Finally sold a couple of my own books. It'd been about three weeks since my last sale of one of the "big" three. My friend Arlynn, who lives two floors above me, purchased Adjustments and A Hitch in Twilight to complete the trilogy. She's had Close to the Edge for years. It's her way of paying me back for helping her while she recovers from a fall she suffered more than a year ago. I accompany her on a walk Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, her attendants' days off. Her son is an officer in the Coast Guard, stationed in Virginia. He had the misfortune of traveling north during the snow storm and was stranded for two days in a motel in Sunset Park, as transit service to Sheepshead Bay was suspended. He returned to base yesterday.
Today I accompanied Arlynn to Methodist Hospital, where she underwent a biopsy. She later treated me to lunch at a diner nearby. With trepidation, I ordered a Turkey Burger. The last I'd had, at a restaurant in Manhattan, was terrible. To my relief, this one was delicious. She had an omelet. As we were eating, it occurred to me to ask her about a young man in our building I referred to in my own mind as Skinhead, for obvious reasons, who I hadn't seen in a while. Arlynn, who has lived in the complex since it opened in 1960, is privy to all the gossip. As I'd assumed, the young man is in prison - for the third time. When I'd first moved in he would stare me down in the hall and make snide remarks, trying to provoke me. I never said a word to him. I'm sure he was the one who broke the windows in my cars. He cost me several hundred dollars through the years. When it snowed, I would find slurs written on the roof, trunk and hood. He was heavily tattooed and seemed to yearn for the hip hop lifestyle. Arlynn said he was adopted at nine. His mother eventually ran out on the family. Obviously, he is a troubled soul. I shudder to think what he will be capable of when he is released.
Thanks to the folks at Lightspeed, Pinecone and Quick Rewards Surveys for the deposits into my paypal coffers.
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