I wanted to do some work at my desk today while watching the end of a Columbo episode.  So I left the living room TV and logged on to my Spectrum TV Live website.  But it kept telling me that since I was away from home, I didn't have access to all channels -- which included the one showing Columbo.  Clearly I wasn't away from home, so after testing a few things I waved the white flag and called tech support, which I could tell was somewhere overseas.

I answered a lot of basic questions ("No, this isn't related to Wi-Fi, I'm on my desktop computer), and we tried a few actions.  Checked out if I could connect using another browser.  (I couldn't.)  Rebooted my computer.  No help.  Rebooted the modem.  Nothing.  Cleared my cached of bookmarks and file history.  (That's always a fun one, since it means have to re-log into to all my password-protected sites.)  Nope.  Finally after 25 minutes, the tech person gave up and forwarded the call to their expedited tech support level. After five minutes on hold, I was connected.

After explaining the problem, the person immediately said, "Oh, I'm sorry you had to go through all that.  We are having a system-wide issue in California that is causing this.  Technicians are working on it, and hopefully it will be fixed in 24 hours."

Well...knowing that sure would have made the process a whole lot shorter, including having to re-log all all my passwords.  I asked that he please do whatever he could to make sure this message got out to all their front-line tech support people.

He completely understood and did his best to explain what maybe possibly could have happened, that they were very busy, and maybe the message didn't get through to everyone and possibly...this and that and whatever.  When he finished, I said, "Well, perhaps, and it probably too there's the fact that you're clearly based here in the United States, and she wasn't."  He laughed and said,  "Well, yes, there's that, too."

So, for anyone in California (or a couple other states -- he said New York, and some others), if you're having this same issue -- just know that you shouldn't waste your time calling for tech assistance.  There, I've just saved you a half-hour and a lot of rebooting...

​Another service of Elisberg Industries.

Over on his site, Mark Evanier posted a video of Tony Bennett and Elvis Costello teaming up for a song last year.  Two things stood out for me -- one is how incredibly good Tony Bennett is for 90 years old.  Wow.  (In fact, he celebrated his 91st birthday just yesterday!)  And the other thing is that it hit me halfway through that, as odd a teaming as that video is of these two very different singers, what's equally odd is I've crossed paths with both fellows.

Neither are significant connections, most-especially with Elvis Costello, but still...  Hey, come on, give me a break here.  This is Tony Bennett and Elvis Costello.  And me-ish.

Back in 1982 I was working at Universal Studio in the P.R. Department.  We had just released E.T., one of the most-fun times to be in the awful business of P.R., as you can imagine.  And in the midst of that, the chance for a big promotion fell into our lapse.  At the height of the E.T. phenomenon -- and it really was a phenomenon -- composer John Williams was going to be conducting his work at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  And through Steven Spielberg's office came word that he would be making E.T. available for his first-ever public appearance -- to walk out on stage after Williams conducted a suite from the film.

It was my job to get the little creature and secretly bring him to the Hollywood Bowl in the afternoon, before even the orchestra arrived, and stay on duty protecting him out of sight of everyone in the bowels of the Bowl.  

Along with John Williams, the other performer that night was Tony Bennett.  (See!  I knew I'd get around to him in the story.)  He too was kept in the dark about E.T. being there, but only until the very last minute when we had to let him in on what was going to be happening.  He came downstairs, excited, and even asked to have his picture taken with E.T., which we happily obliged.  And as everyone was rushing to get ready and head upstairs, since the orchestra had started the E.T. suite, I did something that probably wasn't highly approved in the P.R. Standards Handbook -- though with the concept of "P.R. standards" that's more a pamphlet with a lot of wiggle room:  I asked everyone in the room to hold off going upstairs for 30 seconds -- a risky thing, since we were on a very tight timetable with the music playing -- but I wasn't going to let the moment pass without me too having my picture taken with E.T.  (The person who took the picture alas did a lousy job, and it's out of focus, but hey, it's still a keeper.)
​

(For what it's worth, I have a photo of E.T. alone that I took myself which is far better and actually in focus.  But since I'm not in it, it sort of defeats the purpose here...)

