After An Off Day

Javier from Walton Avenue turned up his hands and shrugged his shoulders as he stood in line at Juan Carlos’s coffee cart this morning.

“There ain’t much going on,” he said. “Last night was boring, but I’m really well organized now. I did wash and straightened up my books and made neat little piles of newspapers and magazines.

“You’ve gotta do that stuff sometimes,” Javier continued, “but I don’t want to make it a habit. I’ll clutter things up tonight with some baseball. I’ll be in front of the television with my scorebook and pencils and a big bag of chips.”

Javier smiled.

“I’ll vacuum the crumbs on the next off day.”