Bill | johnozed

Well today is a rather unimpressive Labor Day. It’s been cloudy and seems like it is going to rain at any time. I suppose that is how it should be the ones who feel that Labor Day is the end of summer though we know it isn’t really. Bill is down in Atlantic City, with no play to stage manage and no wakes to attend in Puerto Rico and no place to sing the Star Spangled Banner he is back to bus driving which is his true love, or at least one of them. I guess it’s a return to normalcy… whatever that is.

Saturday was a very nice day. I did post the videos of Bill singing. We had a few giggles when we got back home, specifically how Bill marches out of the frame, his chest all puffed up like someone is about to get duffed. We also discussed how we have to get Bill a new outfit for events such as this. Some nice new trousers would do, something more fitting since Bill has lost quite a bit of weight the past months. Overall though, the trip to Staten Island was a lot of fun, the ferry ride is always fun.

It was quite crowded in the Manhattan terminal, at least a few hundred of us standing around waiting for the ferry to arrive while an earnest busker played her songs, vocals and guitar over amplified where it was thisclose to being distorted. Still she has more nerve than I and I duly tossed a dollar into her case for which she thanked me. After each song she received a smattering of applause and when she covered The Police, Message in a Bottle I told Bill that I had been practicing that song a few days before.

We received wristbands that enabled us to ‘All You Can Eat’ only it was certain foods we were allowed to eat. We found that out getting on a line and ordering food and then showing the wristband. Then we were told we had to get in the queue about thirty feet away where the foods were hot dogs, hamburgers, bags of potato chips and Pepsi. So of course Bill and I ate what we could, occasionally getting back in the queue for more grub. It was ‘All You Can Eat’ after all and we were very hungry.

Bill’s voice teacher Susan joined us near our seats with her friend Laura. They set about doing box scores as Bill and I enjoyed the game and the antics that the Staten Island Yankees provide. Dancers, games and t-shirts thrown into the crowd. At the 7th Inning, Bill sang God Bless America and that went over very well. Staten Islanders all reaching out to sake Bill’s hand, telling him his version was the best ever. I was quite proud of Bill.

We left at the 8th inning, the Staten Island Yankees hadn’t scored. Another couple of hundred people all milling about waiting for the next ferry. Young people, all dolled up for a night in Manhattan. Girls and boys all tarted up ready to paint the town red. We were home around 11:30 and it was too late for me to go to Maxwells, plus I was very tired. My mood had lifted, probably from spending time with Bill. We watched Humoresque on Turner Classic Movies, starring Joan Crawford, John Garfield and Oscar Levant who impressed both Bill and myself. I enjoyed Levant’s humor and Bill enjoyed his piano playing. It was a nice end to a nice day overall, and I owe it all to Bill.

Susan and Bill

Eastwooding.

More Eastwooding

Ho Hum Labor Day

3 – What the World Needs Now Is Love

Yes indeed, this has been a strange day. It started out normally enough, waking up before the alarm clock. I slept fairly well despite Bill not being around. I was up and shuffling around doing my usual morning routine, shower, coffee & breakfast before heading out to deal with the world. A trip to CVS where I ran into Martin Kelly again. He was working and very funny as he usually is. Good to see him. Then it was off to the nearby supermarket and on the way I ran into Julio outside of his workplace. He was funny as well.

We texted each other last night and mentioned that Stine wants to have me over for dinner again. Julio of course joked that I eat all their food and drink all their wine. I remarked that I show up with a bottle of wine which Julio called rat poison. Still he drank the rat poison and it wasn’t so bad after all it seems. He went back to work and I ran in and out of the supermarket. No Isis to be seen. I haven’t seen her the past few times I’d been there so I guess she is on vacation.

More resumes sent out, revamped resumes. I decided to go with details rather than bullet points. I have a feeling that the detailed resume would go over better rather than the bullet points which require a quick scan before it goes into the circular file. Of course my detailed resume resembles something on par with James Joyce’s Ulysses. If there are no responses then perhaps I will hybridize the two and come up with something closely resembling a Brion Gysin cut up. If I put it to music it could sound like an outtake from David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs.

I decided to go busking this afternoon since I hadn’t since Tuesday. I was all set to go and had the guitar case and my shoulder bag as well as a bag of garbage. I eyed the keys hanging on the hook as I walked through the door and as soon as the door closed I realized I had locked myself out. I knocked on the neighbor’s door on the fifth floor, with the hope I can go through her window and into my apartment via the fire escape. But there was no one home. On the fourth floor I knocked again.

No one there either, nor on the third floor or the second floor and I knew no one was on the first floor. Apparently I am the only one home. I went outside and effectively locked myself out of my building. I texted Julio since I have a copy of his keys from the third floor apartment and he has a copy of ours. He knew he had a key but didn’t know where it was. He contacted Stine and instead of me standing around I started to walk to the waterfront to do my busking. I also tried calling Stine myself but there was no answer.

I walked past Tariq who was on his cellphone and set myself up about 20 yards away. I started tuning my guitar when my phone rang. It was Stine and I missed the call but got back to her right away. She was by Julio’s workplace and since I wasn’t around she was going to leave the keys with Julio. So I packed up and headed towards Julio’s place of work. Sure enough, there was Julio full of wisecracks about me getting old and forgetting my keys. We’ve been calling it ‘going Hawaii Five Oh’ since that will be my age soon enough.

I had the keys to the building and my apartment and climbed the stairs once more, putting away the guitar since it didn’t seem like busking would be part of my afternoon activities today. I did some practicing at home instead and dropped some change at my feet for effect.

Bill is back on the mainland, winding up at Dulles Airport and taking a train from Union Station to Penn Station. I was planning on seeing my friend Alice play tonight but I think I will stay in and wait for Bill to come home from his 24 hour journey.

And there is a chance I might go to the beach tomorrow. My niece Meghan and her husband Rob are going to Sandy Hook and I’ve been asked. They plan on going early and that’s fine by me. Meghan mentioned a while back that if they were going down the shore and if I wanted to go it would be easier for me to go out to them via public transportation rather than have them come to Hoboken. I don’t know if that’s the same plan. I would have a chair and a beach umbrella to bring with me and it could be cumbersome.

But it’s not that big a deal and I am sure I can make the most of it if I have to.

And now I have a key in my wallet.

This just in: there will be no beach for me tomorrow.