Tag Archives: Bill

I Feel Fine

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Today was yet another day off and another nice day to have off. A nice bright sunny day, pleasant enough to do some walking around Hoboken. It started off with Bill leaning over and kissing me goodbye, telling me how he loved me and would I pick up the dry cleaning later in the day.

I nodded affirmatively and told him I loved him too, a magnificent spouse he is. And I also asked him to text me later in the day so I wouldn’t forget about picking up his dry cleaning. I slept a little while after that, eventually getting up and making a pot of coffee before heading out for some food.

Last night Bill was up later than he usually is, working on horn charts for the holiday gig that he and his crew are playing. I stayed up later than usual myself watching The Town starring Ben Affleck which was merely OK. Perhaps it was good but I wasn’t really paying much attention. A good night’s sleep soon followed which brings me (& you) to now or rather back to today.

I played guitar today, it had been a few weeks since I last picked up the Fender. I had an urge to look up some Electric Light Orchestra songs and once I did, I found them incredibly easy to play. Lots of A’s, C’s and G’s (and various inversions) which makes sense since they did get their inspiration from the Beatles so you can safely assume that if you can play some Beatles songs you can definitely play some ELO.

I did take a nap during the afternoon and suddenly woke up. I still needed to go to the dry cleaners. Bill never texted me but obviously it worked out. Bill is sleeping at a sleep clinic tonight since he has been snoring lately while wearing his sleep apnea mask.

It sort of defeats the purpose of the mask. He could stand to lose a few pounds and I’ve been tiptoeing around the subject. Perhaps if the clinicians tell him he will listen to them. He really relies on comfort food as does most everyone. So I hope they tell him and I certainly hope he listens to them.
Bill is spending the night there, attempting to sleep (though he can fall asleep at the drop of a hat) and planning on coming home so he could actually get some real sleep before driving to Atlantic City yet again tomorrow night.

I will probably miss seeing Bill tomorrow since I will be working at the cigar shack. In fact I will be opening the cigar shack which is not so bad since it means I will be getting out early, and I have Sunday off so it will have the feel of two days off, or one and a half. Hey I will take whatever I could get.

I’m actually looking forward to it. It’s the team of Bradley, Thomas and Jerry Vale and lately we’ve been getting along just fine. I’m sure I will write about whatever unfolds tomorrow.






14 I Feel Fine

I Feel Better

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This morning I saw Donald Faison (Turk from Scrubs) and Wayne Knight (Newman!) walking together and the guy who played Carmela’s father on the Sopranos as well as Kelly the woman who maintained the flora when I worked at Staffmark.

I got a big kick after seeing Kelly. We cross paths intermittently in Manhattan throughout the years. She looked good, had some dental work done. She’s a sweetheart. She always pops up when and where she is least expected. It was a very long day for me at the cigar shack, 11 hours.

It was rough but bearable. Zack was in and he opened with Jerry Vale. I was in next at 11:30 followed by Thomas coming in at 12:30. Zack and Jerry Vale were in good spirits, Thomas and I- not so much. I was not into working the very long shift but there I was rolling up my sleeves.

It was quite a busy day at the cigar shack, I sold a few expensive pens as well as a humidor and Thomas did the same but despite all that neither of us could catch up with Zack and Jerry Vale, which could account for the very good moods they were in.

The man cave was occupied most of the day, including a certain subset that was there from opening until a half an hour before the man cave was closed. Then the subset went across town to yet another cigar shack. It was enough for Zack to call them sad.

Bill of course was great throughout the day. Always supportive, he is a fantastic spouse. A few phone calls filled with laughter and love filled the lines as the day progressed. Now he sits behind me with his headphones on trying to figure out a horn part from Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Wish’ which he and Tom and Kirk and a bass player (hopefully) will be playing at Bill’s company holiday party.

I love writing ‘holiday party’, it’s so much more inclusive rather than drab old ‘Christmas party’ which is so old hat. At the end of the day at the cigar shack I apologized to Thomas for being a pain in the ass and he responded by apologizing for being such a bitch. It’s nice that we can make amends before the day ends. He’s a good man that Thomas.

Thomas closed the cigar shack and I made my way to the subway where a train pulled up within a minute of my arrival. Crediting that to some karmic retribution I rode to the bus terminal and climbed four flights of stairs. Upon getting to the upper level I saw a very long line which did not seem promising.

I saw my old friend Lois on line and gave her a kiss as I passed. She was awfully kind telling me I looked beautiful which was a nice way to end the work day. I did not cut in line and took my place at the end of the line. Soon I saw Denise Foster, another sweetheart from my past. I said hello to her and she stood next to me as the line started moving.

I was surprised that there was enough room for me and Denise and let Denise sit down near Lois where I introduced them to each other. Lois started to stand up to let me sit, but I wouldn’t have it. Besides being an artist I am also a gentleman.

I stood in the well of the rear exit and each time the bus stopped I had to get off and let people disembark. Soon I started acting like a stewardess, thanking them for riding New Jersey Transit and saying ‘buh bye’.

That got a few laughs from Lois, Denise and some of the other passengers. A nice end to a hectic day.



Denise



02 Come Down In Time

Rest in peace, George ‘Jet’ Watley, Alphonso Portillo, John Iserra and others who have fallen.