Anyway, we rushed upstairs and waited in the wings as John Williams and the orchestra were finishing up the suite.  The audience was going crazy, because the movie's craze was at its peak and the were just thrilled to hear the composer playing That Music.  What they didn't know is that after the piece came to its big final crescendo, and they began cheering, the Hollywood Bowl had been outlined with fireworks.  At the last chords, the fireworks began to explode, and the Bowl looked like a spaceship taking off.  And the audience, as you can imagine, went wild, thinking that this was the unexpected surprise.  What they didn't know was that they hadn't seen the real surprise at all, and that it was was yet to come.

There were about four of us in the wings during all this.  And Tony Bennett came up to join us.  Even he understood what a fun, dramatic moment this was -- and even though he was going to be performing soon, he decided that rather than prepare in his dressing room, he wanted to watch.  He was as excited as anyone, and charming, and he really impressed me through it all.

As the 18,000 people applauding and yelling started to die down at last, we say, "Go!" and E.T. waddled out onstage towards John Williams.  At first, the massive audience broke out into an huge roar -- but then to my surprise, they became instantly silent.  Apparently, everyone didn't want to miss a thing and wanted to listen in case he said anything.  (He didn't.)  But E.T. wandered over to John Williams, the two shook hands, and then E.T. turned to the crowd, bowed and then wandered back offstage.  And it was only as he near the side stage that the audience began cheering again.

I have a video of the entire E.T. segment -- music, fireworks and appearance.  It's on VHS tape, though, not digitized.  At some point, I'll probably get it done.  I'm guessing there aren't many of these tapes around.  But I made sure to get one.

My time with Elvis Costello was far less dramatic...

At the end of 2007 and into 2008, the Writers Guild went on strike against the AMPTP film studios and TV networks.  I was assigned to picket outside Paramount Studios, and went there whenever I was called for.

On this one day, it turned out that Elvis Costello -- to his fine credit -- joined the picket line in solidaritiy and marched around Paramount with all the striking writers holding there picket signs.  When my time was done, I turned in my sign, signed out and headed over to the parking lot for my car.

As I headed through the lot, I looked over and saw that Elvis Costello had finished for the day, as well, and was going to his car, too.  I looked over and caught his eye.  I gave him a thumbs-up in appreciation, and he returned it in thanks.

That's it.  No music and no fireworks, and no little alien, unless that's how you think of Elvis Costello.

I was going to send you over to Mark Evanier's site to see the video -- and would if he had written extensively about it.  But he just identifies the piece, so I figure it would be silly sending you there.  You should check out his site anyway, on general principle, which you can get to here.  But this is the video.  You will not see me in it, but I'm there in spirit and in absentia...
​

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article about meeting with Al Gore in 2007 when he interviewed me to be the writer for a proposed daily radio commentary show he'd do.  (The tale is long, but if you missed it, you can read it here.)  The crux of the story though came when I handed over to him some samples of my writing, pieces I'd done for the Huffington Post, and one of them was an article I'd written about Gore himself the year before, after having just seen an early screening of An Inconvenient Truth.  

Because of a glitch, I nervously had to sit there as Gore read in front of me what I wrote about him -- all the more nerve-wracking because I'd started the article by apparently bashing him, describing every freaking major slam that had been made against Al Gore. Yes, I then refuted them all in full detail, but only I knew that, not whoever would be reading the piece  Including, oh...Al Gore.  Who was sitting in front of me.

And there I waited, as he read it.  And it was hellish.  But when at one point he read out-loud, "Single craziest political performance I've ever heard..." and burst out laughing -- I knew I was home free.  (And knew that spoke really well of him.)  And when he got to the last line and finished, he looked up at me, paused a moment and then said firmly, "Thank you."

Phew.

(I did get hired.  We recorded five demo shows, and they signed up 250 radio stations and raised a lot of money, but that wasn't enough for the syndicator, Westwood One, and the show didn't go forward, alas.)

I told all about that meeting in the earlier article, but though I mentioned the original Huffington Post article, I didn't include it.  And with Al Gore's follow-up to his Oscar-winning documentary now here, An Inconvenient Sequel, I figured this would be as good a time as any to do so now.

Here 'tis.


