Thursday, June 27, 2013

Self Healing

Health
My throat feels much better today; as does my upper chest.
I believe that I had a gland which was called upon to produce mucous to flush out my chest of a toxin, perhaps. 
In case I have to do self surgery...

I don't know why it is just on one (left) side of my throat.
I think I might have breathed in just a speck of something which irritated the lining of my lung, and I've had to cough it out of me for the past week.
Someone might have had an accident while transporting a chemical weapon and I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and caught just enough of a whiff to make me feel like I had a chest cold (though no fever and felt great otherwise) for three weeks and went through 5 pounds of tissue; and had a swollen sensation in the back of my throat when swallowing.
The River Run
I have maintained the exact same velocity on my 2/3 mile run along the river to the little convenience store which I make on most mornings.
Four consecutive runs of 4 minutes and 57 seconds...
Singing Only Slightly Hampered
My singing was only slightly hampered by the condition, as I didn't have as much oxygen at my disposal, my volume dropped off; but I was able to do alright by switching to artists whose works can be performed with a chest cold. Johnny Cash comes to mind...
A Day In The Life
I am thinking of adding "A Day In The Life," by The Beatles to my working repertoire, starting with a run through it after scanning the chords online to get an idea of them.
It sounds like it is based upon a descending bass line, at least in my head...
No Food For 7 Days?
Because of the fact that I have been pressured to get a new food card, one which can be swiped and read, by certain cashiers whom have complained about having to punch the 16 digit number into their registers; and the fact that it takes up to 7 days for a replacement card to arrive in the mail, and the old card becomes void; and given that my food money on the card has run out exactly 7 days before the end of "this month," I have ordered a new card sent.
In the interim, I will subsist upon the cash that I am able to make busking; along with whatever food falls off of the banquet table of Bourbon Street  
In the short term, I think a water fast of at least a day or two would be just the thing to make this throat and lung nuisance leave my body.
8 More Days In NOLA?
I have told Howard of my plans to try to travel; as soon as I have the funds to take the Megabus to Atlanta, where I will try to meet up with Karrie and will play music on the street in the hope that it will be easier there than here in The Big Easy.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Wednesday Morning At 5 O'Clock

...as the day begins.
Hard Times Befall
Basically the most important thing was to replace the string which I broke the previous evening.
The purple bike would be an asset.
I am out of food stamp money for the next 8 days.
Cash has dwindled
I will just do the best that I can tonight; and hope for some luck...

Throat Thing
Amateur Doctors Feel Free To Weigh In
The thing in my neck, which I am thinking is a swollen structure such as a tonsil or an adnoid or any other thing that is just there doing nothing but can become irritated and swell up and take forever to recede.
When I swallow, it feels like something (the size of an almond) is stuck in my throat right around the area where I remember "Mumps" to have shown their symptoms as a kid, but just on one side..
I have been having symptoms of a chest cold, the past three weeks. It is not a dry cough but, I have to basically cough my brains out, so that I see stars...
And, it really isn't a tickling in the throat; just the sensation that there is something to cough up...Every half hour....
.
I think that I took something in which my body thinks if a foreign body; something stuck to the tissues in my lungs or something.
Creating all that mucous probably has some gland working overtime....
It is an over all systemic thing, though because meditation and yoga type stuff helps it;
Monday, Bike Repair
Tuesday, Laundry
Today, New String
All the batteries on my phones and mp3 players were dead this morning.
It is 5 p.m. and I have obtained a brand new string to replace the one which I broke last night.
I would have considered getting a whole new set, but the Elixir strings, which boast 3.5 times the life of regular strings where still on there and still short of having fulfilled their promise.
I decided to just replace the busted one.
And that is what I have accomplished today.
Eying Atlanta
For some reason, when I start to travel in a couple weeks (after the 5th of July when my food card gets credited) I wan to stop in Atlanta, where I will busk; avail myself to whatever Rebuild Center type places that they have there; and have a good chance of running into Karrie, my old estranged girlfriend.
It just seems like a reasonable "first leg" of a journey; and a good way to answer the question of "Can I make enough money to travel, just on busking; and to keep new strings on the guitar and clean clothes on myself?"

Monday, June 24, 2013

Today, it was Monday when I woke up.
I looked around me; and found my watch; 6:48.
I felt the swollen gland or whatever it is in my throat and had to think of weather or not Monday is the day to see the free doctors at the Rebuild Center.
It wasn't, so I slept some more.
I am pretty sure that I ingested something which has been causing me to have a lot of mucous (blowing my nose every hour; but not feeling sick at all) and coughing my brains out so that I see stars...


