A Good Day To Die - 1

Back in the 80's, when I was driving a taxi in San Diego for a shit cab company that specialized in drunks and hookers and local shysters from the other side of the tracks, I often found myself in what might be referred to as bad sections of town. When someone hailed me or I answered a radio call in the wee hours of the morning, I was always ready and willing. With a $35 lease to pay every day, I wasn't about to turn any trip down. A fare is a fare and a buck is a buck. Anyway, with a wife and daughter depending on me, I decided I better take out a term life insurance policy on myself for $500 thousand just in case my eagerness to answer a call some night wound up getting me smoked. At the time, five hundred grand seemed like a respectable wad of cash.

So, this one night I was pulled over by a couple cops because my fare had the backdoor cracked open and they feared he was about to pull something shady. Well, as it turned out I didn't get killed but looking back, I think that if that young man had put a bullet thru my head that would've been a pretty good time to check out, a lot better than dying in old age of a combination of diseases and conditions. Everybody would've been young and well taken care of and, after a few tearful days, able to move on in comfort. I'm just saying.

Fifteen Lousy Minutes by Ace Toscano

 The Covid Reflections of Edoardo “Fast Eddie” Baladini

Before my Covid confinement, my life had been flowing along without a ripple, like the clear pools of the Willowemoc on a summer's day.

Willowemoc Creek

When we were young and carefree, my friends and I often journeyed to the legendary fly fishing waters of New York state up around Roscoe, casting our flies through the cool morning mist, coaxing rainbows, browns and native brookies to rise and attack the imitations we had worked so hard to create. It's a tranquil pastime, fly fishing, at least until you hook one. Then, it's exhilarating – your nerve endings on fire, your line, your connection to your prey, charged like a live wire. Only when the battle is over, and your trout is safely netted and in the creel can you allow yourself the luxury of a slow, deep breath.

There's nothing like it, really. Read the complete short story here.

The covid-19 blues

If there ever was a more appropriate time to sing the blues, I haven't lived through it. Here's my Covid 19 Blues:




Lyrics

Covid 19 took my baby.

Now all I do is cry.

Covid 19 took my baby.

Now all I do is cry.

They wouldn't let me see her

Couldn't even say good-bye.

I waited all day long

Waitin' to bring my baby home

Waited all day long

Waitin' to bring my baby home

Went home to get some water

Found a message she was gone.

Never let me see my baby.

Hope she knew how hard I tried.

Never let me see my baby.

Hope she knew how hard I tried.

Nurse said they tried to Skype me.

What in the bloody hell is Skype.

Covid 19 took my baby.

Now all I do is cry.

Covid 19 took my baby.

Now all I do is cry.

They wouldn't let me see her

Couldn't even say good-bye.

© Ace Toscano, 2020

My Covid-19 Staycation

I've been an Amazon Prime member for a few years but, though I knew vaguely of it's existence, I never thought of availing myself of the Prime Video aspect of my membership. Frankly, I thought it would be too much trouble to get Prime shows on my TV. I thought it would require downloading to my pc and other mesmerizing technical challenges beyond my feeble knowledge. Then, I heard about the fire stick.

It cost about $40. Just plug it into one of your TV's HDMI ports, grab the remote and away you go into the land of Amazon Prime Video. I've since bought a new TV from Best Buy which has a button for Amazon Prime on its remote, so the fire stick's no longer needed.

Anyway, Rotten Tomatoes has a page dedicated to The 54 Best Amazon Prime TV Shows which seemed like a good place to start our sampling process. Below are our reactions to several shows we've viewed.

#1 Fleabag: A sexually-liberated, irritable woman navigates modern life in London in this comedy. Based on star Phoebe Waller-Bridge's play of the same name. I thoroughly enjoyed the series though my wife did not because of language and sex. So, I watched on my own all the episodes of all the seasons. Not sure it's my favorite, but I can see why it would be ranked so high.

#3 Catastrophe: An unplanned pregnancy turns a weekend tryst into a serious commitment for a British woman and an American tourist. Starring and written by Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, with Julie Perreault. Not suitable for family time, again, because of language and blatant humping. But, I quickly became a big fan and watched every episode.

#4 Home Coming: A caseworker at a facility that treats soldiers returning from war interacts with veteran who is eager to return to civilian life. Starring Julia Roberts and Bobby Cannavale. My wife yawned through the first couple of episodes, her subtle way of letting me know she wasn't interested. Being very sensitive, I pick up on these things. Anyway, I love Julia Roberts, despite that annoying laugh, and watched season one. Season two isn't available at this time.

#6 Bosch: Based on the character and novels of Michael Connelly, each season focuses on a single crime. I've long been a fan of the novels and haven't been disappointed by the portrayal on TV. My wife enjoys the series, too, so we watch it together during our frequent family viewing times. We're midway through season four.

#8 Sneaky Pete: After being released from prison, a con man hides from debtors by assuming his cellmate's identity and lands a job with his faux-family's bail-bond business. Starring Giovanni Ribisi, Marin Ireland and Margo Martindale, Pete is always on the con. My wife tolerates this one. Of course, I like it more.

#11 Forever: Married couple June (Maya Rudolph) and Oscar (Fred Armisen) live a comfortable but predictable life in suburban Riverside, California. For 12 years they've had the same conversations, eaten the same meals and taken pleasant vacations at the same rented lake house. But after June talks Oscar into shaking things up with a ski trip, the pair suddenly find themselves in completely unfamiliar territory. Forever is an utterly original, insightful and poignant comedy about love, commitment, and marriage. My wife found this one boring, so I watched it on my own after she hit the sack and liked it.

#17 The Marvelous Mrs Maisel: Set in the 1950s, Miriam "Midge" Maisel is a content wife and mother whose perfect life takes a sudden turn when she discovers an unknown talent -- stand-up comedy. Starring Rachel Brosnahan, Michael Zegen, Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle. Wifey nixed this one because of the "terrible things" Midge does to other people. Me, I love it, find it at times hysterical and am marching through the episodes.

Pool Tales & Poems and Other Stories by Ace Toscano

I don't do much writing anymore, unless you want to consider commenting on facebook writing. But over the years, writing mostly for myself, I've accumulated quite a collection of stories which I've now gathered into a single kindle ebook. Some involve the game of pocket billiard (pool), others don't. Good or bad, they are mine and looking into the future I didn't want them to just disappear.

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne: A Review

As I approach old age (I'm going to be 72 on the 23^rd of this month.), I know that I am not a homophobe. In fact, I have several dear friends and acquaintances that I know to be beautiful people who follow alternate life-styles. But, that being said, I would say that I have very little interest in reading novels from the category “Gay Literature.” And, I wasn't far into this read when it struck me that that was what I was reading.

I had been led to the book by a list of the 50 best books of 2018 on the Esquire web site. It's 40 or more years since I last subscribed to that magazine and I immediately wondered if maybe it had in the interim turned into a gay magazine. I mean, things happen.

I went back to the novel's amazon page and scrolled down. Sure enough, it was highly rated in the category of LGBT Fiction. But, it was also ranked in Psychological Literary Fiction. So, I read on. And I'm glad I did.

As the book went on, gayness became less and less a factor and the characters took over. On the amazon scale, I gave this 5 stars and it restored my faith in the Esquire list.

The Woman In The Window by A. J. Finn: A Review

A woman confined to her home who watches her neighbors through her windows witnesses a murder. To be honest, this whole scenario wreaked of same-old same-old at first glance. But, I was wrong and it didn't take long for me to become engrossed in this expertly conceived plot. NO SPOILERS HERE! So, suffice it to say there's a reason The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn wound up on multiple best reads lists.