Friday, September 24, 2010
Calling All Tequila Lovers
A couple of weeks ago, enjoying a long, leisurely lunch with our friends Doug & Kate, we decided to start the meal with the featured "bicentennial" Tequila Especial on the menu: Centenario Rosangel. What makes it Especial is that it's subtly infused with flor de jamaica (hibiscus flowers). Who knew? Since we moved down here we've all tried a lot of different tequilas, but this one blew us away. If you can find it where you live, give it a try!
Friday, September 17, 2010
The Half-Full Glass
These days, it’s easy to get sucked into a slough of cynical despond, with even minimal exposure to the mass media fear machine. Let’s face it, it’s a big world and if you look hard enough you can find a whole lot of bad news. So… as a personal Pollyanna protest of sorts, I’d like to share a handful of positive developments in my little family/friendship sphere.
Brains on Fire: The Book. A couple of weeks ago, my brainy and energetic former partners saw the fruits of their collective post-Goot labor show up on bookstore shelves for the first time. Hats off to them. I called myself a professional writer for most of my 30-some-odd-year career and never came close to writing a chapter’s worth of stuff, let alone an entire book. The fact that I get mentioned a time or two is a source of huge personal pride. But the fact that they’d already amassed 3,000 pre-orders before the book ever came out makes me even prouder. It’s a tribute to the timeliness of their message and the enthusiasm of their considerable fan base.
ENCARNACIÓN. Last month, while we were visiting Karen’s family in northern California, our friend Kate McKenna unveiled her latest photography at Galeria 6 in nearby Mineral de Pozos. We missed the opening, but were thrilled to find out she had hundreds of attendees, many from as far away as Mexico City, and sold six pieces within hours, an incredible feat, we’re told by other local artists, in this dismal economy. We were doubly pleased to find out that several of the purchased pieces featured a newly-turned-60 model who happens to share my bed with me. Check out Kate’s slideshow [Link Above] or this short video walk-through produced by Kate’s friend Suzanne.
Euphoria: Food, Wine & Music Event. Later this month, my restaurateur friend Carl (and his musician friend Edwin McCain) will once again be hosting their audacious celebration of serious food, wine and music in our old hometown, Greenville, SC. They bring in top-flight chefs, sommeliers and musicians from around the world for a 3-day blow-out party, and then give all the proceeds to various local charities. At a time when so many business people are cutting back and hoarding cash, Carl and Edwin are more committed than ever to giving something back to a community that has been good to them. If you're nearby and/or can find your way to Greenville September 23rd-26th...
Marriage. This past weekend, Mizzy and I celebrated 39 years of being life partners, best friends, playmates and sex objects. Two-thirds of our entire lives spent together! What a journey and what a blessing. (The real milestone here, while we can’t pin it down to a precise date, is that we met for the first time forty years ago this month!)
Kids. At the risk of sounding like a bad family Christmas letter… both our kids seem to be transitioning from unhappy job situations into a much happier space. (Imagine: all four Goots in a good place at the same time.) Dustin just moved from NYC to LA (after eight years of Big Apple living) to start working toward his MBA at UCLA, while Ashley has just begun a new internally-focused project at KPMG, which will require far less travel and far more job satisfaction. You can feel their new-found energy and confidence pulsing right through the Vonage adapter. Will it last? Probably not. Are we loving this special moment in time? Abso-freakin’-lutely!
Two Fine Quotes
Today is the birthday of Ken Kesey, another American author I like a lot. The Writer's Almanac attributes the following quote to him: "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismograph." Amen, brother.
Yesterday Karen sent me a quote from fellow Stanford alum Steven T. Murray who, under assumed name, recently translated the wildly popular Steig Larrson novels into English. He was overheard saying, "See, majoring in English may pay off eventually!" I think she meant it as a dig, but it brought a smile to my English major face.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
This City of Stark Contrasts
Yesterday, as we were making our every-other-week supermarket run, I was wandering through the meat department. One refrigerated case was filled to overflowing with a neat succession of pig's heads – big, hairless ears, pink snouts, eyes closed in peaceful slumber – alongside rows of fresh menudo (tripe). Across the aisle, in a freezer bin, I discovered a selection of Kobe beef strip steaks and a pile of creamy Magret duck foie gras. An extreme price and cultural gap indeed, but no different really than walking past Otomi girls from the campo (countryside) selling nopal cactus leaves, huitlacoche and squash blossoms out of little plastic buckets as we make our way to the new organic farmer's market in the park to buy artisanal breads heirloom tomatoes. I don't know how it/we all co-exist so easily here in San Miguel, but all in all, it makes for one happy foodie!
Monday, September 06, 2010
Color Blind? Who Cares!
For several months now my friend Warren, who at one time in his life supported himself as a watercolor artist, has been painting with our friend Glenn McKay, who's made a living as an artist his entire adult life. Inexplicably, they recently invited me to join them -- perhaps for comic relief. Truth is, ever since moving down here (and having gotten somewhat burned out on writing), I've wondered what it might be like to try and express my creative impulses visually. Well, now I know. It's a lot of fun. My two friends are extremely encouraging, don't allow me to take the thing too seriously and when needed, offer constructive advice as well as the odd glass of Cabernet. Don't look for me in your nearby gallery anytime soon, but hey, at least give me credit for having the balls to try. Fair 'nuff?
Mid-Life Insight
My friend Warren, having recently been on a rollercoaster ride of personal challenges, sent the following words of wisdom out to a group of close friends. They pretty much reflect my life experience to date. Thoughts?
I have been thinking: Love is rare, Life is strange, Nothing lasts, People change.
