Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 12/26 - ESP

Another Christmas has come and gone. My eldest niece, Isabella, did great work cooking both meals. While the rest of us were watching TV, she was dozing off at the dining room table while reading the newspaper. This morning I was humming the jingle to that old Alka Seltzer commercial: “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is.” I also recalled a quote from another: “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.” Fortunately, I had only one pastry last evening, after two on the Eve. To my surprise and delight, my great nephew Ronnie has begun to play golf. When I see him in January for his birthday, I’ll give him a set of old clubs and bag I have stashed in a closet. He received cash gifts yesterday and now has enough to purchase an Iphone. His sister Danielle got a ton of clothing. I was given items that will come in handy running the floating book shop: a warm winter jacket, NB sneakers, and jeans. It was a great day.

I had a nice chuckle while on my morning walk. I passed a three-family house where a Tarot card reader lives. The door was open and I noticed three tall letters printed, one on each mailbox: E S P. The only future I’d like to know is which stocks will do well. Businesses continue to return in Sheepshead Bay. El Greco Diner and Joe’s Clam Bar, directly across the street from the waterline, re-opened this past week. Unfortunately, the one that means most to me, Delmar Pizzeria, won’t be ready until February.

RIP veteran character actor Charles Durning, 89, who is listed as having 207 credits in film and television by IMDb. He received two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor, nine Emmy nominations, and won a Tony for his performance as Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. But all that great work is dwarfed by his experiences in WWII, which he would not talk about for 50 years. He received three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star. He survived a bayonet wound to the belly, an explosion, and machine gun fire, and carried a bullet fragment in his hip until the day he died. He participated in the D-Day invasion in the blood bath that was Omaha Beach, and the Battle of the Bulge. Taken prisoner, he escaped and avoided the Malmedy Massacre, wherein 100 Americans were executed by the Nazis. Incredible. His was a life to be celebrated. Thank you, sir.

With the forecast for precipitation for the next two days, I decided to give selling books a shot, despite the rawness. I put in an hour-and-a-half. A few people stopped, but no one bought. As I was putting the crates back into the trunk of my car, Michael approached with a plastic bag filled with books in Russian. Spasibo, sir. The day wasn't a total loss, especially with leftover seafood salad on tap for dinner.
Visit Vic's sites:
Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3