of bldg


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Looks like Snow
Poetry Man

I Say A Little Prayer- Aretha Franklin

Third day of the new year. Slept incredibly well, crazy dreams, sexual in nature. Nothing overt but there it was in the undercurrent. Something involving time cards and a punch clock located in belts.

Then in a different dream, I bought a pack of Marlboro while walking around Columbus Circle and 58th St. I had one cigarette, not even a full cigarette and didn’t enjoy it very much. Then I had a dream where I was interviewing, or auditing a hip company, similar to the one my sister mentioned on Facebook yesterday.

White offices and things seemed to be going well until the head honcho in the office turned to me and said’ You know we don’t allow smoking here’. I couldn’t really say I stopped smoking cigarettes since I still had the pack of Marlboro from the previous dream and my breath smelled of cigarettes.

Needless to say I don’t think I got the job, much like the groovy job Annemarie told me about. I answered the questions truthfully and at the end they described their ideal candidate who would happen to be a college graduate which is something I am not. Still I sent forth my info, allowing them to be hopefully dazzled by my stellar personality and my way with words.

Already I have gotten the call from Shlomo, could I open up the cigar shop. Being 23 degrees out, he can’t get his poor old car to move. I had no problem with it, and to my surprise an hour after opening in walks Shlomo.Maybe it is the cold but he seems slower than usual, the slo mo Shlomo.

Now this is the part that gets stuck in my craw. I want to help these guys succeed. And with no smoking allowed in the store I wind up enforcing that ban. The other day a young man bought a cigar and I gave him a book of matches to get his cigar lit. He came back a few seconds later asking to light it indoors. I said no, and took a torch lighter and went outside with him and lit it for him.

Shlomo doesn’t believe in those types of rules and smokes wherever he wants, even if it means the local Board of Health shutting him down. That’s fine with me, I have nothing invested in the shop except for my time. If the place gets shut down I will just find something else to do.

And if it because of one of the owners smoking in the shop, then so be it. I can tell because a few times since I opened I noticed ashes on the floor which meant smoking was going on in the shop. But it’s not my shop and the owners, well they can do anything they want, it is their sandbox after all.

I am merely a nice guy, helping them out, but as the saying goes, I can’t help them unless they help themselves and to my untrained eye, it seems that they don’t want any or need any help, except for this one guy who can be relied upon to open the shop when it is too cold out for their Zionist hoodlum tuchis.
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What Does It Take