Light Hidden by Darkness - The Doorman Cometh




Click on this Link for Light Hidden by Darkness

Imagine waking up from a deep sleep and not remembering who you are. Then imagine you look around the apartment where you somehow landed and nothing in the apartment triggers any recognition from your memory. Are you just having a bad dream? Then, pinch yourself and wake up! That does not work? Well, I do not know what to tell you, except from here on out, things are about to get a lot more stranger. If you expected to remain in control, forgettaboutit! Next stop? You start meeting strangers who appear to know more about you than you know about yourself. And these strangers? Well, these strangers are truly bizarre!  

In my recently released novel called Light Hidden by Darkness that is exactly what happens to an old man I am calling Mr. Bud. This old man named Mr. Bud woke up alone and confused. He became even more disoriented after meeting some of the kooky souls who inhabit this strange new world.

In the brief passage below, taken from the novel Light Hidden by Darkness, cantankerous old Mr. Bud opens up the front door of his unfamiliar apartment and lo and behold, another odd neighbor is standing there. This neighbor just happens to be the doorman for the building. Here is how this initial contact between Mr. Bud and Joey the doorman goes. Knock! Knock!    

“Who is it?” Mr. Bud roared through the closed door.

“Joey, sir,” a voice replied.

“Joey?” Mr. Bud queried. “I don’t know any Joeys!”

“No, sir, we have never met,” Joey answered, loud enough for Mr. Bud to hear him clearly through the closed door. “I am the doorman for this building.”

“Oh great, another member of the welcoming committee,” Mr. Bud mumbled, peeking through the peephole.

“Joey, move away from the front door and I will open it,” Mr. Bud shouted through the closed door. When Mr. Bud was sure that Joey had backed away from the front door, he opened it.

“Good day, sir!” Joey bellowed at Mr. Bud.

“Yeah, what’s so good about it?” Mr. Bud challenged.

“Well,” Joey mumbled, not expecting the question.

Mr. Bud gave Joey the twice over with his eyes, the same thing he had done to Gloria. Joey was wearing a maroon polyester and wool overcoat. Mr. Bud noticed that the doorman had his overcoat buttoned to the very top button.

“Is it cold outside?” Mr. Bud asked.

“Uh…no, sir,” Joey responded.

“Then, are you cold?”

“No-no, sir.”

“Then, why the hell is your coat buttoned all the way to the top?”

“I do-don’t know sir,” Joey sputtered. “It is always that way.”

Pershing Cap

Mr. Bud went back to inspecting Joey. Like a sagging balloon, Joey’s bulging triple chin rested on the upper collar of his threadbare overcoat. Too many dry cleanings had left the colors of the overcoat faded and discolored. Although Joey was taller than Mr. Bud, no one would ever consider Joey tall. However, what Joey lacked in height, he made up in girth. His ample weight strained every button and seam on the worn-out overcoat. Mr. Bud’s eyes wandered higher, past Joey’s out-of-date black horn-rimmed glasses, to the top of Joey’s head. Teetering on top of Joey’s gigantic noggin, just like a doorman’s crown, was a black Pershing hat at least two sizes too small. Disgusted, Mr. Bud concluded his inspection. He had seen all he needed to see.

“Yes?” Mr. Bud demanded. “What do you want?”

“We-well, sir,” Joey mumbled. “Mi-Mi-Miss Gloria told me that we…the building had a new arrival and I wanted to per-per-personally we-welcome you to the building.”

“Good, now that you have per-per-personally welcomed me to the building, good day,” Mr. Bud replied while patting down his pants pockets in search of money for a tip. He found his pants pockets empty, not even a piece of lint.

“I will have to catch you next time,” Mr. Bud said, referring to the tip. “By the way, Jimmy, you said I just arrived?”

“Joey.”

“What?”

“My-My name is Joey.”

So much for first impressions…I am not sure if either of them – Mr. Bud or Joey – got an A for effort on this first meeting. However, I can assure you that the ongoing relationship between Mr. Bud and Joey will have readers talk about it.

                        Read Light Hidden by Darkness and see if Mr. Bud and Joey become BFF.      

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