vic fortezza

I opened the floating book shop an hour later than usual. As expected, my friend passed her cardiograms with flying colors. Needless to say, she is pissed at her regular doctor's associate, who threw a scare into her without even taking her blood pressure or having enough imagination to discern that a person with a rare neurological disorder is vulnerable to unusual swelling. She underwent the tests so she wouldn't obsess about it, which she tends to do about anything important. It's just another example of how tax-payer money is squandered on unnecessary procedures. I had a visit from Morty, a retired salesman who recently completed a month of radiation treatment on a growth beneath his jaw. His appetite is returning. He is now able to consume more than Ensure. In fact, he went to the lobby of the apartment building nearby to pick up a flier that had a coupon for a tuna sandwich at Dunkin' Donuts. Finding discounts, saving money, is his passion. I sense he has loads of it stashed away. As he approached he waved a newspaper clipping at me and said: "You thought you'd be able to slip this past me?" It was the article about me from the Bay News. I had a nice laugh while killing time between customers and well-wishers. An attractive, full-figured blonde passes me every day. She works in a Russian deli nearby. I sense she doesn't speak much English. I'd guess she's in her mid-thirties. She has a pre-teen son...

The sky has darkened. Thunder is crackling. It looks like the heat wave is about to be broken. I probably should log off and pull the plug from the laptop, but I'll wait a few more minutes to see if the lightning is a serious threat. I went with Plan B today. Returning from my morning walk, knowing the storm was predicted for late afternoon, I moved my car from beneath a tree and to an open spot on the opposite side of the street more than a block away from where I usually park. This meant I wouldn't be able to display as many books as usual at the floating shop. I took about 20 from my apartment, 12 of them in Russian. I left a little earlier than usual, 10:30, hoping to take full advantage of the shade. It paid off, as I sold four books to graduates of the eastern bloc. Several people called me by my first name. I expect they read the article about me in the Bay News. One joker I see every day, who resembles a homeless person, addressed me in Italian. The only disappointment was that Lev, one of my best customers, found nothing to his liking. Just after one PM, the sunlight began to encroach on the space. I packed up, went home and splashed my head and face with cold water, then went to the library, where I spent an hour fighting to concentrate on reading while others engaged in normal...

I was rooting around with the remote control last night, searching for something interesting to watch. PBS came through, as it so often does. Photographer Robert Knight was profiled in a documentary called Rock Prophecies. The son of a Baptist minister who failed to shelter him from the devil's music, he has taken photographs of all the guitar greats. There are approximately 200,000 pictures in his archive, whose value is estimated at 3.5 million dollars. These days he's interested in publicizing artists he senses might break big. He found a boy from a small town, Tyler Dow Bryant. Is he the next the next guitar god? Judge for yourself. Here's a clip from youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCUNJtJJv3Q&feature=related And here's Knight's most iconic photograph: Today I went to plan Z in terms of the floating book shop. Since I had to accompany a friend to the doctor in Bay Ridge, I decided to set up on a sidewalk bench at 5th Avenue & 75th Street, displaying only Adjustments, Killing & A Hitch in Twilight. Only one person stopped in the nearly two hours I was there, but it wasn't an entirely unproductive day on the literary front. I submitted two short stories electronically (love it!) to separate magazines through duotrope.com. I've had more than 50 published worldwide, and another is due out later in the year in the Literary House anthology. I have only five left. It's been more than a year since I've had a fresh idea for one. These days I've concentrated...

Here's a quick quiz: which is the most valuable sports franchise in the world? I was shocked at the answer, which will be below. In terms of temperature, it was the hottest round of golf Cuz and I have played this season. Last night's heavy thunderstorms slowed the track down considerably. There was no extra roll to shots. I really messed up the second hole. I was in the fairway, 120 yards out and chunked two consecutive short irons, left a pitch a few feet short of the green, and walked away muttering. I then rallied, parring four of the next five holes, only to throw it all away with double bogie on eight and a triple on the par-three ninth, a hole which has been so kind to me over the years and which I've completely butchered two weeks in a row. I was pretty demoralized, especially when my drive on ten landed behind a tree root. I feared the next shot would pop straight into the air. It did, caromed off a branch of the big tree, and landed behind me. Golf can be a cruel mistress. I'm sure Cuz wanted to laugh but he held it back. On the long par-four twelfth, I hit what looked like a beautiful pitch right at the flag, which was on the upper tier of the green. It lost steam about a foot from the plateau and rolled all the way to the lower corner, and I let out an MF at...

Fortunately, the cloud cover and breeze negated the heat, but the humidity was draining out there today. I was fortunate to attract a buyer immediately, who spotted Suzi Orman's Women & Money, which I'd displayed prominently. An early sale always goes a long way to lessening the feeling of futility the endeavor engenders. I sold a sci-fi novel in Russian to an elderly repeat customer, who I sensed was merely being kind. He didn't seem too thrilled with the selection. An elderly woman donated a handsome illustrated copy of Robin Hood geared toward young readers. Only problem is, do kids even know who that medieval figure is? Is there a video game about him? He robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, unlike the Monty Python character Dennis More, who "robbed from the poor and gave to the rich - stupid bitch!" Even though I didn't sell any of my own books, the day was a success, as I sold my literary angel January (Victoria) Valentine's romance novel, Love Dreams, to a young woman who asked what I had in the genre. Thanks, miss. And thanks to Munsie, who said she really enjoyed the article about me in the Bensonhurst version of the Brooklyn newspaper. RIP in peace Celeste Holm, 95, one of the great ladies of Hollywood and Broadway. She was nominated three times for Best Supporting Actress, winning for Gentleman's Agreement (1947), and she was the original Ado Annie in the Oscar and Hammerstein classic, Oklahoma, singing...