Tag Archives: Cigar Shack

I Don’t Love You My Chemical Romance

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A better mousetrap. Can it be had? I don’t know, for some reason that line just popped into my head. At the shack. Zack and the Yanquis phan are smoking and drinking and getting merry like Christmas. Frank Burns has left the cigar shack leaving Thomas and myself to man the controls.

The Swiss cheese schedule continues, off yesterday, on today, off tomorrow. Then two days on and one day off. Yes the mantra goes on, threadbare but a mantra nonetheless.

I neglected to write the other day but I think I saw the badly drawn former friend the other day. It must have been her since I can’t think of anyone who would give out that vibe. I don’t think she saw me, maybe she did. It was brief and momentary and now it’s gone much like our friendship. No skelton bleeding here thank you very much.

It’s been quite a rainy and blustery day here. Been raining all day, one of those days when an umbrella just won’t do you any good. A lot of umbrellas have been turned inside out and sprout forth from garbage cans.

I did have the luck of having Bill swing by the cigar shack to pick up his keys which he left at home. Normally I would drop them off by his office but since today seemed to be monsoon day Bill did not want me to brave the elements so he stopped by the cigar shack after an appointment. It’s always good to have his sunshine come inn on a gray and windy day as today.

So now it is Thomas and myself manning the boards. Not much foot traffic now, especially after 7:00. It’s OK though. Brian nabbed top sales today and I am in second place. Frank Burns is in third place.

I had some really nice customers in today. Connections made, cards exchanged and cigars sold. As well as some nice pens to a bloke from old Blighty, heading back across the pond tonight. He comes back every month and so since he now has my card, he might swing by again and ask for yours truly. Or not. Of course it’s up to him.

25 minutes to go which is quite nice. I will be closing tonight which should get me home closer to 10:00. Bill will be fast asleep, he was so tired when he stopped by. He asked that I wake him up when I come home but there really is no need. A kiss will do. And I’m sure he will be OK with that.

Today is also my oldest brother’s birthday, turning the big 6-Oh. We chatted for a few minutes on the phone while I was on lunch and it was a good talk. I love my oldest brother, we’ve been through a lot. We were really close at one point, then things gradually disintegrated a bit.

Not because of anything in particular, mainly because the chemistry changed. We grew in separate directions and on occasion when we see each other the first 5 minutes are fraught with tension. We’re very much alike in many ways. All water under the bridge now, until the water rises again.

19 minutes to, Zack and the Yanquis phan still smoking and drinking, Thomas and I doing nothing in particular.

Now I am home, Bill fast asleep. I left Zack and the Yanquis Phan in the man cave, drinking and smoking and laughing quite a bit. It’s odd, but I guess understandable. Much like the grizzled old veterans at the VFW when I was growing up, the bar was the refuge from wives and children.

Nowadays I suppose the man cave at the cigar shack is a way to escape the family units. It’s funny, I usually can’t wait to get home to see Bill. I guess it’s not that way for everyone, some people would rather spend time away from family rather than go home to the ones they love.

In the words of that sage Juan- ‘Whatevs.’




adore a door

I Don’t Love Nobody

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Another day at work. I have a swiss cheese schedule this week. Off tomorrow, on Wednesday and off Thursday. Then two days on and one day off. It’s a job and yes I am happy to have one. Yesterday was also a work day. It was Zack and Jerry Vale.

I struggled to get out of the apartment in time to catch the 9:00 bus since last time, the 9:30 bus didn’t show up until 9:55 making me late for work. I would rather be early than late so I did my best to hustle without enough sleep. I was still groggy as I headed out, Bill telling me he loved me and I grumbled my way down the stairs. I wish I could have been more animated for him but he knows I am not a morning person.

I made it to the bus stop and a few minutes later the 9:00 bus showed up. It was fairly crowded and at the next stop, RoDa and his son Logan got on board. They didn’t see me since I was in the back of the bus and of course, most everyone in Hoboken who is someone knows RoDa. So he situated Logan in the seat and chatted with a few people around him.

I sent a text, ‘Hello from three rows behind you’. He turned around and gave me a great big smile and a wave and we planned on meeting t the bus terminal. It turned out Logan and RoDa were headed in the same direction as I was, plus they were walking. So we walked up the avenue together, me making a pit stop to get my egg sandwich. We parted ways, RoDa and Logan to get tickets for the New York Comic Convention and me off to work.

When I got to the cigar shack it was 10:00, I was a half hour early. I expected to be able to chill out on my own for a little while before Zack and Jerry Vale appeared, but to my surprise they were there already, smoking cigars. I sat and ate my egg sandwich and once I punched in set about starting the store while Zack and Jerry Vale smoked.

Money counted, both drawers counted, petty cash counted. Everything was in order. It was an easy day and I once again grabbed top sales. I walked down to the bus terminal after work, leaving Zack to close the shack. I hadn’t walked down to the bus terminal since earlier in the year, and a few things changed. New restaurants, new buildings were noticed as I strolled down the avenue enjoying a cigar.

A short wait for the bus and a standing room only ride back to Hoboken. There was Bill waiting for me and ordering a pizza from Grimaldi’s. Love and pizza, two of the finer things in life. We watched Boardwalk Empire which is getting better and better each week, more complex, more characters and more depth.

After that was Pan Am which is a decent soap opera and usually fun to watch. Bill went to bed after that and I stayed up for a little while after that. A good nights sleep was had and it was off to do the same thing again. Thomas and Bradley and I working shoulder to shoulder and it was an OK day. Things were slow but still numbers were posted.

I had volunteered to work the Monday Night Football event despite my aversion to most things athletic. Yesterday Zack told me that Bradley would be working the event and not me. In an email sent earlier Zack wrote that Thomas and I would both have to work a Monday Night Football and since I was off tomorrow it seemed OK for me to do it.

But no, it went to Bradley and it was fine with me. Why it went that way, I don’t know. Perhaps Zack took my concept of the West Side Story update, instead of Jets vs. Sharks it would be Jets vs. Dolphins. I made that joke a few times and got a few good laughs, but perhaps Zack thought I would actually do a few songs from West Side Story at halftime. I did rehearse One Hand, One Heart just in case the halftime show wasn’t cutting it.

In any event, I was out of there at 9:05 instead of 12:30AM and that was fine by me. There was also drama happening amongst the staff, drama that I witnessed and was not part of which was odd for once. I happily rode the bus home and chatted with an old Maxwells friend, Ally on the way back, talking about Bob Mould and Steve Fallon.

Now I am home and extremely happy to be here.