Memoirs of a Fabulous Frenetically-Filled Friday

Whew! What a superlative day yesterday was! OK, smarmy, sentimental stuff first: I have to say I feel like the richest, most fortunate woman, to have the friends and family I have.  I am so utterly thankful to have all of you in my life. 

This is not a mug shot. I promise.

DOUG MOLITOR:  Do you see this man?  Take a good look at this man.  I mean, a really, really good look. This man is what they call a brilliant, gifted, handsome, wise, kind, person. Did I mention "kind"? "Kind" is a big deal in this world, these days. Remember kind people? The Gregory Peck-type in "To Kill a Mockingbird"?  He is one of them. Here's his extraordinary new book, MEMOIRS OF A TIME TRAVELER, just released in paperback and Kindle.  And perhaps the cover gives it away, but this is not poetry.  Well, it is poetry of a certain kind, the way-back and the way-forward, filled with entertaining insights along the way. An absolute must-buy, if you truly love literature:

But this is not the only reason why I write about this superlative man.  Let me be frank.  Doug and I have a very special relationship.  If we passed one another on the street I believe we would look slightly familiar, as if maybe we'd had a conversation from adjoining tables at a restaurant once, months ago...but, otherwise, hmm...you look familiar, but....  Such is Facewatch.  OK, hang with me, I'm getting to the action.  Some of you are familiar with "But the Gentleman to my Right."  Well, FOR FORTY-PLUS YEARS, "BTGTMR" has been figuratively PLAGUED with wondering what the name of a film is, from which he remembered only one rather, shall we say, weird scene. Additionally, with only a 7-year-old's memory at that. Kind of a James Bond-y scene but not quite.  Over 40 dingdang years pondering what could that movie be -- just think about that ladies and gentlemen, please.  Over 40 years.  I asked Doug, in desperation, about it.  [I did ask Peter, and Arye, and William, and they worked diligently -- they all worked very hard to find the movie.]  Here comes the Amen part: I put the question just after noon, about 12:15, to Doug.  "BTGTMR" has been waiting for an answer to this NAGGING movie scene for 40 YEARS (last time I say that).  And Doug! Doug had the answer in FIFTEEN minutes, by 12:31pm.  15 minutes!  Not only had he the answer, but he sent the link to view the entire movie on bluetube. Not only did he send the link to view the movie on bluetube, but he gave me the exact time, down to the minute when the scene would appear. 

Doug Molitor has a place at my table for the rest of his life.  Bless him.

Moving forward:



I met my good friend, and blossoming poet, Dorothy Stewart, for lunch at Cyclo, a fantastic Vietnamese restaurant in Chandler. I am not a picture-taker of plates of food, so just believe we enjoyed our meals, but the conversation was really the highlight of the afternoon. I love it when you can sit for a few hours, in lovely surroundings, and really get to know a fine person. And how about those orange sunspots on the walls?  That ain't nuttin'. I arrived at the restaurant before anyone was there, even the hostess.  I could hear people in the kitchen, obviously preparing food, but the front door had been open. In I walked, and sat for about six, seven minutes just looking around:Lovely environs. Pretty wall art, cool fixtures, "invisible" chairs.  Not a single person there but me at the corner table, facing the door.  And you know what I thought?  This is the old Chicago-born-bred-influenced, what else can I say, Chicago-girl in me. "Five minutes," I thought, "three guys, one van, five minutes would be all they'd need, this place would be empty. Literally. Empty. Front door wide open. This place would be totally empty." Oh, and then the hostess finally came, and then there was Dorothy! And then luncheon attendees started showing up.  Will that Chicago scheming-ness never depart completely?

But wait, there's more:

Balboa Poet House!

The night topped off with a delightful flourish of poetry, fellowship, merriment, and stimulating conversation.  Many different forms of poetry were heard, and shared, to hearty applause. It was a true poetic salon experience.  I had one of the nicest times I've ever had.  Here's a photo our wonderful hostess, Deborah Berman, took:

Here's hoping this is the beginning of a beautiful Valley tradition!  To Deborah and Joe, many thanks for welcoming all of us to your lovely, love-filled home.  (P.S. If you're looking for me, you can see 3 inches of the top of my head. I'm seated, fourth from left, right behind the very left-leaning Chris Robideaux.) 

Here's Deborah Berman's comments on the Balboa Poet House extravaganza.  I'll end this post with her very competent telling of our sweet October night:

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who came to Balboa Poet House tonight. It was a beautiful night of friends, food, wine and words and I am so grateful to everyone for participating. It honestly could not have gone better and truly was the night of my dreams. Thanks to Cynthia Schwartzberg Edlow for the cheesecake and vodka (you're coming back over to drink it, you know!), to Debby Mitchell for her award winning guacamole (best I've ever had - for real), wine & for bringing Gary Mitchell (glad to see you're feeling better!), to Victoria Hoyt & Paul for the book I can't wait to read and the Ryan Lyin' haiku, to CChristy White, the winner of our Haiku contest!, Neil Gearns, Gary Bowers & Julie Elefante for reading their poetry, to Robert J. Lee & Jasmine for being awesome supporters of poetry...and lastly thank you, with all my heart, to Heather Smith-Gearns & Chris Robideaux for featuring, for sharing a body of your work in way few get to see. I am in such awe of your talents. Thank you for being a part of our night. We love you all! See you next time!