Cloris

            Early on Wednesday night I walked out to buy a can of beer at the liquor store. The bottom of the stairs near the mailboxes smells like somebody peed there again.

            The gravel voiced panhandler in front of the LCBO store was sing-talking some kind of song acapella. I couldn’t make out the lyrics but as I walked up he declared, “You know what I’m talking about!” I smiled. I guess maybe I would have known what he’d been talking about if I’d known what he’d said.

            The landlord still hasn’t fixed the front door lock. I have to fiddle with it for an unreasonable amount of time before my key finally turns. I have such a problem getting into my own place that it makes me wonder how someone that doesn’t live here could get inside to pee in the entryway.

            I watched an interesting episode of Johnny Staccato, directed by John Cassavetes and co-starring Cloris Leachman. What an actress! It was pretty much all dialogue. She played a woman in custody and on trial for murdering her husband with a dagger, even though she was a pacifist. It’s not so much that the story or the dialogue were any good, but the lighting in combination with her performance and Cassavetes ability to create suspense made it a powerful episode.