Hoboken | johnozed

Well it is considerably colder outside. It was quite a cold day today and right now it is 60 degrees in the bedroom. I was out most of the afternoon. Not outdoors but actually at the smoke shop here in Hoboken. At around noon I received a message from Shlomo, asking if I could come in and sit in the store while he ran errands. I didn’t mind doing that since I was planning on paying them a visit this afternoon anyhow. I got myself together and headed over there about 30 minutes after I got the initial message.

There was Shlomo with a few other people. Apparently he had something to attend to and I didn’t know how long he would be gone for. I’ve offered my services, free of charge should he need someone at the store. So if he wants to throw me a free cigar, why not? No harm done and it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble. Laundry could wait for a few hours I guessed. About five minutes after I got there Shlomo and company were in the Shlomo mobile and headed up Washington Street.

I was smart and took the book about Yo La Tengo with me so I could have something to read. There were a few errors that I read and I knew they were errors since I was at a few of those events. I guess I should be glad that I wasn’t in the book. I had no idea that things were so difficult with Ira and Georgia and the quest for a steady, permanent bass player. I remember getting a cassette from Ira asking me if I wanted to play guitar with them, but my self-confidence was even worse than that it is these days.

I’m still on good terms with them and when we see each other on the street there is usually a warm and friendly greeting going back and forth. I last saw Ira a few months ago and I mentioned the rent control benefit at Maxwell’s. He told me they would be out of town and when I mentioned that I was going to be playing he joked that he was disappointed that he wasn’t going to see that. We had a laugh about that, then he was off on his way and I was off on mine.

Now I am back home. Between the last paragraph and this sentence I remembered Bill asked me to pick up his dry cleaning so it was on with the sneakers and a run down the stairs before they closed. I was worried they closed at 7:00 but when I called I was told it was 7:30. It was good to know and I will probably forget it. And now I have finished hanging the laundry on the racks as well on hangers in the bathroom.

For some reason Cabaret was playing in my head the past few days so that is what I am listening to right now. It’s too bad they never recorded the Alan Cumming/Natasha Richardson version. I’d love to see it. I did see it with Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, but on the soundtrack it is Natasha Richardson, so that is the one I am most used to. It’s also helpful that it is the version I own.

13 Tonight

Hope you all had a decent hump day. It was alright on this end. I was busy and I was also out and about. I did not go to the smoke shop though I walked by it and gave Shlomo a wave of the hand. Whether or not Shlomo responded in kind, I couldn’t say. It was fairly cold outside and I merely kept on walking. I would likely be walking past later on so I paid it no mind. I was on my way to the bus terminal. With the Path train still out of commission, the bus is the best way to get into the city.

There is the ferry but that’s a bit more money. Even the $5.00 each way at rush hour is a bit steep and I wasn’t going at rush hour so the cost was a few dollars more. It was a good idea to head over to the bus terminal since the buses usually are full by the time they get to my favored stop, or at the very least, standing room only. So I nabbed a seat and read some of that Yo La Tengo book. Ira Kaplan, cub reporter so far.

I got off the bus and bought a round trip ticket at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. I wasn’t planning on using the bus to get back. The plan was to get to TekServe on 23rd St and 6th Avenue to have my iPod looked at. And since there is the Path train right there I decided I would be taking the train to Newport and walking back to Hoboken. Not that far a walk, maybe 20 minutes from the Path station in Jersey City to the Hoboken Train Station. I walked down 6th Avenue and ran into my old Rasta pals. They said to tell you they said ‘Hello’.

I didn’t linger, too cold. I strolled down the Avenue of the Americas and in no time I was at 23rd St. I had to take a number once inside TekServe and was told it would be a 15-20 wait. I didn’t mind. I was good to get in from the cold and I was able to sit and read while I waited. About 20 minutes later my number was called and I walked over to Timothy. Nice guy, asked if I was related to some British actor which was odd since Trevor Howard is so rarely remembered these days.

Timothy was British so that was probably why he asked. I told him what was wrong with the iPod and he said it happens every so often with the iPod classic. He was able to fix it for a nominal fee ad I was happy with the cost as long as I got my iPod back. I do have some priorities you see. I decided to walk up to the Path station at 33rd Street rather than getting on at 23rd St. I wanted a seat and my chances would be better at 33rd St.

Nose in the Yo La Tengo book once again, reading about Georgia and her growing up on the upper west side. I was at the Newport Station soon enough, listening to Richard Hawley on the iPod and headed for Hoboken. And like I planned I walked by the smoke shop again and waved to Shlomo who was looking at his laptop and not out the window. A stop at the bibliothèque to pick up a book I requested but couldn’t remember why I requested it. An experiment in time perhaps is what I think. And I think I am right. You’ll see.

And I’m really happy my iPod is back and fully functional.