Busking | johnozed

So now it’s Tuesday. It’s been a laundry day, a grocery shopping day and a busking day. So I’ve been busy. Nothing too major, I did things at my own pace. I was surprised to hear from Jerry Vale who seems to be doing alright, working with a marsupial doesn’t seem to be his thing but he does the job as I did, keep your head low and just do the work. He mentioned Tony Garnier was in today and Jerry Vale helped him out. I would have liked to have met Tony Garnier.

A few years ago I met two friends of Tony Garnier and they mentioned what a great guy he was. I happen to think he’s a cute guy and also a very good bass player. It also helps that he is Bob Dylan’s bandleader and has been so for a number of years on Bob’s Never Ending Tour.

Yeah I reckon it’s not much fun working in the cigar shack these days. Zack is down south at a tobacconist retailer convention where he can mingle with the waistcoat turncoat Marcus. Both of them can have their drinks, Marcus slurring his words and Zack generally nodding off as usual.

There are a few customers that pop into my head from time to time and I had to contact one of them today to see if I can get Luis Bunuel’s autobiography, ‘My Last Sigh’ returned. I had copies of it before and lent them out and never saw them again.

Now I am tired of getting new copies and figure if I can get Lou Moreno to return it, I mean I would go wherever he is to pick up the book then it should be all good. Now I just have to wait for Lou Moreno’s reply.

I did some busking once again this afternoon. I don’t think it will be possible tomorrow since Mumford and Sons are playing on Pier A in Hoboken and it is sold out. About 15,000 tickets sold and there won’t be any room for buskers like myself.

I did see Tariq who showed up with his guitar but didn’t take it out. He just sat there, bumming smokes off me and talking on his cellphone. I did not have to consult my notebooks much at all today. Usually all it takes is a glance at the chord progressions and I am fine.

I do plan on hearing Mumford and Sons tomorrow night as are a couple of thousand of other people who could not or would not pay the $55.00 for a ticket. I suppose we will see how close we can get. I do know a few other Hoboken residents as well as the daughters of some former Hoboken residents who will be doing the same thing. I did see a few of them at the Farmer’s Market this afternoon and I will likely cross paths with them at some point tomorrow night.

Other than that, not much but it has been a fun day so I will just leave it at that.

06 Ask Me Why

It’s a Monday. I hope you all had a good Sunday. Mine was alright, nothing too special. Just another day, yet a day when I went to town on my fingernails. I’ve had a nail biting habit for most of my life and finally got it under control until yesterday. Fingernails in mouth. I didn’t bite my fingernails but I did clip them pretty low. I don’t know why, a nervous habit perhaps. Luckily I still had some Mavala, a nail polish that is designed to stop one from biting their nails. It’s a bad habit and once I got home I was able to apply it to my fingers.

It’s a nasty habit and I’m hopeful it’s behind me once again. Perhaps it was spurred on from playting the guitar and needing to trim my nails. I usually have a nail file or a clipper nearby but still there are moments when it wasn’t enough. I wish I knew why I felt the way I did so I could avoid situations like that. But I don’t and they’re growing back as they should. I always felt there should be a support group for nail biters, a Nail Biters Anonymous perhaps.

A group of people sitting on chairs in a circle or however those anonymous groups do their meetings. “Hello my name is mumble mumble” “What? Speak up. We can’t understand you. Take your fingers from your mouth!” That’s as far as I have gotten in my plan for a support group for nail biters. A good routine maybe for somewhere down the line.

I walked around the waterfront again, strolling the promenade. Dark clouds seemed to follow my every step but I had hope that they would roll on by. I sat under a tree on a bench and read some more from the Love & Rockets collection, The Education of Hopey Glass. It wasn’t all about Hopey and it was once again stories I had read years ago. I read about Ray Dominguez and his regret for splitting up with Maggie Chascarillio, the mechanic. It’s bittersweet, how romances fade all set with a punk rock and comic books backdrop.

As I sat and read I looked out on the Hudson River and saw a rain storm, a wall of rain steadily approaching. It came and since I was under a tree I kept relatively dry. I knew it wasn’t going to last, staying dry, so I got out my umbrella and put my books away and stood there for about 20 minutes waiting for the heavy downpour to let up somewhat. I was hungry and determined to get a slice of pizza so I walked over to the boulevard and stood in a bus shelter for the rain to stop.

It did and I was able to get my slice and bring it home without getting wet. And that was it for yesterday, just watched TV after that and went to bed a little after Bill turned in. This morning was a beautiful morning and I did some grocery shopping. Then I was back on the waterfront, strumming my guitar. I’m having a better time busking lately than I did in previous attempts. Tariq made an appearance, then stepping off saying he’d be back.

He did come back with a sketchy character friend. Tariq didn’t play guitar, seemed to be nodding off before walking with his sketchy friend to find some food. I told him I would be leaving around 4:30 and he said he would be back so we could play together. I left at 4:45 with no Tariq in sight. I did enjoy playing for the toddlers again, who get so excited hearing music and seeing a guitar that they do a little up and down dance while squealing with delight and constantly saying hello.

It really makes my day.