Sunday
Sunday, or yesterday as some might refer to it; was a pretty good day.
I met Tanya and Dorise at their spot at 11 a.m. and Tanya offered to buy me food in Rouses Market. I didn't take her up on it, but I did go inside to try to steer her away from fried chicken on such a hot day, to no avail.
I played on the Bourbon Street spot and found that I was good enough to make money; although the haunting spirit of the guy who requests songs that mean a whole lot to his whole generation (and which I know none of) surfaced out of the pavement, and gave me a pretty good tip, but not as good as if I had known at least one of those songs which defined him and helped make him the man that he is today and which the mere sound of reminds him of who he truly is.
He wanted to hear "Under The Bridge," by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, "A staple," he labelled it.
But, he wanted to hear Alice In Chains, Janes Addiction, and Nervana also. 
I managed to sound out parts of songs by each artist, which I only had dabbled in, back in the 1990's.
Should I create another Busking Axiom: "Learn at least one Nervana song, trust me..."?
The Day Before
I had a good day, Saturday, but I partook of the banquet which is New Orleans, and was enjoying the finest 3 dollar bottles of beers with names like "Fat Tire," and there was the most incredible food sitting atop trash cans, untouched; food like mufflattas which is a sandwich that has like a pastrami or salami and a lot of olives; and olive oil, too.
Somehow that sandwich makes the soul of anyone with Mediteranean blood in them sing.
It did I
But I woke up with a lot less money than I would have had I just done my routine things.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

You've Read Some Already...

I woke up this morning with some extra cash which I had gotten on Bourbon Street late the previous night.
I can't remember anything about it except the satisfaction that I had gotten after nailing a few songs to my satisfaction and the almost instant tips going into my case.
I was all around the Quarter and on foot, as the bike still has the flat tire and the shop isn't going to be open until tomorrow.
I plan upon putting the bike, flat tire and all, on the front of one of the city busses and getting it there, rather than pushing the thing with a flat tire; wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have the guitar and backpack fighting for my attention with the bike with the flat tire.
Avoidance
Saturday night, I continued to avoid Tanya and Dorise.
There was no reason to do this, as, it might indicate that I felt that they had wronged me in some way.
But, I needed to let some time pass between being told things like "Tanya invited you there; so it would look like they had a following; even if they had to kick you out it would show that there were people clammouring to hear them play."
I don't believe that.

I think that Tanya invited me because she just wanted one more friend there.
I Accept Responsibility For Everything

"You wouldn't worry so much about what people thought about you if you knew how little they think about you" -Jesse
I have pretty much come to the conclusion that the music that I played there at Caseys just wasn't good enough.
For one thing, I got totally shit faced before going there, out of fear that I wouldn't be in the mood to play should the occasion arise; and out of plain nervousness and due to the fact that 8 p.m. is well after the "sundown" time when I usually have my first drink .
If I would have played something more entertaining; that might have made a difference.
I should have gone with the attitude like it was an open mic night and the people in the place were the ones to try to entertain; instead; I think I just wanted it to be fun for Tanya and Dorise; which in turn would have been fun for everyone; but I didn't get into my zone...
Alex In California Weighs In
The other thing is: I might have stashed my backpack somewhere and just showed up carrying a guitar and wearing clean clothes and not smelling except of patchoulli.
Alex
Alex In California, has the opinion that business is hindered by the presence of bums, who clutter places with their bags and offend people with their odors; and that Casey might be on high guard against the presence of anything similar in his bar.
Yeah, I thought about that; but I thought also about the fact that T&D are really doing the bar a favor by playing there; maybe in return for a favor done earlier when the girls were in Orlando and they were somehow hosted at Caseys then bar there. I thought that if having other musicians show up and hang around was part of their "persona" then, so be it. Their success speaks for itself...
And, about spending money in the place; I will have to just let that go. In my opinion, if people buy drinks for someone and/or food, then it is just as if the person came in and spent his own money, in my opinion.
Brian Hudson Weighs In
Brian Hudson, in a conversation which we had almost a month ago, told me something which I will paraphrase as::

"Just the fact that you are thinking about her (Tanya) so much; means that you are thinking of her for the wrong reasons..." -Brian Hudson

Paul (of Doreens Jazz Band) Weighs In (Out?)


