The Writer's Life 1/21 - Sun of a Gun

There were a lot of interesting stats across a broad spectrum in today’s NY Post: the average price of a ticket to the Super Bowl -- $2929, lower, at least momentarily, than in recent years but still incredibly ridiculous; Facebook is cited in one-third of divorce cases, as cheating spouses communicate with lovers or brag in posts; last year in Japan more people died than were born, which sounds like something out of science fiction; the controversial film, The Interview, has surpassed 40 million in download sales, a victory for free speech; Twiggy has turned 65. Here are then and now pics of this icon of the always fascinating world pop culture:

Although I’m not eligible until May 1st, I’ve received my Medicare card and an instruction booklet. I doubt I’ll need more than the basics at present. I dread the thought of reading up on it, having heard so many people bemoan the labyrinth. One positive aspect, I’ll be without coverage three weeks less than I’d expected. Now all I have to do is remain healthy until then.

It looked like it would be a disappointing session of the floating book shop. I had only one sale in the first hour-and-a-half in the cold, as a woman bought Thomas Keneally's Schindler's List. Then Ol' Smoky showed. He's alive and as well as can be expected given his mental state and the fact that he's sleeping on subway trains these days. He was in a foul mood at the start, cursing up a storm, disgusted with his inability to get his free cell phone working, blaming the mob and the CIA. He was wearing new cargo pants and a pristine heavy denim coat, which he must have picked up from a charity. His mood lightened after he'd dug a plastic spoon into a plastic jar of a generic peanut butter, and later a cup of peaches. By then the sun had come out, and I decided to prolong my stay. Smoky gave me a large paperback on animal spirituality, which I planned to leave in the lobby of Atlantic Towers 3. Soon after he left, a young woman reversed her steps, having noticed the same name on five of the books. She pulled out her iphone and typed in the info. I told her to look for my Amazon page, but forgot to mention she could sample a ton of my short stories for free. Although nothing will likely come of it, that alone made staying worth it. I was rewarded further when a gentleman with a heavy Russian accent purchased books on vocabulary and grammar, and a huge text on Psychology, which must weigh two pounds. And darn if my most faithful customer, Marie, doesn't show up and immediately spot the book on animal spirituality, which she had just been discussing with a friend. I gave it to her, a small token of my appreciation for her generosity. Thanks, folks.

Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/rP7o9

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/