Tag Archives: Jim Mastro

The Right Stuff

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Holy Thursday Batman! That’s what today is on the 4:30 Movie. The Robe and the Matching Slippers. Blessed art thou who weareth the slippers.

I just got back from some busking. Played for about 90 minutes until my arm cramped up. You’d think my arm would be used to repetitive motion, I mean I even shaved my palms and wear corrective lenses. I made $1.77.

Didn’t do any singing, just strum strum strum. I played Love Shack, Hercules, Good Lovin’, All My Loving, Please Please Me, So It Goes, Whatever Gets You Through the Night, Surrender, Take Your Mama, Brown Eyed Girl, Peggy Sue, The Letter, Half a World Away and a little bit of Mr. Tambourine Man and a slightly askew version of Fourth Time Around. Also 2000 Miles.

It’s a good thing I didn’t sing, especially with 2000 Miles being a Christmas song of sorts. But the chords have a nice progression. Stopped by the Guitar Bar and firmed up plans with Jim Mastro for Saturday morning.

He asked if I had anything planned to say and I told him I didn’t because I don’t. Jim was very supportive of my busking and recommended having the guitar case open to collect bills and change.

I had a phone call from Pedro who prefers Riker’s Island to home. Cabin fever pitch. He was heading into Manhattan and asked me to join him. So now, I’m home and called him to make sure since last time he said that, I went into the city and was unable to contact him.

I didn’t mind, I was able to go to JR Cigars and pick up some cigars anyhow. This time, I’ll just stay in Hoboken and see if he calls before I do anything. Annemarie planted that idea in my head, to make sure Pedro would be around. I was hoping he would be, not just to hang out with him but to also pick up the latest Mojo and Uncut.

Got another US Census form in the mail. I got one a few weeks ago and duly mailed it in. Now here it is again. I marked Bill as my unmarried partner. If I fill it out again, maybe I will mark him as my husband.

Crazy cannabis free dreams again last night. One involved living back in Lodi with two terriers named Jackie and Jibby. Frank and Elaine were living in the Iwanicki house next door and I could hear Elaine and my niece Corinne have a heated discussion about something. There were also some ominous overtones with regards to something in the backyard of 13 Riverview.

And Starlings. Did you know Starlings aren’t native to North America and that someone imported them with the concept of having all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare living in North America? And now the Starlings are taking over the Sparrows? I read that somewhere. Bad idea, not fully thought through.

The other dream took place in Manhattan where I was pedaling a Pedi Cab on Seventh Avenue then lending it to Rachel Maddow for the opening of City Boys, a musical about Cowboys in Manhattan.

I was also wearing a cowboy hat and my former coworker Sarah Pierson was in the dream as well, and I took her on a bicycle tour of Hoboken. Strange dreams indeed.

Other than all that, it’s been a beautiful day. I heard from the Hudson Reporter about a letter I wrote supporting the bibliothèque. Just confirming that I was who I said I was.

I always need to confirm that, if not to other people then to myself.

And twice I’ve been in the supermarket and both times I’ve heard The Right Stuff by New Kids on the Block and I found myself singing along.

WTF?

I am who I say I am

I am who I say I am

The Telephone Always Rings

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Oh it’s been a big blue sky today. After the past couple of days of gray and rain, it certainly is nice to be out and about in sunlight. I made it a point to go out and walked over by the river, by Pier A and checked out things.

Lot’s of people out and about. The unemployed, the dog walkers, the stroller set, the runners & joggers and the employed out for their lunch break. I made my way up there after stopping by the Multi Service Center on Grand Street in Hoboken to pick up the papers from last week’s civil union thing.

I was told to look over to see if the info was correct and it was except for them having Bill’s birthday as June 26 instead on the 29th. If I didn’t catch that I would have been marrying a fraud and you know that would just be so wrong. What’s the point of having second class marital status if it’s a sham?

Such a depressing place to work, but it’s a job and I suppose it’s what you make of it, so who am I to talk? I ran into 2 Irish gents who were wandering around Hoboken looking for Piccolo’s, which is a cheese steak sandwich shop where they play all Sinatra, all the time.

I hadn’t been there since the 1980’s but I did give them the proper directions which the Hoboken natives sitting around outside the center were unable to do. I wished them well saying ‘Good luck Lads’ even though they were considerably older than me.

I saw Jim Mastro once again, annoyed the hell out of him I’m sure. We discussed a unique guitar that I saw the other day, not that I want to for myself but I had never seen a guitar like that before. It’s a Hanson Guitar, and it looks cool.

large-HansonCigno

Jim said he plays one, but I have yet to hear it for myself.

Then I wandered up to Pier A and took some snapshots, before walking over to Sinatra Park where I sat and read in Mojo magazine, articles about Judy Collins, Serge Gainsbourg and Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators.

I took plenty of pictures mainly through the cellphone which get uploaded to Facebook almost immediately, or as long as it takes to go from my phone to the satellite. Came home, read emails, read the New Yorker from weeks ago and spoke on the phone with Juan who was hilarious.

He may be up in this area on Saturday so it might be nice to see him. Also heard from Casey Chasm who wished Bill and myself ‘mazel-tov’ on our marriage. I had to correct him and thank him at the same time, telling him that it was just a civil union, not a marriage. Yet.

Last night, or rather this morning I had a dream that my brother Brian was singing at Lincoln Center. Annemarie flew in for it, a lot of relatives and friends were around. I was living in Lodi and could not get a ride to Lincoln Center.

I walked down to Route 80 and tired to hitchhike to no avail. Tried to get a ride on a coach bus but the driver wasn’t paying attention and smashed into a tree by the VFW Circle on Saddle River Road. I wound up yelling at everyone at the Saddle Brook Howard Johnson’s and in so doing I woke up angry.

Not the best way to start the day, upset at imaginary situations but some coffee and the beautiful day took care of all that.

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