Paul just smiled as I recounted the story of last Thurdsay with his lips pressed togeher in an expression which might have said "I could say something, but I'm not going to..."
He has been playing professionally on the street for 20+ years; Tanya and Dorise for 10+ years, and I'm sure that they each could say something but aren't going to...
Adding Class To The Place

The other thing is that; my take on Casey is that:
He is from Detroit, which is in the North, which is a place that I understand.
He is following a proven formula for success in business.
It is one that I recognize and understand.
I just thought that, if he was a friend of Tanya and Dorise, then maybe he was on the same wavelength on certain issues, like them bringing in guest performers, hoping to add variety and maybe even help the guest artist along with their careers.
He has hired an excellent couple of musicians, who instantly set a standard in music as soon as they play, and that standard should carry over in that, a more "highbrow" crowd might be attracted there.
I told Casey that if Tanya and Dorise make it a habit to play there, then, within 8 months, the place will be packed and people will make reservations in advance to be there; and they will be turning some away. Then, I would understand myself not being allowed to hang around and maybe do a song or two...
I think Caseys intention is to "add class to the place," by bringing T&D there, and that is the well-spring of my problems; and supercedes the musical aspect of things.
He has basically given me the impression that he is looking for a reason to throw me out.
His assertions that I was taking space from paying customers (in a half full bar) and that I was bumming cigarettes (after I offered to buy one for a quarter) and that I was not spending money (though others were buying me things) all seem to be "politically correct" ways around saying "We don't allow homeless people here..." 
But, will the girls keep playing there; at a place that "big times" a friend of theirs because he happened to be broke on consecutive Thursday nights?
I happen to know that Tanya and Dorise are trying to be "greater than the music," and the fact that they have helped out a homeless street musician like myself is a testament to that.
I think they are set financially, and don't need to play at a bar on Thursday nights; unless they can make it something special in some way which will feed them artistically rather than drain them.

Saturday Night
An Asian Girls Face
"If you want to marry a Chinese woman, you need to accept the fact that she is going to be a little girl for the rest of her life; if you're OK with that, then go ahead..." -Howard
Out of the corner of my eye, as I crossed Royal Street, I saw the most incredibly beautiful face hovering in the semi darkness and seeming to be almost Photoshopped onto the black background behind her. An Asian girls face.
She seemed to be about 16 and the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen; including in my imagination.
I figured that it was a hallucination.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Four Days Ago Until Two Days Ago...

Into Friday
Friday, I decided to do my own thing and to avoid Tanya and Dorise altogether.
"You wouldn't care so much about what people think of you if you knew how little they think of you" -Jesse (grizzled guy)

Monday, June 17, 2013

Daniel Daily Monday Edition

It is certainly Monday; and I have to dig back to last Thursday to start to catch up; so I will hit upon only the "highlights," which is what this blog will hopefully focus upon, anyways.
I sure do have a lot less traffic when I don't post daily...