​May 4, 2006

The Return of Al Gore:  Apparently, It is That Easy Being Green
 
  
Mention the name of Al Gore for President in 2008, and you’ll have to duck from the hailstorm of responses, most of which are snickering ridicule.
 
Al Gore may not even be a candidate, as he himself has said – at present.  But one snickers at their own peril.  Al Gore is a very different man than when the Democratic nominee in 2000, and anyone who hasn’t noticed has not been looking closely, or at all.  The jokes may fly, but while people are laughing, they will find that Al Gore has passed them by.
 
There are three reasons Al Gore gets dismissed:  he’s a loser, he’s wooden and he says he invented the Internet.
 
Oh, life is so difficult when none of our assumptions are true.
 
The truth begins with one inescapable reality:  even at his most-derided worst, Al Gore won the popular vote against George Bush.
 
That’s what’s known in debate clubs as an impossible fact to deny.
 
If Al Gore was the Democratic nominee (a huge “if”), there’s no reason to think he would get any fewer votes than he did before.  (Especially with no third-party candidate.)  That’s an awfully good starting point:  that you previously won the popular vote for President of the United States.  Even George W. Bush couldn’t say that when he ran for re-election.
 
In 2000, George Bush was a potent candidate.  He was seen as a uniter.  Compassionate.  His namesake father was a former President of the United States.  And Al Gore still received more popular votes.
 
And at his boring worst, that’s Al Gore’s starting point.  Winning the most votes.
 
Ah, yes, that boring thing.  Grab a chair and catch up with reality.
 
On May 26, 2004, Gore delivered a speech at NYU that blasted the Iraq War, and even called for the resignations of those behind it.  (This was two years before the current parade of generals.)  It  was so fiery that conservative pundits didn’t know what to make of it until they could unite on their talking points.

“Gore's speech is the single craziest political performance of my lifetime…” – New York Post columnist John Podhoretz

“He's really nuts.” – Fox News host Sean Hannity.

“It looks as if Al Gore has gone off his lithium again.” – Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer

Hardly the description of someone wooden.  These are the sounds of  conservative cowboys hiding the women-folk and circling the wagons at the terror of a free-speaking voice rising against them.  
 
And what did Gore thunder?


“George W. Bush promised us a foreign policy with humility. Instead, he has brought us humiliation in the eyes of the world.  He promised to ‘restore honor and integrity to the White House.’ Instead, he has brought deep dishonor to our country and built a durable reputation as the most dishonest president since Richard Nixon.”

These are not the cold, diplomatic words of today’s wary politician.  This blistering outrage is what Gore’s been saying now for years, far ahead of most other Democrats.


That leaves but the matter of Al Gore, inventor of the Internet.  “During my service in the United States Congress,” Gore said to Wolf Blitzer on CNN, “I took the initiative in creating the Internet.”

That’s it.  And the men who are considered inventors of the Internet, Dr. Vinton Cerf and Dr. Robert Kahn, agree!  

“…As the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work,,” they wrote, “we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President.  No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time.”

Well, how about that?
 
Winner, impassioned, and he helped create the Internet.  Go figure.
 
And now, Al Gore has been given a really big platform.  Movie star.

A new documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” was one of the hits of the Sundance Film Festival.  At heart, this is a filmed version of the richly-involving multimedia presentation Gore gives on global warning, but much more.  It’s a wonderfully-crafted look at Gore and his life traveling around the world, dragging his own luggage through airports.

Gore has given the presentation over 1,000 times by his estimate, and his passion is visceral, along with his knowledge and concern.  What one sees is an engrossing event that is at times terrifying, always fascinating and occasionally hilarious. The film (for which Huffington Post contributor Laurie David is one of the producers) flies by.  That’s 100 minutes of watching Al Gore talk and being riveted.  Admit it: those are two concepts you previously would never have dreamed of ever seeing in the same sentence.  Unless perhaps if it continued – “…to the floor with bolts.”
 
And that’s the point.

Whether or not Al Gore runs for President again; in fact, whether or not he should, make no mistake: there is substance here.  And passion.  And outspokenness.  And now he’s got an 80-foot high soapbox.    
 
