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Blogs by Dennis A Cardiff
Chickenpox 7/16/2014 6:30:30 AM
16 July 2014
I was walking along the sidewalk towards Chuck’s spot when I heard somebody call from across the street, “Hey, Dennis, what are you doing over there?” I turned my head and saw it was Joy. I crossed the street.
“Hi, Joy, I haven’t seen you for ages.”
“No, I’ve had chickenpox. I’m not contagious now, but I’m still scratching. It bugs the hell out of me and freaks people out, ’cause they think I have fleas.”
A garbage truck stopped at the curb in front of us. The driver waved, got out of the truck and came over.
“Hi Lemar, I said.”
Joy said, “Is that your name? I never remember.” He opened his safety vest to show his name tag.
“I’ve known people with that name, but they were black.”
Lemar said, “My dad was black.”
I said, “My daughter-in-law is black. My granddaughter is…
“Creamy coffee-colored.” said Joy.
“That’s right,” I said, “she’s a beautiful little princess.”
Joy said to Lemar, “Are you going to let your partner empty all the bins?”
“Yeah, ” he said, “he empties, I drive. I guess I better get back to it. Nice to see you, Joy, Dennis.”
“Nice to see you, Lemar.”
I asked Joy, “Did you attend Shakes’ funeral?”
“I was there, but I didn’t go into the church. I don’t do funerals. Little Jake went in. He said there were only about twenty people there. Danny was telling everybody that he was having a smudging ceremony and that everyone should be sober. That’s a pack of bullshit. All Shakes’ friends are alcoholic. When did you ever see Shakes when he was sober? I remember one time, when he was on antibiotics, but that was only for a couple of days. Danny was also selling pictures of Shakes. I didn’t like that at all.”
I said, “I bought one. He said he was selling them for the price it cost him to have them printed.”
“How much was that?”
“Ten bucks.”
Joy said, “I’ve got my own pictures of Shakes. I don’t need any more.
I said, “I attended the smudging ceremony that Danny arranged. He was there from 6 pm Monday to 6 pm Tuesday. I was there Tuesday at noon.
“How’s Big Jake?”
“A pain in the ass. He doesn’t get up until about one o’clock, then he comes over to my place. I feed him. At nine I kick him out. I have to be up at 5:30. If he had his way he’s stay until one in the morning.
“I can’t believe how much he smokes. We bought two cartons of smokes from Shark a week ago and already there gone. I told him that two cartons would last me a month. I’m always butting them out, then relighting them. NOw, my place smells like an ashtray. I’m always washing the walls to get rid of the cigarette stains.”
I said, “I’ve been talking to Wolf, Jacques, Little Frank, Mariah and Debbie. Wolf said that Outcast got a nasty bite when he tried to break up a fight between Shaggy and another dog. His hand was dripping blood. Wolf told him, ‘That was a stupid thing to do!’ Outcast said, “You should have better control of your dog.”
Joy said, “Outcast is always whining. This weekend he’s helping his ex move into the subsidized housing. He said, ‘Because of their rules, I won’t be able to live there.’ I said, ‘Outcast, how old are you — fifty? Don’t you think it’s about time you got a place of your own instead of always living off somebody else.’ He’s been at Shark’s place three months now. He was only supposed to be there a week. He’s another person that smokes too much. He has emphysema.”
I said, “He also has lung cancer from working with asbestos.”
I checked my watch. Joy said, “I see you replaced your watch strap. It’s about time.”
“This was a present from my sons. I couldn’t visit them with a broken watch strap.”
Joy asked, “I have to decide whether or not I want to see Jake today. He’ll probably be phoning around one. Will you be at the park at noon?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen everybody.”