IntheQuarter Again
Thursday night, as I recall, I was at Caseys by 7:30.
I had only about 4 dollars; and Tanya and Dorise were not there yet; and so I took the opportunity to go inside, where Casey himself and one of the bartender girls were at near the bar.
I walked up and said "You must be Casey," to Casey, already knowing he was, but alluding to the fact that I had been in his bar a couple times, yet had never been introduced.
I really wanted to appologize to him for coming to his bar, when I am usually broke.
Casey reminded me of Jimmy Fusco, who was an Italian mobster whom I worked for when I was 17 years old.
Coming Of Age Story
I had initially gotten a dishwashing job at Scampi's Restaurant and Lounge, in Leominster, Massachusetts.
I guess I was a pretty good dishwasher; worked fast and worked in a 108 degree, and quite steamy environment.
My immediate supervisor, Ray, was gay.
He had made overtures to myself, as well as one other young man who worked in the kitchen.
He said that he usually went to Worcester, Ma. to pay for gay sex, but would rather get it right then and there from either myself, or the other kid that worked in the kitchen, and threw some pretty substantial monetary figures at us, as far as what he could offer us; factoring in all the gas and time he would save from not having to drive to Worcester and back.
One Of My First Songs
I wrote one of my first songs about him.
It was called ...er..."Gay Ray," and my approach to it was to try to rhyme as many words with "Ray" as possible in a 3 minute song.
Lines like "Hey Gay Ray, what do you say? How are you today, do you feel OK, gay Ray? How 'bout a lay, but you'll have pay, gay Ray. Hey, Ray, the sky is gray and I'd love to stay, but I must be on my way..."
So, when the boss, owner and made man, Jimmy Fusco came into the kitchen one evening and was mentioning to Ray that he needed of a barback; and for Ray to keep his eyes open for one and myself, overhearing the conversation said "I'd like a job like that," Ray relinquished his stewardship over me as a dishwasher, shook my hand and told me that I had done a great job and could always use him as a reference and freed me to become the barback for the restaurant and go to work directly for Jimmy.
I think there was a tacit understanding that Ray was anxious to hire a new young man (or two) to wash dishes; in hopes of finding a "kindred spirit" in one (or both -yeehah!) of them.
We're Here To Make Money
Jimmy's first words to me were something to the effect of "Look, we're all here to make money; that's it. You're here to make money, I'm here to make money; we're all here to make money...That's why we come here every day!"
He was an Italian mobster.
There wasn't a whole lot of "whacking" of people or fingers being cut off; just a network of businesses which were all run by family members.
The booze came out of the back of a package store run by Harry, untaxed.
They owned a huge music club called The Cinema Club, due to its proximity to the Cinema Theatres, which they also might have had their tentacles around. It was to there that I was entrusted to take up to 500 dollars to exchange for smaller bills.
They owned a strip club, called "Steaks and Crepes,"
This was where the industrial sized ice machine was located and to where I had to drive the van to with an empty trash can to fill with ice, every once and a while.
Since this is a coming of age story:
I Learn To Drive A Standard
I learned how to drive a stick shift after Jimmy told me to take "the van" over to Steaks and Crepes to get ice.
There was no way in hell that I was going to tell him that I had never driven one. There were naked girls there...
I kind of understood the concept; and after stalling the first time, and then chirping the tires and stalling the second time, I was shifting smoothly; and by the time I got to Steaks and Crepes; I "drove a standard." I haven't stalled or chirped since....
I was able to go into the nether regions of the club, where the girls were relaxing and walking about; pretty much naked or swaddled in an unfastened robe; in order to get to the ice machine, which was in the basement.
The girls seemed to enjoy teasing me and trying to make me blush like the 17 year old which I was. Plus, they outnumbered me 10 to 1...
I would be sitting and staring at the stage when the phone would ring.
The mobster who worked behind the bar, "Joey," would say "Yeah, he's here...he's watching the girls..." before hanging up and then telling me: "Jimmy say's to get that ice back there before it melts!"
I never got chewed out when I returned.
It was as if Jimmy conceeded that the ice fetching errand to the strip club by the 17 year old was just going to go very slowly as par for the course...
Jimmy often tested me by leaving valuables where I could easily steal them.
He would have a pile of money on his desk when he called me in to discuss some random issue.
It would look like an unorganized pile; but; after someone would call him out into the bar area and he would leave me alone with the pile of money on the desk (which hadn't even been counted, right?) and in which could be seen all kinds of presidents, he would return and then finish up with me; excuse me; and then count the money for the third time in order to see if he had a thief in his midst.
(Once, I added a dollar of my own money on such an occasion, just to mess with him.
Sure enough, he emerged from the office 5 minutes later and handed me a dollar and said "This must be yours.")
By then, he had started to trust me.
He was famous for materializing out of nowhere in an instant, trying to catch me with one of his drinks in my mouth, or my hand in the till.
Once, I had set down a box of liquor and turned my back upon it and someone stole it.
I came in the next day, which I had off and handed Jimmy the 35 dollars which it had been worth.
He smiled and asked "So, how was the party?' thinking, perhaps, that I may have taken the booze and had subsequently felt guitly about it.
"No, there was no party. I just feel responsible for it because I'm the one who set it down in the hall where no one but employees are supposed to go; but, I guess sombody did. If I wanted to have a party, I would just go to Harry's, and buy it. I still live at home and I don't have much else to spend money on..."
Plus, I wouldn't steal from you; I'm on your side; we are all here to make money; not for fun.....
Well, I had a very good summer working for Jimmy Fusco. It was a "coming of age" time in my life.
He was a no nonsense boss; and if I had decided not to go to college, I might be a made man today...
My point is, that Casey reminded me a lot of my old boss, Jimmy. It was almost nostalgic.
My intention being to appologize for always showing up their pretty broke, I did so.
"I hate coming to bars when I am broke," I said.
"Yeah, we hate it too. We're here to make money..."
Somehow I knew he was going to say that.
He went on to tell me that I left my stuff (backpack, guitar, second guitar) all over the place; taking space from "paying customers," and that I didn't spend money.
The bar hasn't been full to capacity when I have been there; and I sensed that there was more to the story.
"Tanya usually buys me drinks," I offered.
"Tanya is just being polite," he said, making me wonder anew if Tanya has just been being "polite" since the day that I met her. ...where would he get that information unless from the horses mouth...
"I don't want other people buying you drinks. I want everyone to buy their own," he then said.
"And, you were asking people for cigarettes last week!"
The previous week, I had asked a couple people if I could buy a single cigarette off of them. One of them told me to keep my quarter and then handed me 3 cigarettes. That must have been what Casey saw and what turned him against me.
Another guy, whom I spoke with, asked "What are you drinking?" and then bought me a glass of gin. That must have been strike two.
"Well, if I go play on Bourbon and someone throws me a 20 dollar bill, would I be alright to come back here?" I asked.
"Let's just take a week off," said Casey.
Meanwhile, Tanya had shown up, carrying the first armload of equipment (her violin), saw me talking to Casey, and quickly went back outside.
"I talked to them before last week about you..."
So, then and there, new light was shed upon the way I had been treated the previous week, and I once again began to doubt Tanyas assertion that if she had ignored me, it hadn't been "on purpose."
I left and went to busk and made 9 dollars in about an hour.
I decided to knock off at about 11 and rode the purple bike past Caseys.
Tanya saw me and smiled and waved.
The older guy, Dennis, who plays violin and seems to be a student, was sitting there, next to Tanya.
He must spend money in there in exchange for his violin lesson.
I couldn't interpret the look that he gave me...
I am reserving judgement upon Dennis. He does, though remind me of spirits which I have encountered in the past; but I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now...
I concluded that the whole situation was a result of my not having played well enough the first time I jammed with Tanya.
If I would have done something to get the whole bar applauding, rather than trying to hit it off musically with Tanya, then the whole dynamic might have been different.
Or if I was in there dropping 50 bucks on food and drink, of course.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Wednesday

