Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 9/14 - Sweet 16

I had a nice time in Jersey yesterday at my great niece/godchild’s Sweet 16 party. The food was good and the spinner crew of three did a fine job of entertaining. Danielle was radiant in her wedding-like dress. When her dad said said: "Here comes her 'grand entrance'," I laughed, recalling it as one of Classie Freddie Blassie's pet phrases during his managerial days in the WWF.  Late in the event the court ditched their formals and did a dance they’d choreographed. Dani did the candle-lighting ceremony in leotards. She got choked up when mentioning her grandfather, who passed away two years ago. When my niece Luci, Dani’s godmother, and I were summoned to light a candle, the DJ cued the Theme to The Godfather. It was an offer I could not refuse. The only negative was the absence of Dani’s older brother, Ron Jr., who is a freshman at the University of Kentucky. His dad, a terrific banjo player, said Junior decided not to bring a guitar with him. Ronnie was out somewhere the other night and a young man was playing, finished a song, and picked up a different guitar. Ronnie asked to play along, and the two hit it off. They will be doing a gig soon, playing for their supper. The other kid is the son from the first marriage of country legend Ricky Skaggs. I’ve always had the feeling Ronnie would one day change his major from pharmaceuticals to music. I’ve never brought it up. I don’t think his dad would mind. I’m not sure about his mom, who’s a teacher. I hope he doesn't so that he has something to fall back on, to coin that old phrase. I'd bet most professional musicians don't have a degree in music.

Note to drivers in NYC: if you’re traveling the Staten Island Expressway city bound, stay out of the right lane. There’s a stretch where it’s blocked off, and two points along it where cars merge onto the highway. It’s a tedious, single file slog made infuriating by the sight of the cars in the other two lanes moving smoothly, at least as smooth as traffic on that road gets.

There are a couple of interesting tidbits in today’s NY Post. An article about Viking myths is led by a clever caption: “Norse Manure.” And, in a sign of the times, another piece states that 730 NFL players have been arrested since 2000.

Whenever I've missed a session of the floating book shop, I'm anxious to get back to work. Bill Brown, author of Words and Guitar, the Music of Lou Reed, visited. He's beginning a new job tomorrow, proofreading the ads Dish TV sends out through the mail and the web. As we were talking, Bob showed up. I asked him to tell Bill the name of his employer. "Yellow Rat Bastard," he said, a clothier he's worked at for five weeks. Bill laughed, as I did the first time I heard it.
My thanks to the kind folks who made purchases today, especially to Bad News Billy, who came along huffing and puffing on his bike.

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/

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