Long time no see, eh? Hope you’ve been well – I know I have. It smells like spring today in Fort Greene Brooklyn; I’m at Red Lantern Bicycles (a coffee / bike shop) and Myrtle Ave is positively hopping. I have, for the first time in a long time (ever, maybe?) no complaints. That’s right! You heard it here first. But don’t worry – this too shall pass.

                Lately I’ve been working as an assistant to an appliance repairman – he’s a Brooklyn transplant too, but by way of Appalachia. He’s been doing appliance repair work for 25 years; it’s his family’s business in Southeastern Ohio, and it’s seen him through life in all kinds of cities, New York being no exception. Most days find us walking around Brooklyn neighborhoods like Prospect Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Williamsburg, with the occasional jaunt to Manhattan demes such as SoHo, Inwood, and Wall Street. It’s a lot of walking, but it takes us to all kinds of gorgeous apartments inhabited by all kinds of people, and I usually pass the time listening to his stories. He’s got a lot of them. I’ll see if I can some day get away with telling you one in particular – it involves a Westie terrier and an ancient Indian surgical technique. It’s about as strange as you can imagine.

                But first, more good news: I’m getting published. Remember that story I put up a while back? The one with a lascivious monkey? Well, a small art magazine called Carrier Pigeon was looking for something gross and macabre, so I sent it over and apparently it fit the bill. And voila, it’s going to be in their fall issue – with illustrations (!).

                There’s plenty more to tell, but I’ve got to ration these gems so y’all don’t get spoiled. I’ll have a new story up for you mid week – stay tuned.