THURSDAY 10/02/25:
I arrived at the Pilot in Milford, CT around 14:00. This is my home base. I was fortunate to find a free parking spot because I was going to be there for four nights, and the paid spots are $25 a night. My company will pay for one but the rest come out of my pocket.
I took a shower. I had some free-shower credits from previous fuel purchases, they normally are valid for a week after fueling. I then took the MTA train into NYC which is a two-hour journey. I was having dinner with my daughters Sofia and Elena. It was Elena’s birthday. I arrived early enough to get Elena a box of Laderach chocolates and a small silver cross pendant at Tiffany’s.
We had a great dinner at Norma’s in Kips Bay. We’ve been there before and the food is excellent. It’s hard to find good Italian food on the road. Go figure?!
I took the train back and arrived to the truck around 01:00.
FRIDAY 10/03/25:
I had a bunch of errands to do in the next days so I had a reservation for a small SUV at the Enterprise branch in Milford, CT, where I had rented cars many times in the past. I arrived at the rental office just before 10:00 and had an appointment in Rye, NY at 11:00. The manager, Edvard, refuse to honor my reservation because my out-of-state license address did not match the billing address of my credit cards. This is a precautionary security measure of Enterprise but I had rented many times from them before and NY & CT are neighboring states. I asked him to get authorization to honor the reservation and he refused. The conversation got heated quickly with the F-Word being exchanged fluidly. It ended with Edvard shouting to get the F*CK OUT or he would call the police in 10 seconds. I looked at him and said: “TIC-TOC, TIC-TOC…” He obviously did not call the police.
I booked an UBER to take me to my appointment. When the UBER arrived he was refusing to take me to NY, though Rye is the second town past the border. I promised a large cash tip to get me there.
After my appointment I rented a car at Enterprise in Port Chester, NY. Since it’s an in-state license there I was not subject to the restriction on matching addresses. I recapped my ordeal in Milford and she said she would have called the risk manager to solve the problem. Common curtesy and good business sense.
After I finished my errands I drove 200 miles to Boston to have dinner with my son. Traffic and difficulty finding parking on a Friday night in Boston meant we sat down for dinner at 21:30 and I was back at the truck at 03:30.
BOOK REVIEW: We Were Liars by E.Lockhart (2014), Fiction – RATING (****)
This book is f*cked up. I didn’t love it, not sure I even liked it but it definitely deserved four stars maybe even five. It’s the kind of book that leaves you thinking about what was laid out throughout and how the pieces fit into the puzzle.
The book is well written with enough suspense and intrigue throughout. The characters are well defined as is the relationship among them. The protagonist, Cadence, is not very likable but it all changes in the last 20% of the book.
The book turns on its head in the last 20%. There’s no hidden factors that come as a surprise. Everything was laid out throughout the book earlier, it’s just very unexpected.
SATURDAY 10/04:
I attended Zibby’s Publishing Retreat held at Athena Books in Old Greenwich, CT. It was a fabulous event featuring nine authors that started at 09:00 and ended with a great Mexican lunch at Juju’s at 12:30. I was able to chat with Zibby Owen and her Graça Tito, her Director of Events. I had casual conversations with three of the authors present: Caroline Palmer, John Kenny and Jamie Brenner, as well as future author, Liz Wellington Rollins.
I took a shower at Rye Golf Club. I was a member for 25 years and they allow me the courtesy of using the Men’s Locker Room. We met for drinks at my friend’s Stephen Gallagher’s house in Rye with Jimmy Johnson. Afterwards, Steve and I went for dinner at Franky & Johnnie’s in Rye where the owner, Vas, gave us a warm friendly welcome.
I was back at the truck around midnight.
SUNDAY 10/05:
My day started at 10:00 when I had an appointment for a Term Life Insurance policy’s medical evaluation. We did it on the back of the evaluator’s car in the parking lot of the Pilot in Milford. There’s only two certainties in life: death and taxes. However, with my ongoing debt with the IRS I learned that taxes will haunt a person even after death. Since I have a large debt with them and I don’t want to reduced what little I will leave for my children I decided to take an additional policy to cover the debt burden.
I scheduled lunch with my friend Josh Markfield in Norwalk, CT at a Venezuelan restaurant, Valencia. After lunch I did a laundry at a nearby laundromat, drove the clean clothes back to the truck then needed to drop off the rental back in Port Chester, NY thanks to the unkindness of Edvard.
I stopped in Greenwich to have dinner at Thai Basil, as it’s hard to find good Asian cuisine on the road. After I dropped off the rental in the after-hours lot I took the train back to Milford, CT. I was back in the truck at midnight.
I need a vacation from the four day break!