I just got off the phone with an old friend who's had some serious health issues the past five years. He hasn't told many people, so I won't mention his name. It began with treatment for prostate cancer. Recently, doctors found a golf ball size mass in his right lung. Since it did not show up in previous x-rays, it is believed to have been caught early. It has now grown to the size of a lemon and will be removed Thursday morning. He will lose a rib and 25% of the lung. Fortunately, he is in a positive state of mind. He told me he has three things going for him: family, faith and friends. All the best, my friend.
There is a compelling article on the Fox News web site about the nationwide battle between militant gays and businesses run by devout Christians. Here's the link: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/09/03/todd-american-dispatch-christian-bakery-closes-after-lgbt-threats-protests/
The floating book shop was visited by a minor celebrity today. Joe from Brooklyn has been calling NYC radio stations since the 80’s. I recognized his voice the last time we spoke, finally placed it when he had gone, and have been meaning to verify it for weeks. He describes himself as an advocate of Men’s Rights. I’ve heard him recently on WOR-AM speaking to Mark Simone and Rita Cosby. Simone calls him Crazy Joe. Cosby is a sweetheart who appreciates any caller. Joe admits that he likes to instigate, which is surprising given his low-key street persona, which he attributes to common sense, as he is a retiree and small in stature. He has been very generous to me. I ask for a buck or two, rarely three, for the used books I peddle. Joe always gives me what he thinks a book is worth, a lot more than I ask. He doesn’t restrict his needling to radio. He does the same on web sites and he calls politicians to give them an earful. He is an original.
My thanks to Al, who donated about ten books, mostly non-fiction, and to Benedict and Natalia, who donated 27 thrillers in Russian -- "Dee-teck-teeve," as she so charmingly puts it. I recognized the Cyrillic script for Robert Parker on two of them. My thanks also to all the buyers who made it an unusually successful session, especially Kinesha, aka Mrs. Eclectic, who is halfway through A Hitch in Twilight and said: "It's very good." Wacky Joanne also visited and said: "I'm mad at you." She's disappointed by the adultery of a character in Killing. "People fall into temptation," I said. "They don't always do what we want them to." Curiously, I have always had a strong reaction to adultery myself and wonder if I'd been betrayed in a previous lifetime.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: 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
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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