A tree grows in the Bronx

A few days ago I returned from a one week vacation in the Bronx.
The Bronx? Yes.
Went with my wife for a week's stay at her sisters house on 231 St near Westchester Ave.
Spent much of my time doing nothing but sitting on the front steps, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee and watching the squirrels scamper about in this huge Oak tree in front of the house. The squirrels were busy chasing each other and going far out on the branches to eat nuts. Their ability to go far out to secure their food was truly amazing.
Did a little writing while I was down there and took my best friend out for dinner near her place in Manhattan. Wow! Dinner for two, including drinks and a tip, came to $118!
I'm not going to drop any names but my best friend has been my friend since we first meet at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts back in 1964. Looking back at our long friendship, I remarked while having coffee at her place after dinner, "I've always thought of you whenever I think of or hear the one James Taylor song I've always liked. You know, the line that goes 'I've always thought I would see you one more time again.' The song, if you're wondering, is Fire & Rain.
My wife knows and understands my friendship with this "other woman" is and always has been special. My wife first met her when we got married.
Oh, I said I wasn't going to drop any names and I was thinking of my friend when I said that. She is a very well known literary agent who owns a respected agency in Manhattan. She has been my mentor, so to speak, in my pursuit of becoming a writer who can make a living at writing. It is she who encourages me to press on and who is hopeful my latest effort will be something she can market to a traditional publisher.
If that happens, that book will be dedicated to her.
By the way, she did like my latest self-published book, "Confessions of an Online Male Prostitute" but did agree with me that because of its erotic/pornographic content and because it was only Novella in length, self-publishing was the way to go with it.