So they broke my washing machine when they were putting the radiator back in the foyer where you go out to the back yard. The Chinese guy who was installing the radiator kept leaning on and banging the machine until it didn't work anymore. So I had to call the repair guy who had come once before to fix it up for me.
Now I can't live without my washer and dryer. We are way too busy to go to the Laundromat like we used to back in the day. Also the wife is way too fussy about her clothes to let some Mexican clean them with cheap soap and inferior fabric softener. Usually I throw a load in every night while I am cooking and by the end of the night we have a bunch of clothes cleaned. This way we don't let it pile up.
I had to bring our laundry this week and it was a major pain in the ass. So I pushed the guy to come and fix the machine. He has a store and Bay Ridge and he looks somewhat like this:
Mohammed is a devout Muslim with a milky eye because he had a stroke. He had the cap and a long salt and pepper beard. Just the kind of guy you know I could get along with.
But strangely enough we had a lot in common. We are both small businessmen and we both really hate Bill de Blasio. Mohammed used to have three stores and now he is down to one and is barely holding on. The taxes and work rules and signage rules and fines and penalties are conspiring to drive him out of business. He asked me "How can we stay in New York. They are driving us out." I had to agree. We both agree that New York will soon be only the very rich and the very poor. The middle class and the business owners are just going to move out of the city all together. Mohammed knows what de Blasio is all about. That he is on the side of the criminals and not the business owners. That he wants to implement a punitive tax schedule. Even a guy with one eyeball can see the writing on the wall.
He fixed up the machine and is going to come to the store to look at my air conditioning. He wants me to meet up with him and some of his friends for coffee on Atlantic Avenue to discuss what small businessmen can do. I asked him if he wanted to set up a "cell." He laughed.
But you know what. I am thinking about it.
10 comments:
Don't just "think about it"...and that is from a guy who lives among more "Mohammed's" than you can imagine (95% of my neighborhood). Fucking do it!
Seriously, this post of yours is the one that makes me certain that Judi and I will look you (anyone who likes Kosher Deli is good with me) , and your better half, by far, up when we come to New York. Not my idea, hers. NYC that is....is the Essex House still in business?
I believe it is. But there are plenty of great hotels in the City.
I would welcome a visit. Keep me informed brother and we will figure it out.
Your real life stories are even better than the fiction.
Real life is always better.
The Essex House is only a nostalgic place from long ago for me. Not exactly next door to Brooklyn. If still there I'll camp out and have a car service drive us about otherwise.
I'm going to ask Judi if she's up for an NYC trip and if our good friend the ICE officer (and her LEO husband..both who love NYC)) is willing to go along. Judi has been a NYC fan recently, me it goes back a while.
Ideally, we'd come to NYC and see the best of it (including you and especially the kosher deli's ...then the museums and such) ...then on to Washington DC and places there I recall.
Aridog, My iphone 5 arrived today, and I am totally pleased with it! The old flip has officially been retired with no residual sadness. Of course, I fell for the well designed packaging gloss and ease-of-use features which Apple is reknown for, as they please my eye and hand and ease my anxieties about walking into the future with a smart phone tracking me around.
SonM's disagreement with Apple is the way he feels they somewhat limit and marshall users into following their formats by presenting more of a locked product than a tool. But then he likes to build his own computers. And I like something simple and seemingly intuitive to use and am willing to accept the features provided as is and do things "their way" in order to get what I want. So if you're looking for an easy to use smart phone along with the ability to connect to the internet in case of a power outage, and have maps and contacts available while traveling, this might be the ticket. So far, I'm liking it!
@MamaM, by coincidence we upgraded our phones today. Daughter to an i-Phone 5 like you. She wanted the 32 gb storage. Son to a Samsung 4 because he wanted the 1080 screen. Wife and I to Samsung 4 minis. Unfortunately, the store didn't have all the phones in stock, so only my son walked away with his new toy. The rest of us will wait by the mailbox until next Tuesday or Wednesday. Inconveniences like that are part of small town living.
We all had dumb phones prior. Now the i-Pad I bought my wife for our anniversary...and the one I bought to replace it because she dropped it...are obsolete. So, we dropped that line, saving a whopping $10 per month going forward.
I look forward to the day I sell my business, because I don't have to have a cell phone after that. I didn't really want a smart phone, but the dumb ones are less and less popular, so finding a decent one is nigh unto impossible.
Windbag ... interesting that you say that about smart phones. Me, until I retired I resisted them, said to one and all DOD types, if you need me you can call...I have the flip phone...even the Sat-phone in places requiring it. What the hey?
I won't go in to just what the senior ranks wanted with smart phones in every hand...just suffice it to say it amounted to having others do their work for them. As usual. A government that had 18 or so Admirals in 1946 now has about 216 of them. Huh? WTF? These guys and girls have to be kept busy...texting demands for "reports."
Now I am the retired coot considering a smart tablet and perhaps a telephone. Not for business or Army work (I'm still right about connectivity...e.g., call me, what, you think I read texts & emails whilst taking a dump, etc...?) just for convenience when traveling. The dang things have become more about me than thee, so to speak.
MomaM ... be sure to let us, or me, know how the iPhone thing goes for you utility-wise...I've been thinking about a Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID ...just thinking mind you, no compelling urge just yet.
Trooper ... thank you very much for the offer. If and when Judi and I find time to visit New York we will let you know in advance. Me, I go for the food and arts, and did I say the food...Judi, for the shopping and sights generally.
@Aridog, you're spot on about convenience while traveling. That's the key thing about an i-Pad, I found. The screen is huge for the GPS app, and being able to check e-mail while traveling is handy.
Post a Comment