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_________________ Wednesday 28 February 2001 10 37 pm pst [ five (5) pieces of paper ] Last night I came home with five (5) pieces of paper in my pocket that I hadn't left the house with. Charles knew I was shaken by my altercation with my former boss. When he arrived I gave him two gifts I'd picked up in the Bay Area and then we headed for an early dinner at Benihana. Charles said if John (our favorite chef) wasn't there we would go somewhere else for din din, but he was, and after much haggling with the seater, we got ourselves planted at his table. There were two older couples at the table with us. They were a bit loud for our taste, but I prefer friendly to shy, so Charles and I made small talk about New Jersey and premium sake. Charles and I had a pleasant time making John blush at his teppenyaki expertise and I whispered to Charles that we should have sushi with John sometime. Thusly I aquired item number one
John's business card has an image from space and two phone numbers, which I always find disconcerting. Who doesn't use the first number or e-mail address? Why give people a choice for no reason? Charles scribbled in a higher number on the bill so he could get some singles for the valet. Folding the recipt, he handed it to me and jovially declared, "I think you should keep this in memory of such a wonderful meal." item number two
went in my pocket and we headed for the car.
Charles didn't have to insist that we go hear Howlett "Smitty" Smith instrad of heading home. We found a perfect parking spot and made our way indoors from the rain. [Apparently we've had more rain in 2001 than Seattle. Los Angeles is the wettest city on the West Coast.] I must admit I was drawn to the 80-year-old enjoying a large steak by herself. And though we joked about LiLou and her friend flirting with Smitty, she sure did belt her rendition of White Girls Get the Blues Too. She had a wonderful alto voice that melted the air. The elderly woman had said that Howlett was one day from his birthday, so I asked LiLou to lead us in song before she left the mike. "Happy birthday" resonated in the room. The 80-year-old, who's name we later learned was Marion, couldn't read her bill in the low light, so I offered to read it for her. A few minutes later, Charles and I found ourselves seated at her table. Marion provided item number three
Her business card described her as:
#1 Senior Pro Golf & Jazz Groupie
Charles listened to all her conversation about what jazz musicians we
must see, and after hearing about his band, Marion agreed to "give
rock one more chance." How fantastic is that?!?
Two young black men entered the bar and we all sat through the final set. Then a trumpet -- lovingly held -- was masterfully played by Joe Reynolds with Howlett accompanying. Everyone was captivated. After the performance, I worked up the courage to ask Howlett what was involved in getting singing lessons from him. "An audition." His business card made item number four
And in the mayhem at the close of the evening, Charles made tentative plans to attend a concert with Marion and I on 13 March. I chatted with Joe's uncle Bobby, and asked if I could have his phone number so that we could finish our conversation at a later date. A scrawled upon napin completed the collection as item number five
I am so glad to have another perfect evening under my belt...
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