 

​

I was sorry to read about the the passing today of the great playwright Sam Shepard, at the age of 73. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his play Buried Child and wrote other works that included True West, Fool for Love and Curse of the Starving Class.  He later returned to his very-early days of acting and had a successful career at that, getting an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in The Right Stuff portraying Chuck Yeager.  His many other films included Days of Heaven, Resurrection, Baby Boom, Black Hawk Down and Steel Magnolias. 

I worked with him on one movie, the very little known Bright Angel, which was based on two short stories by the acclaimed author Richard Ford.  It was a solid, small independent film that had a very good cast for such a tiny, unknown movie that included Dermot Mulroney (who was the star), Delroy Lindo, Bill Pullman, Mary Kay Place, Valerie Perinne, Burt Young, Lily Taylor and Benjamin Bratt in what might have been his first movie, along with Sam.  And it was in one particular instance dealing with Sam Shepard that was perhaps my finest moment as a movie publicist.  (Which I suppose is not saying a lot, given that movie publicity is not filled with fine moments...)

In the film, Sam played a small, but important supporting role (I think as Dermot's father, though I wouldn't swear to that at this point), so he wasn't at the filming location in Montana all that much, maybe a few days.  Sam was a nice-enough fellow, willing to chat, though taciturn and a bit distant, seeming to prefer the quiet and being alone, there to do his job.

At one point, a video crew hired by the company came up to Montana to shoot for two days and get material for putting together an "electronic presskit," the EPK  They timed their visit to be there specifically when enough of the actors would be around, but most especially Sam Shepard.  He would be on the set filming during their second and final night, when we were out on a big field all evening until the wee hours of the morning, a ways outside of our base residence of Billings.

All was fine as the video team was getting their interviews and behind-the-scenes footage...but with one tiny hiccup. The night they showed up on the set, Sam absolutely refused to do an interview.  Nope, no way, doing a video interview was not for him, no, absolutely not.  I'm not sure if he was against all publicity (I suspect that wasn't the case), or if it was just because this was such a small role and he didn't want it made to seem otherwise, or maybe because it was to be videotaped, rather than a more simple print interview.  I did sense that he wasn't a publicity hound and was reticent to do publicity in general, but mainly was adamant about not doing publicity specifically for this.  Not at all, nothing.  Sorry.  Nope.  I asked a few times, as politely as possible, but the answer was always a blunt, polite, but crusty, "No."  

(I didn't try to do an interview for my own written purposes, but I didn't think I really had to, and so didn't want to push him for it, preferring to put my efforts into the video interview.  During his time there, I had chatted with him briefly a few times and got some off-handed replies that were very helpful, which I marked down after walking away, and also picked up random comments from standing with him as he talked with the director about the movie, so I could just use those in fleshing out the production notes I was writing.) 

His refusal to do a video interview was causing great stress for the "EPK" crew.  Though he wasn't the star, and it was just a small role, he was still the most-famous name in the movie.  And he was the reason they were there that night.  And they knew they couldn't go back to the production company and say that, "Sorry, no, we didn't get anything from Sam Shepard" and justify what they were paid.  (And I knew, having been around on movie sets as a publicist long enough, that to cover their rear I'd no doubt be the one blamed for it all, how the unit publicist just was no help and couldn't get Sam Shepard to talk to them.)  They were able to get some behind-the-scenes footage of him when acting, but that wasn't remotely good enough.  And as the pitch-black night went on and got later and later, they got more and more concerned.  They'd ask me to try again, but there was a limit I could do -- it seemed that pushing any farther than I had risked pissing off Sam Shepard, and not only might he shut down, but I'd be reamed out for mucking up the set.  I'd keep my eye on him, seeing how his mood was, go over to chat and listen for any crack in the exterior, but I could tell that the answer was no, period.

And then I had my Great Revelation.

I explained it to the video crew -- I said I knew from chatting with Sam since he'd arrived in Billings that he was a massive admirer of Richard Ford's works, and in fact that was one of the main reasons he agreed to be in the movie, in such a small role.  I said to the video director that I thought it was remotely possible that Sam might be willing to answer a couple questions on camera specifically and only about Richard Ford, to help promote a fellow-writer's works.  If I could get him to do that, would that be enough for the video?  The guy lit up -- that would be great, it would work, and besides, "Once I get him on camera, I'm sure I can get him to talk about some other things."  If he couldn't though, he would be really happy to get anything with Sam Shepard on video.

