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6 Days
Have 6 days left. It is hard for me to imagine this job finished in time for my flight to NY on Saturday. But perhaps that is just the marriage of my pessimism to my laziness. Have yet some business to attend to that I am putting off. Will probably be doing the final cleaning right up until I leave for the airport. Somebody next time please remind before I go into the Quarter for breakfast on Labor Day Sunday that the Southern Decadence Parade is on Saturday. Parked along side of Armstrong Park. Saw the prettiest black man dressed as a woman I have ever seen but that did not really clue me in. On Dauphine the new street sweepers spray fragrant street cleaning disinfectant. But approaching Bourbon on Dumaine the odor of urine was still prevalent and the mountains of plastic cups being swept up by busy workers were of impressive scale. It was 7 a.m. and people, mostly of the spectator variety, were still drinking, and swaying and blowing their boozy breath into the stagnant air. It was not what I needed for breakfast so I turned around and walked back to St. Ann and met a congregation of cops parked in the middle of the street. But apparently a false alarm because they all drove off before I got to my car. So went and had another pork chop breakfast. A man at the counter in dress shirt and ill fitting pants and smudged sneakers with brown cotton gloves had before him a hundred pages of typing paper onto which he was scribbling, literally scribbling. He would pause every so often and gaze into the near or far distance, and ponder, then smile. It was an image disconcertingly familiar to me.
7 Days
7 days left. Moved a few limbs out of the guy's way mowing the Pentecostal's lot. Had earlier this morning finished sawing up the big limbs from other day. The grass was high. Extremely hot today and yet noticeably cooler. Have taped and bedded a few spots where the sheetrock tape had buckled due to constant shifting of this house. Am painting now. Heard Spanish speaking voices from backyard. A new sound for the neighborhood, oddly pleasant. Have not been to the Latin bar at corner but can see it is well attended. Went to Galvez/Canal corner store for half pint of whisky last night. It can be edgy in there but wasn't last night. Find myself uncharacteristically making a lot of eye contact inside the urban establishments. Cannot tell if it is welcome. Met a friendly person today who wanted to haul my limbs away. We chatted amiably. Told him if he included as helper Joe L I would consider it. It would all make barely a twenty minute bonfire. I wish I could burn it. But the city frowns on that. Have to write seven days left even if I don't want to. Got hip to a new breakfast place in the neighborhood. Chauffeur took me. It was a place so perfect for me that I cannot tell you what is it's name, because I don't want to see you there. Wish I could have discovered it with Bernadette because we would have been happy about it. If I ever eat a better pork chop breakfast I will say that was the best pork chop breakfast I have had since...psyche.