Tag Archives: Cigar Shop

I Confess

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It’s a Thursday and I went back to work today. I didn’t mind, it’s something to do and the mantra continues, ‘At least I have a job’. It was a relatively easy day, bottle of water nearby, flask of bourbon hidden in my bag.

I made it to the bus stop and saw the 10:15 bus loading but I didn’t take it. I waited for the 10:30 bus. That’s the bus I like. It wasn’t too crowded and the tooth wasn’t bothering me too much. Water did the trick as usual and I made it to the shop early once again.

It was Marcus and Don Birch today, Sean scheduled to come in later. Marcus was busy rearranging things on the shelves before he headed out for the day. Calvin had off for the day. I was sent an email yesterday telling me that the protocol is to call and leave a voice mail message rather than an email.

I suppose they like to analyze the voice on the recording to make sure I am who I say I am, in the state that I say I’m in. Protocol is never revealed until the line is crossed. Marcus never brought it up and the email was from Calvin.

I had a dental appointment this afternoon and instead of lunch that is where I was. It was actually Bill’s dentist that I saw and since Bill has such a winning smile I figured he could do some periodontal magic on my teeth.

I got there on time and was in the dental chair almost immediately. The dental hygienist took the x-rays regarding the lower left quadrant of my mouth. Apparently I had a cavity under my filling which is what was causing me some extreme discomfort.

Rock & roll radio was playing as the dentist worked on my numbed mouth as he sang along to Billy Idol’s White Wedding and Blondie’s One Way or Another. ‘Roger never sang while he worked on my teeth’ I thought to myself like I was in a Roy Lichtenstein painting.

A root canal was in order and I’ve had so many of them it seemed, that it was not much at all. The good doctor completed 75% of the work, with plans to finish the other 25% next month. And a cleaning and more x-rays at the end of this month.

I am going to have to check in with the insurance and the doctor’s office to see what will be covered under Bill’s dental plan. In any event I was soon out of the office and headed back to the shop a changed man, the thorn had been somewhat removed from my paw, or in this case the pain in my tooth was removed.

I was certainly in a good mood, better than it was when I left. Also increased my sales which were pretty much lackluster before then.

Tonight thanks to Soft Cell’s Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go, The English Beat’s I Confess and Erykah Badu’s Tyrone, I made it from the shop to the bus terminal in 17 minutes, 24 seconds.

I Believe in You

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Woodland Reserve. My bourbon of choice. Does the trick in silencing a toothache and enables a good night’s sleep. Not slugging from the bottle, just a couple of fingers does the trick.

I was talking to Pedro on the phone yesterday, playing catch up. Mentioned the bourbon and that’s one liquor he won’t touch. No to bourbon.

Once again I woke up, the inner voice pleading with me to take the day off, play hooky. With the toothache I had a legitimate excuse. And I was thisclose to actually calling in, but no. I rallied and shuffled along.

Much care in the drinking of coffee. That went well actually. I eventually found myself on the bus which actually was on time this morning. And the bus wasn’t crowded.

No Angie Baby on the bus either. Her bleached blond hair was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps sitting next to me has caused her to catch an earlier or later bus. I didn’t mind. I’ve been such a zombie lately that I don’t even read in the morning, I just sit and look out the window.

Made it to the shop on time. Actually with time to spare which I spent in the backroom and just chilling out and cooling off. No humidity today, just heat. And it was hot. And of course I wear a suit & tie.

I had a flask which I filled with some Woodland Reserve and not long after getting to work I took a few sips that quieted down the toothache. I alternated the sips of bourbon with sips of water which did the trick.

Bill stopped by the store since he called me before I left the apartment and asked if I could bring his keys to work. He noticed the bourbon on my breath. It was nice to see him in the middle of the day. It was actually the highpoint.

I called Bill’s dentist to tell them what was going on in my mouth. Bill scheduled an appointment for me on Friday and when I called on my lunch hour I spoke with Dawn. I told her the story and she told me that there was a cancellation and that they could see me on Thursday instead of Friday.

That was fine by me, the sooner the better. I went back to the cigar shop after my lunch and told Calvin the latest news. He mentioned that I could go on my lunch hour on Thursday.

The backroom was crowded with cigar smokers including one who had smoked too fast and got dizzy and dehydrated. He had to lay down on the floor of the bathroom and get himself together for about a half hour.

I neglected to mention that Marcus had posted on Facebook and Twitter this morning, that the first 10 people to call the cigar shop with a $50.00 order will get a free lighter or cutter. The phones went crazy and the first 8 calls were some of Marcus’ NYPD buddies.

Apparently he has quite a few of NYPD buddies. They stop by, a few patrolmen each day. On top of that, or perhaps under that, there were a few bent nose types hanging around. Guys you wouldn’t want to mess with.

Guys that look like they were from Lodi, or even Hoboken back in the day. They don’t take part in Facebook/Twitter viral contests. And they only pay cash.

Made it from the cigar shop to the bus terminal in 16:30 thanks to the Buzzcocks, Singles Going Steady.

I need a new job.