79th St. (6553). EHSQ at Garden Sch. Our first meeting after the summer hiatus, and תאומא, Ch’s and I were the only persons in attendance. We sang a few songs, and during one, Ch’s abruptly stood up and started dancing alone, eventually removing his sandals to dance barefoot. Discussion of gun violence opened with questioning the validity of the Second Amendment rather than with the social and psychological origins. ת. repeatedly told us he’s an “expert marksman.” I had my say and said that guns protect people and make environments safer, unlike supposed gun‐free zones. Cute JH G’market worker riding a pallet jack like it was a push scooter (6553).
37th Ave. A rôtisserie chicken, apple pies and cakes, apple juice, half and half and ice (all for NYBD) from F’town (13:02). Apple‐themed NYBD. I cut the chicken, pies, cakes after going to the bathroom to wash my hands and seeing the mess someone had left in one sink. Ch’ck C. arrived at a reasonable time, opened QPH and brought my shopping in while I was getting supplies from home. W’fred is nice but is kind of annoying in his pushiness, asking for my telephone number, kissing me on the lips, conspicuously mentioning how he’s been to Australia and that he’d brought sweets etc. He also suggested he would give us a coffeemaker because we obviously use one, even though he ascertained this from seeing us use QPH’s and our own, showing that we don’t need another. J’n R. brought a tasty apple pastry he’d baked. Cl’de A. gave more ($30) than the admission fee, but J’hn P. did not. It was good seeing Jack and how friendly he was to me. Ch’ck declined Jack’s offer to take our unwanted and less‐wanted raffle prizes “off [our] hands” to be given away at events he attends, because apparently Ch’ck feels it’s more important that we store them indefinitely at QPH than have them be used elsewhere. A. Mike brought “chicken tenders” as he called them that were frozen and made from ground chicken, and he also wore a big “Pocahontas” (i.e., E. Warren) button on his shirt. Gl’nn C. took a photograph of my holding his raffle ticket but probably of nothing else. Simpleminded יהונתן H. makes himself helpless and enlists others’ help to keep him from thinking about anything for more than a second or two: We were there at an event with two adjacent tables covered by a spread of food, and yet he came up to me to ask me for a knife to cut his Sandwich, as if it’s my responsibility; after I told him to get one from the windowsill, he returned saying there were no more knives, because he’d gone to the drink table instead of the sill (as apparently people need to cut their coffee or soda with knives). 🙄 R’ger M. and M’rc C. came so late—and Ch’ck had shut down the food table so early to make room for the raffle prizes—that they wound up distributing their food themselves to nearby attendees. I made the disastrous decision to have the raffle drawing before announcements, and no one paid any attention. (See SMS conversation with Ch’ck.) Even during the drawing, I had to shout because attendees were so unfocused, although I also attribute that in part to disinterest in an uncompetitive drawing wherein everybody wins. As usual, י. overreacted to his raffle number’s being called, acting like he was shocked to win some sort of award and even dropping to the dirty floor. Ch’ck actually told old first‐timer Rob G. that his surname is Ola. Despite how well attended the event was (twenty‐three attendees), the apple pies and cakes I’d brought didn’t go over very well, and I had to push the leftovers on people to get them out of the place. Saw the cute young‐looking worker at ফুসকা [sic] হাউস as I passed on my way home.