New York City: the Middle

             Seeing how others live really gives me an appreciation of my life. Willy and Diane live in a flood plain. The last flood their house was six feet underwater. They live on the second story so they stayed basically dry. However there was still a musty smell in their apartment. The upper bedroom is blocked off. The apartment is basically a living area, non functional dining area, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. The living area is dominated by a huge leather sofa in a “L” configuration. That is where Billy and I camped out for three nights.

During the day Willie exists on the sofa watching old TV shows picked up from an aerial. Budget cutbacks forced abandoning cable. He is in horrible health and does nothing to improve his situation. Diane is working three different jobs to keep them afloat. This kind of situation drives me to distraction.

Being able to crash here had a lot to do with my making the trip to the show. However, in the long haul, it would have been easier mentally to have stayed at a motel. The older I get the less tolerance I have for this kind of dysfunction.

Sunday morning Billy and I got an early start to the show. It felt strange to not be setting up and instead standing in line for an early admission which was only $15.00. I’m not in the market to buy anything so I was pretty laid back.

Finally the snack bar opened up and I was able to get a Taylor Ham and egg sandwich and a coffee. I felt much better with some food in me!

Vince Giordano was “bug eating” (searching through records). I approached him and said how we would see him for his Monday night performance. He gave me a “tear off” as a reminder. How “New York City” is that?

 

It seems that nothing is really new. One modern gadget I bought is based on old technology. When radio first came out in the late teen’s it was only listenable through headphones. It took a while for speaker technology to advance. A popular attachment was marketed to attach a “loudspeaker” to phonographs to use the horn as an amplifying device.

I owned one of these early models which I used attached to a cassette player. It was startling to hear modern music from an antique machine. The results were kind of disappointing as the volume was not that great. The nice thing in that kind of circumstance is it was easy to sell that speaker at the next phonograph show, so I was not out any money!

That style speaker is again available today, only much improved. The drivers are much stronger and it has the ability to play off pretty much any source you can find; an  Internet connection, Bluetooth, or MP3 player. There is a urethral, echoey quality to modern music reproduced this way. It is called a “Fono plug” and it was pretty much my only purchase at the show.

 

Not being set up Billy and I were able to leave the show early without repercussions. It was time for a late lunch. Billy had the best place in mind. A spot I have not visited in too many years which has been featured on pretty much every “road food” show on the planet, Rutts Hut in Clifton, NJ.

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There is a bar/dining room above this take out area which is where Billy and I ate. It is dark and dingy here with overtones of 1940’s pine paneling. I love this place!

It was shopping time after this for Italian groceries in Patterson, NJ. It is not same going to Patterson since the Patterson Pickle Co closed. Those were the best pickles on the planet.

It was a natural progression from Patterson to Boonton, NJ. The memories this town holds. The Honda Element naturally went to Johnnies Tavern. The football and soccer games were on all the TV’s. There was a promotion for Miller products going on. One of the managers was passing out red extra large tee shirts. He walked around the bar and realized I was wearing a Utilikilt. His jaw dropped and he said, “He’s wearing a kilt for Christ’s sake!”

Not long afterward these boys were asking me if I was wearing underwear. When they learned the answer they erupted, “He’s freeballing under that thing!” causing many heads to turn.

Johnnies can get kind of strange, so Billy and I did not stay too long. On the way back to Willie and Diane’s we passed the legion and saw Diane’s car parked there. We decided to drop in as to not be stuck with Willie watching horrible TV. She was so glad to see us. A lot of the regulars were there from the other night.

Willie was there as he had to use the car to pick up family members. Diane fixed us up chicken wings which ended up being supper. There was drama going on with Willie and his family and whatever.

Billy and I were able to get sacked/asleep out on the sofa before any of them came home.

Monday morning Diane took us to the bus. But, first we had to get a breakfast at Crossroads.   Diane also helps out/works here. Billy and I sat at the counter, Diane went to work waiting on the counter, and tables. That woman never stops! I got the breakfast special which consisted of: three eggs, Taylor ham, homefries, and lots of coffee. This is real New Jersey.

About the only fixture missing was the muscle boy who was always hanging out here in the past. We saw him Friday night with his new wife. Willie had the sorted story on the mess. Muscle boy is not as buff or hot as I remembered, and his new wife reminded me of that comedian “Carrottop” who is rumoured to have had all that horrible plastic surgery. They had the same eyes and lips….

Diane got us to the Rt 23 Transit Center where we only had to wait about 10 minutes for the next bus into Manhattan….

To be continu

ed….