Thanksgiving without Stove and Sink

I'm not to blame.

I went to visit my manicurist friend, Phil, in San Francisco. I call him Acrylic Phil. He lives in the Glenridge Apartments in San Francisco. He moved there after the death of his husband, Richard.

Birth Date 1 Jul 1951
Death Date 27 May 2014

It's hard to believe that Richard has been gone for 11½ years. Anyway, when Phil's income was dropped after the death of his husband, Phil had to find another place to live. So, he looked into cooperative housing that had rents that were income-driven. Phil is not the tidiest housekeeper and at one point (a point that lasted well over a year) he took in a schizophrenic who needed a temporary place to live. The period was well over a year.

The schizophrenic was a disaster in motion and Phil's place became a wreck. The stove failed to work because the former guest fused the electric pilot by lighting it with a match. He also clogged the garbage disposal unit.

So, there we were for the holiday without a stove and without a sink. Everything was cleaned in the bathroom sink and left to dry on a towel on the toilet. Everything was heated in the microwave. We did get to have the meal on the dining room table. The food was prepared by Safeway.

It was not the worst, and he seemed genuinely happy that I wanted to be with him. I don't have many friends. The ones who have remained are cherished. The ones who have left are relegated to the forgotten.

He will be a chapter in my lifie's story.