Another Plug for Wally

Wally Stroby on the right

At the Mysterious Book Shop in NYC

Wally in the back and John Fusco in the middle at the Alligator Farm 1982

Tintin (Left) and Wally (Right) 1982

Wally Stroby had a book reading and signing last night at the Mysterious Book Shop regardless of reports of snow up to one's pipik. It seems like I've been taking pictures of Wally for almost 30 years. Small price to pay for his friendship all these years and his musical taste. I've threatened you with his eclectic taste in songs before but I have to follow through this time with a play list that he claims was his inspiration when writing 'Gone Til November.'

Gone Til November - Wyclef Jean

Everybody Always Leaves - Matthew Ryan

I Still Miss Someone - Johnny Cash

I Miss You - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes

Regina - Bunny Sigler

Jane, I Still Feel the Same - Matthew Ryan

Gone For Good - O.V. Wright

Great Expectations - The Gaslight Anthem

Trailer - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Ramblin' Man - Hank Williams

Cure For Pain - Morphine

Nothing Stays the Same Forever - Percy Mayfield

Keep Moving On - Sam Cooke

Streets of Philadelphia - Bettye LaVette

People Get Ready - Blind Boys of Alabama

A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

(I Won't Be)Leaving - Dave Alvin

Tonight the Golf Foxtrot is reading Wally's book and we have Wally's mix playing. Man, there's a lotta leaving and moving on in this music but Sam Cooke is also singing a change is gonna come. Yes it will. You're may not learn any style tips from Wally but you'll love the haunting sadness of these songs and how they go so well with the characters of his book.

The Friday Belt: A Foggy Day

I had the gin. I always have the gin. I needed lemons and Pernod. I never keep Pernod.

Last night I cracked open Wally Stroby's new novel, Gone 'Til November. I was surprised to see my name in the acknowledgments. Why'd he do that? He also has this annoying habit of putting people's thoughts in italicized font. I finished the book and was struck by how Wally captured Florida and it's people. And the fog.

Am I making any sense? I've never seen fog like the fog I've seen in Florida. Maybe it's the elevation, the humidity, the swamps. I dunno. But it's thick and damned near impossible to drive through. Wally has a scene in the fog that's absolutely terrifying. It's bad enough dealing with mother nature in Florida but throw into the mix some heavily armed thugs from Newark, NJ and a parcel of stoned Haitian drug dealers with Soviet AKs and things get interesting.

And this morning I thought of the Foggy Day. An ounce and half of gin. A quarter ounce of Pernod. An ounce of water and a quarter ounce of lemon juice. Stir and throw in a slice of lemon. It's foggy to look at and if you have more than one -- I suggest you stay far away from I-95 between Jacksonville and St Augustine on a foggy morning. You never know what you'll run into.