Today is Sunday, March 16, 2025. Yes, I was away from this page yesterday and most of the reason had to do with Elliot and me traveling to 23rd Street to meet up with a California friend by the name of “Artak,” who was in the city over the weekend. He texted Elliot two days ago about spending time in the city and we indicated that we were free. So we met around 1:15 at a place called Maman on East 14th Street and promptly entered the eatery which was very crowded. We were told by the hostess that there would be a 30-minute wait, so we decided to exit the site and look elsewhere for a restaurant.

Walking around the block, we then entered the indoor Eataly plaza and walked through the many culinary experiences afforded the hungry New Yorker. We settled on a spanking-new restaurant in the rear called Il Pastaio di Eataly where we benefited from Restaurant Fest that was in effect this week. Many items were only $19.

Eschewing dessert at this restaurant, we decided to have dessert elsewhere. So we entered a nice, spacious Paris Baguette two blocks away. I had a croissant and herbal tea this time since I had coffee at the restaurant in the Eataly mall. The coffee was quite good this time, I must say.

At this time, we part ways with Artak who had other plans that day – which didn’t include us. He wanted to frequent a gay men’s club on the Upper East Side and then meet a friend later.

Elliot and I decided to go to a flea market on East 25th Street which we saw walking to the first location where we met Artak. There we separated to roam around the sellers’ booths hawking everything from aromas to zip-up jackets. Of course, I focused on old comics, old magazines like Look and Time, books, etc., while Elliot looked at other trinkets. We then united in less than a half hour and this is where I said goodbye to him.

From there, I walked down to 14th Street where I frequented the Strand Bookstore. I had some notion of seeing a film, possibly, at the Quad Cinema, on 13th Street. But there was nothing there to see. I spent some time inside the store and actually bought – egad! – another book: Brandon Taylor’s collection of short stories called Filthy Animals. It bore the stamp of “Strand value” on it, and it was priced at only $9.95. I would have spent more than that if I had decided to see a film by myself last night, so that’s how I justified buying it.

After the Strand, I entered the comic book store Forbidden Broadway, and looked at the new comics on the shelf. I saw a Superman book featuring his arch-enemy Lex Luthor who was played by the late Gene Hackman in the 1970s Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve that I don’t remember having in my current collection, so I bought it.

After leaving the comic book store, I walked to Hollywood Diner, located on 16th Street and 6th Avenue, right near the subway. Here I had a slight bite: a cup of chicken noodle soup and a tuna salad melt, with cheddar cheese.

Now it was time to return home. I ducked into the entrance near the diner and luckily waited a few minutes for a Queens-bound F train.

When I got home, I convinced Elliot to watch another Midsomer Murders episode. This is the reason why I didn’t write my blog last night since the episode was close to 2 hours, with all those commercials – even though I zapped through them.

The episode might have ended close to 11 and then I didn’t feel very well. I thought I was coming down with a cold all of a sudden, so I laid off from writing my daily journal yesterday. But now I feel much better; I currently believe I had a bad case of allergies.

Tomorrow we intend to meet Elliot’s first girlfriend “Deborah” in Brooklyn to see a film, Mickey 17, at the Cobble Hill Cinema and then have corn beef and cabbage in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not sure if I’ll make it here tomorrow either, so let’s just see.

And so it went!