Here's To Good Friends

If you were cognizant and watching television in the 70's and early 80's, you may remember the title of this post as the beginning of a commercial jingle for Lowenbrau beer. However, this post is not an ode to that beverage but an ode to actual friends of mine.

But tonight is kind of special. First of all, today is Wendell's birthday! Wendell is a friend of mine from Brown, and he turned 39 today. He is also one of the smartest people I have ever known. Certainly, everyone... and I mean everyone... I knew for the first 22 years of my life was smart, but Wendell is one of the most intuitively intelligent people I have ever encountered. And on top of his intelligence and good education, he has always followed his heart and just done what he wanted to do with his life. Sometimes that looked like he had no ambition, but I think he has been happy with his choices, overall. I have tremendous respect for really intelligent, well educated people who don't feel an obligation to "live up" to their pedigree by taking some job they don't enjoy just because it makes a ton of money and/or looks good on the surface. Truly tremendous respect.

So I called and emailed Wendell today to wish him well and let him know how very excited I am for his special day. He lives in Maine, and I haven't seen or talked to him in more than five years. It was well past time for us to reconnect.

I also met my friend Debbie at Favorite Bar 2 tonight. Debbie is a Very Important Person. She works for San Francisco's District Attorney. If you're not familiar with our D.A., Kamala Harris, I'll just tell you: she is amazing. And thanks to Debbie, I am, myself, acquainted with Madame District Attorney, as well. It's good to know Very Important People. Anyway, Debbie and I made a little pact tonight. She surfs in her spare time and has pledged to take me to Bolinas because I have never been there. In return, I have promised to take her to a ton of theatre and live music performances because she says she doesn't get enough arts and culture in her life. Now, being a Very Important Person renders Debbie very busy, so I'm not sure when we'll accomplish all these goals. But our intentions are good.

And tonight Favorite Bar 2 featured live jazz and poetry. Debbie had to leave at 9:15 to drive her boyfriend to the airport, and I didn't stay too long after the jazz musicians were done. But the couple of poets I saw were much better than the FB2 comedians. That I can say for certain.