When's This Day Good?
Last night, I went into New Orleans and noticed that the streets were relatively deserted of tourists.
I still planned upon playing; but after grabbing a Hurricane Lager and riding the purple bike *see below*  to my spot on Bourbon, I found that I just couldn't get going, so I got going.
That Frank Thing
I wound up working on new material; specifically; the changing of the chords of  "It Was A Very Good Year," the Frank Sinatra classic, to more jazzy ones.
There is no way that Franks orchestra was playing "plain" C major or D major chords in the spots indicated thus in the Fake Book.
These are occasions where the seasoned jazz musican will alter them on the fly and change the "color" of the piece. And the non seasoned jazz musician will sit at his playing spot experimenting with major 7th, 11th, 13ths and their extended families until he hits upon harmonies that just haave that "Frank" thing going on...
The (purple) Bike
Someone has left an unlocked bike about 10 feet from where I lay my head.
It has been there a week.
Yesterday, I rode it.
The tires need air; but it is a lot faster than walking and allowed me to be at my playing spot sooner and to shorten the length of my breaks; when I might otherwise walk to the store and back...
It must look like enough of a piece of junk that it wasn't stolen the 3 times I parked it in front of The Unique Boutique and then ran in (i.e. turned my back on it) for a couple minutes.
Rob, the surfer claims that the police were watching the bike and advised me not to ride it.
I told him that they were certainly watching it trying to catch the person who might have eluded justice on it; or who might have ditched it after being captured on camera in the commission of a crime while riding the bike.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Don't Degrade Yourself Like That

It is Tuesday morning.
I woke up at the same spot where I sleep when I miss the ferry.
I was in time for the ferry; but the ferry had quit running early.
It is not running today, either.
I don't want to try to swim across.
I am stuck in New Orleans with one set of clothes.
Unless, I can get in touch with Becca, perhaps.
I Miss Becca
Last night, I left Becca a message on Facebook telling her that I would be on my spot "between 6 and 8 p.m.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

I Tipped Them A Dollar

It is Tuesday Morning and the editor is working very slowly, perhaps because of the embedded video.
The Hokum High Rollers
The reason I am fingerpicking at twice the speed of, say, a year ago is that I am watching these guys play at least once per night.

