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22 October 2013
I was carrying my guitar this morning, because I have a lesson at noon. Joy asked, “Do you have a new hobby?”
“It’s not a new hobby. I haven’t been playing for a while, so I thought some lessons would get me back in the groove. It well also get me away from the computer for a while.”
“Do you still have calluses on your fingers… Let me see… No, smooth as a baby’s bum. I used to play a guitar. My step dad bought it for me. He bought my step brother, who was four years younger than me, a set of drums. I used to bang on them them in the garage. Finally, my step father got tired of the noise and said, ‘These are going to my ex-wife’s place.’ ”
“Did your step day play guitar?”
“No, he didn’t play a note. He wasn’t really my step dad. My mother never married him. He was just around.”
“How were you on the guitar? Did you take lessons?”
“No, I just banged around on it. It was a junior size start-up guitar. When I grew out of that, he wouldn’t buy me another one. It was like trying to play a ukelele. Speaking of which, see that lady that just passed? She was carrying a ukelele.”
I said, “I didn’t see you yesterday. Did you stay home because of the rain?”
“Yeah, I’m still feeling sick. I haven’t eaten since Friday, so rain or not I was determined to come down here. Tomorrow, Thomas, my worker, is supposed to come by my place with a bag of groceries. I hope there is no weird stuff. Last time they gave me cous cous and falafel. I didn’t know what to do with them, so I just tossed them.”
“They don’t have much taste; a bit like rice.”
“Yeah, I watch some of those cooking shows, that’s what they said, but I’m too old to start trying new stuff.
I said, “Angeline was in your spot yesterday.”
“Yeah, I heard. I have no problem with her, as long as she is sober. She gets nasty when she’s drunk.”
“I saw a tall guy with a beard and baseball cap standing about twenty feet away. Does that sound like her boyfriend?”
“Probably, he’s a really weird guy. He’s got these spooky looking eyes. He frightens people away if he stands too close to her.”
“I heard that she stabbed somebody.”
“Yeah, that was her former boyfriend Al. She went to prison for that. I think she did six months.”
“Have you sorted out your phone and television?
“Yeah, one of my regulars gave me a phone. I hope it’s not wireless. I have trouble with those… Nope, I see it has a cord attached. I phoned Bell on Hawk’s phone and asked for another bill. They said it was up to four hundred bucks now. The account is still open, but I can’t drop the internet, because everything is in Jake’s name. He’ll be out in a month, so he can worry about that.
“I still haven’t been able to log into his computer. Hawk gave me a set of headphones that I can charge through the lap top, so it’s not completely useless.
“I also contacted Canada Care about Jake’s electric wheelchair, so that’s all sorted.”
“There’s still a restraining order against him, isn’t there?”
“Yeah, I tried to have it removed, but because he’s had so many charges, all against me, they won’t recind it. Mariah had a restraining order recinded against Charlie, but his charges were varied. There was no problem, Domestic violence they really take seriously.”
I asked, “If he moves in with you, won’t that be a parole violation?”
“Yeah, if anybody finds out. It’s not as strict as probation. He just has to report once a week. There won’t be any piss tests.
“I don’t even know if the landlady will let me stay after my lease expires in November. She should let me. I’ve only had one complaint the whole time I’ve been there. Just after I moved in, I was pounding on my ceiling with a broom handle when asshole was stomping around.”
“So, are you going straight home after this, or are you going to the park?”
“Not too many people have been going to the park lately. Did I tell you, the guy upstairs threw out an oil heater? I grabbed it. It works well. When it starts up it sounds like chips frying. There’s a bit of an odor, but I don’t mind that. I turn it off before I go to sleep. Now my place is toasty warm. If only the landlady will fix the back door before winter. Snow piles up and it won’t close properly. It stayed open about two inches last year.”
Streetsister 