It was another beautiful day in the post-Irene era. It appears our only casualty of the storm was Waj's gyro stand, which has disappeared. No one has any information on why. Perhaps it was hauled away after suffering damage, or maybe its license expired, or maybe the owner decided the income no longer justified its presence, which seems unlikely, as business was brisk. One woman wondered if it meant a terrorist attack was imminent. One guy who passes every day spouting leftist views to total strangers told me the owner believes women who work should be killed. It sounded as paranoid as most of his rants. I have no idea what Waj's politics or beliefs are. I never heard anything in that respect coming from that stand, which offered tasty food at bargain prices. Full disclosure: when I first started buying meals there I did wonder if the owner would one day get the order to poison the ingredients. It is a mad world, and no one is madder than the mullahs.
For the second day in a row I got a visit from a man I often suspected was homeless. I'd guess he is in his 60's. He always appears unkempt, full beard untrimmed, hair long and wild. Today he went into his background. I had a hard time following, but I learned he was alienated from his family, did not attend the funerals of either parent or his sister, who left her estate to him. He believes his financial adviser is stealing from him. He also collects Social Security. He recently broke with a friend of 40 years, who married so that a woman could earn citizenship, a woman who bankrupted his entire family and left him an embittered recluse. He also mentioned a wild day in DC, when he and his drug addled friends took it into their heads to go hear a speech by Martin Luther King. He did a massive amount of LSD and then Thorazine to come down from the high. Perhaps this explains why he spent time in an institution. He went on for at least a half hour, dropping the F-bomb repeatedly and apologizing for his French. I hope this isn't going to become an every day thing. I've been expecting a certain woman, who appears mentally ill, to talk to me. She frequently stops in the vicinity of the floating book shop, places her heavy bags at her feet, and stands in a locked pose for minutes at a time. Waif-like, she always wears the same type of flowing dress, reminding me of characters out of the work of Charles Dickens. She seems about 50. I suspect she was once quite attractive. One day she circled the area between a telephone pole and a mailbox many times in succession. I haven't seen her speak to anyone. It's sad and creepy at once. I hope she isn't living alone. Perhaps these two see me as a kindred spirit. Who else but a nut would try to sell his fiction on the street?
On a completely different note: Did you know that there is a memorial for the winners of The Medal of Honor? Neither did I. Appropriately, it's in Valley Forge, and it's in need of repair. If you'd like to make a donation, visit: http://www.friendsmohgrove.org/Donate.html
Thanks to the woman who purchased six books for her children, one of whom has been reading since age two! He was reading the Tropicana advertisement on the side of the bus shelter, aloud, when his mom spotted the books.
Read Vic's stories, free:
http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
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