Wednesday. Woke up with the alarm after checking the alarm clock an hour before. I took my time, rather than waiting on the platform for the next train to arrive after the crowded train left. I did not take into account that there are people I sort of compete with when the train cars open, so waiting awkwardly for a few minutes does not seem so bad after all.

I bought a few ankle socks a few weeks ago which have served me well until this morning. The left sock decided to slink down into the sneaker, making things uncomfortable. It was manageable and I only just changed into a backup pair of socks that I had put into my bag only yesterday. So now I need a new pair of backup socks for the bag.

Yancy was at the fruit stand before me which was unsettling. I did not think he would be around this morning but there he was. Not much to say, he told me last week to organize my part of a shared file cabinet and I did but he insisted that it could be better and he was right. But I am the only one who uses it, I sit next to this file cabinet at least 7 hours a day. I appeased him though. He went off to finish clearing our Marcus and Jimmy Chile’s spaces a few floors down.

An hour or so later he was headed back to the major fruit stand blocks away. I was not sure what to have for lunch, and opted for a salad. My plan on saving money went out the window since the salad was about $18.00. It is not just lettuce; there are other ingredients. And it was good and healthier than a slice of pizza or a burger from Wendy’s.

It was a slow day overall and I got a few crossword puzzles done. Hard crossword puzzles. I was doing medium level puzzles and ran the gamut on those and thought I would try the harder stuff. Where it used to take me about 15 minutes for the medium puzzles, now it takes about 30 minutes to complete the higher level. I’d like to think it staves off Alzheimer’s but only time will tell.

We did have a Latin pop singer at the fruit stand today. I heard of them but that was only because if I was looking up another artist with the same first name, this pop singer would be presented in the list. They were nice enough to shake my hand when they arrived, then they were escorted into the area where they were interviewed and I never saw them again.

Mike also made an appearance at the fruit stand. I did ask him to call when he was in the neighborhood but he didn’t and just showed up. It’s a good thing that it didn’t matter. We walked to the Path train a little bit later and he was off to Jersey City and I waited for the Hoboken train, one of a handful of riders that were not captivated by the devices they hold in their hands.

I know, those devices aren’t going away and a lot of people do not have imaginations so they need something to occupy their thoughts. I am the one that has to adapt.

Well it’s now Tuesday. A cipher wanders around the fruit stand. They misplaced their laptop and immediately came to me and Brian who were having a nice chat. The cipher wanted us to contact the housekeeper, who is on vacation and Brian is filling in for.

The cipher was on a different floor and was understandably anxious, though Brian and I had nothing to do with it. The cipher looks like my cousin Madelyn’s son Carl. It’s remotely unnerving.

Once again, the day started with a fine mist of a drizzle to walk through on the way to the Path train. Last night Bill and I watched John Oliver once again, then followed it with bits of Rachel Maddow and Auntie Mame.

The news from Rachel Maddow was a bit uncomfortable, and since I wielded the remote, I settled on Auntie Mame. That reminded me of an unfortunate thing that happened 36 or 37 years ago. I was going out with the ignoble Gus Mackenzie.

Gus was my first boyfriend. I may have been his entry into gay life, and I was an imperfect entry since I did not have much to do with gay life. I preferred to hang out at Maxwell’s with my gay and straight friends, and Gus was a closeted Jamaican fellow.

The memory is a but hazy but involved being at the bar in the Village called Uncle Charlie’s. It may have been Thanksgiving eve or even worse, Christmas Eve. In any event I was with Gus instead of my family and watched Auntie Mame projected on a large screen.

Everyone was laughing and I wasn’t. It’s not much of a classic and Gus was doing his best to get into it. I really should have been with my family though I did not know then that my mother was not going to be around much longer. I’d like to think it was 1989 but it was more than likely 1990.

Gus and I broke up a few months after that and I never had much contact with him after. We met up once. He was vehemently anti weed when we were dating, and a year or so after breaking up he was somewhat into weed.

I did take him to see Morrissey at Madison Square Garden and that was a good show. I went to a party afterwards on the Lower Easy Side and I don’t think Gus joined me. I did make out with someone on the roof but cannot for the life of me, remember who it was. Gus was very much into Morrissey which made sense then.

This morning while showering Moz’ Interesting Drug played in my head leading me to play the Bona Drag collection when I got to the fruit stand. I did contact Ignatious Mackenzie online in a social media situation. It was awkward and I regretted it soon after, I had forgotten what an asshole he was.

I was just looking Ignatius MacKenzie up on social media and could not find him so I guess it’s all for the best. But like a dog with a bone, I could not let it go and found him once again. And once again I regret it.