They are definitely the "second string" players at the spots that Doreens Jazz Band, and Tanya and Dorise vacate between Sunday and Friday.
I have only recently come to appreciate them; I used to get no closer than 50 feet from their vocals; which tend to be of the gruff, shouted variety.
They didn't have microphones when that old-timey music was composed; so; in keeping with tradition, neither do these guys.

Monday, June 10, 2013


I am not sure if the above will work...
It was made by an amateur, yesterday.
Any out of pitchness (what we used to call "wow" and "flutter" in the old days of cassette tapes) is due to the persons phone not quite capturing everything fast enough, I can ussure you.
And of course when she pans the camera to show the audience she turns it 180 degrees away from the sound source with predictable results...
It is Monday morning, and the weekend produced mixed results.
My friend Becca is in town.

Here We Are In Happier Times...
 I will play my spot for a couple of hours tonight, as that is the only place where she knows to look for me; as my Obama phone is out of minutes until midnight tonight...
I had a 23 dollar Friday night, and then slept at a rain proof spot through a thunderstorm.
I had a 38 dollar Saturday night; but missed the ferry, though I found a good place to sleep...
Yesterday, I only made a few bucks and then knocked off because I remembered that Christina Friis was scheduled to play right down the street from the ferry terminal at a place called Old Point Bar....
out of time...

Friday, June 7, 2013

3 Outs At Caseys

I went to Caseys last night, after having washed my clothes and put on some patchouli oil and practiced a song and stayed as sober as I could....
I got there 20 minutes after they were supposed to start Dorise was 20 minutes late (and counting) herself.

Tanya was in her chair and was talking to this older guy who plays the violin; and who seems to be an obsequious brain picker of Huang, trying to intellectualize the musical process (like myself, sometimes) and was in a deep discussion with her about horse hair.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Willow In Chinese

This morning, I woke up at a brand new spot which I discovered after missing the ferry (by 3 minutes) last night, and following my intuition towards a bunch of bushes across the street from Harrahs Casino, which were saying "Pssst!"
Should I introduce them to a Grateful Dead song?
I was able to lay on a soft grassy spot, surrounded by cover and slept until almost 9 a.m. when a Spanish street sweeper guy in a blue shirt and green pants came around and swept up a bit and said "Good morning."
I got up and immediately went to work on the song "It Was A Very Good Year," by Frank Sinatra; mostly making sure I had all the words in my head.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

The Daily Daniel

The Daniel Daily
Wednesday, June 5th

Money
I have weathered the past 7 days with no money on my food card, and managed to get by with the amount of cash that I made busking (plus the money I got for renting the Jasmine guitar to the Swedish guys) as well as put a set of Elixir strings on the Yamaha, and would have gotten my laundry done yesterday, but procrastinated on it until the money was spent upon other things.
Things are going to slow down here soon.
I am certainly in the best condition for making money now (cool new hat, better sounding guitar, "20 dollar" strings on the better sounding guitar, plus I am playing better because of jamming with Tanya and Dorise, basically put) than I have been since coming to New Orleans.
I seem to make *something* every night now...

Monday, June 3, 2013

The Fallout From The Weekend

It is Tuesday.
Health And Fitness
This morning, I ran to the little store in 4 minutes and 56 seconds; the exact same time as the day before...
I Google-mapped the route and it appears that it is about 2/3 of a mile from the Louis Armstrong statue, where I start; to the little store where I stop for a minute to get and energy drink; and then jog back to the stand of cedar trees.
I am running the mile at about a 7:30 pace.
(When I was 16, I ran my "best" mile in 5:03)
Exercising early (about 7:30) gives me the double blessing of cooler temperatures; and the fact that Rob is still under the cedar trees; "watching" my stuff (while he sleeps).

Sunday, June 2, 2013

How Swede It Is

It is Sunday morning and I am at a coffee house on Royal Street, and have just paid 2 dollars for a small coffee and I am now using their (Computer is for customer use only. Please limit to 20 mins if another customer is waiting -Thank You) computer.
I just wanted to post something;
Yesterday (Saturday) was an active day.
I was bored in the morning, and not being a morning player; I hung out with Tanya and Dorise as they were setting up their stuff.
I Become A Rental Agent
I went to Rouses Market, where I was approached by two young men from Sweden who asked me where they could find a store that sold used guitars "like a pawn shop, or something..."
I had informed them about the 2 stores which I have gone to; and gave them directions.
Somehow, we got on the subject of my guitar; and that lead to a discussion of my old guitar; which I was trying to sell for 20 bucks.
"Oh, that's the one we want,:" they chimed almost in unison.