Garfield Pajama-Night-night bandage

I get the stitches out tomorrow. It changes everyday but so far I'm liking the scar. It's like a mean nick after some friendly Prussian fencing, back in the school days of the young Krup. But I'm afraid it's getting better. Yes, everyday, even a little smaller, drat.

I don't have a doctor's excuse for those two days off work. Need a scar at least.

Sent Mrs. Anonydoc a pic and she wrote back she thought that, by the way I talked, she thought I'd be in a full head wrap.

Man I resented that. Want to lash back somehow...

She turns 00 this year, did you know?

OW! I feel bad. Zeroed that out like an odometer. No, she's not turning a hundred. Yet. She will be someday though. (Hope I'm still around but I doubt it, men in my family tend to drop down the chute around 65).

Nice day and week for me so far. No one's jumping at me anyway. The Imaginary has been staying over since one of the brethren bicycled away one afternoon last week. (My room mate, good luck, Ralphie boy.) She works 12 hour days and her gas is shut off and anyway the walk home from her work isn't so safe now that it's dark.

She's turning out to be quite talkative, did I tell you? I thought she'd let her hair down about four months ago, but I guess not. And she's happy-chatty, sort of like a girl having a snack after school. All these NAMES , this cast of characters she's got from two jobs and relatives from broken families and foster families. I love her because she'll stop all of a sudden and say "Hey, you're not paying attention!" but she isn't mad. And there are duplicate names I'm supposed to remember. Travis, which Travis? Leslie? And strange names, black po' folk names, Eastern Euro names, family names like they call the wind , WHO?

Garrulous Phooka. It's like when you're dreaming you're reading a book and it occurs to you , what the hell i'm making all this up! And then it's like, no wait this is real.

"Travis called in sick, says a relative died, third funeral in one month he works at Gebes too , they haven't seen him in a month at all but he's still employed there I don't know how... but you know what Leslie says, short Leslie i mean, the one who said you're lucky to have me for a girlfriend, haha! she says it's probably his second cousin once removed now twice removed. Sheila and I laughed and laughed at that. So he's getting fired I'm sure. Candy is going to be so glad, she can't stand Travis. I can't wait to tell her, she's off this week though because of that one thing you know. The Problem."

The Problem?

"You know, the problem with Travis."

"Travis? Wait a minute."

"No, no, I mean the other Travis, her boyfriend. You're not listening are you?"

I feel good having her around. She'll watch anything on TV and fall asleep with me to any old time radio shows I leave playing (she says they help her sleep because she thinks too much). What a dream boat.

I make a play list just before turning out the lights. Start out with Elmer Davis giving a nine minute commentary on Germany's march into France, que to a Blondie and Dagwood 30 radio comedy, then Amos and Andy, Jack Benny being visited by the I.R.S., Jack Benny losing Ronald Coleman's Oscar, then back to William L. Shirer in Berlin for CBS to remind us what decade we're in and that it's Mankind in Hell. Then some more Amos and Andy because it is the most quiet radio program , and calm and lightly amusing. Of course she's asleep by then.

And then it's hard to believe but the morning comes and , my god, she's got to go back to another 12 hour day. I'm not trying to sound funny when I say it kinda hurts to have to wake her up. Like, delivering bad news. But then, she's not like me. All this over-time represents Good PlentifulTimes for her and her baby boy, who is being cared for by a teacher freind.

Yeah, Florie. I love her. She doesn't read this. Knows where it is, but doesn't. I like that, for some reason. I guess that she likes me in person and I don't have to re-interpret myself in print for her.

She's not here tonight to see the Garfield badge she gave me this afternoon, though. Can't have a slumber party every night, then it's not as special, the la choy egg rolls and other kid snacks aren't as fun. You can't have those every night or it'd be like Saturday night every night and you'd start to notice: where is everyone? what happened to people??

And that'd be scary like a Friday creature feature.