So, I kept an eye on things, picked my moment when it seemed all was low-key, and went over to Sam who was sitting alone, off to the side.  It was probably about 2 AM at this point.  I laid out my thought to him, might he be willing to talk about Richard Ford -- and Richard Ford only -- to the video crew for about three minutes?  To get some well-deserved attention on the novelist?  And to my utter relief, Sam said yes, he'd be absolutely fine answering a couple questions about Richard Ford on camera.  O huzzah!

When I told the video director, he was overjoyed.  They set up their camera, asked their few questions about Richard Ford and -- exactly as he anticipated -- once he got Sam talking on camera, he was politely able to stay pleasant and conversational and keep Sam chatting.  And in the end, they got about 15 minutes of Sam Shepard on video.

Afterward, the video director was in heaven.  It seemed like he was beaming so much that it shined through that very dark Montana night.

Just to finish things up, here's a short trailer for the movie.  It really wasn't a "thriller" like the narrator says, but far more a character study of people impacted by their challenging circumstances, although there was plenty that was tense throughout in the edgy story.  And all the better, you'll also get to see scenes here from that dark night out on the field.  And a bit of Sam.

Last week, I went to Galco's Old World Grocery.  I hadn't been there in probably eight years -- not because I wasn't impressed enough (in fact, I was bowled over by how absolutely wonderful it was), but it just isn't convenient to get to.  It's in area called Highland Park, which is a convoluted 30-35 minute drive for me, a ways northeast of downtown Los Angeles.  And that's a long distance to go for a grocery store.  Though in fairness this is unlike any grocery store you've been to.  (Something I feel confident saying, whoever "you" are.)  I've always intended to go back, and even have had a reminder in my Outlook, which I keep moving forward in the calendar, so that I will "someday soon."  Eventually I got tired of someday and said "to heck with it" and went.

Galco's truly is not a typical grocery store.  It was once -- it's been around over 100 years -- but no longer sells the basic groceries you'd find in your supermarket.  Mainly, it sells soft drinks.  Yes, soft drinks. Small, local, uncommon brands from across the country, and some from around the world.  Brands you may have grown up with and thought they'd long-since gone out of business.  Over 200 brands and over 750 varieties.  (Its website is sodapopstop.com.)  They also sell uncommon beers and interesting wines, and have a similar candy section and some sandwiches -- but mainly, it's soft drinks.

I first became aware of the place around 2009 when host Huell Howser did an hour-long episode about Galco's on his Visiting with Huell Howser show on local L.A. public television, where he went around finding fascinating places throughout the Los Angeles area.  (For readers of Mark Evanier's website, yes, this is the Huell Howser he was waxing eloquent about and calling the "cheeriest person on the planet" a couple of weeks ago in several postings, like this one here.)  And yes, Galco's is so wonderfully interesting and fun, Huell Howser was able to fill a full hour on it, a grocery store that largely sells soft drinks.  As a result of that show, I was so taken with the store that I had to make the trek and track the place down.  It was as joyous as I hoped -- but as convoluted to get to as I feared.

But even when you do come here, even if you live close by, that's not the real challenge at all.  The problem with coming to Galco's is that you don't know where to start.  Do you take one bottle of each interesting-looking brand?  Well, that alone would empty your bank account since there are SO many brands that are interesting.  (Most individual bottles -- and yes, you can buy just a single bottle -- cost in the $1.50-$1.80 range.  Some may be more, I came across one that was over $3; a few less, I bought one under a dollar.)  Or instead you can pick a particular flavor and try all the ginger ales or all the wild cherries or all the root beers, lemon-limes, colas, orange or orange creams, or on and on and on to compare them.  But that risks your wallet, too, since there will be a dozen or two dozen of each, if it's a normal flavor.  (No, they don't have a dozen cucumber sodas.  Though it's worth nothing that they started stocking Mr. Cucumber five years before it was named Soft Drink Flavor of the Year -- or whatever its award was.)  And if you decide to go this way get just one flavor it leaves out all those rare varieties, it's hard not to try..  At the very least, you can get all the different flavors of one brand alone to check it out.  That's workable -- most brands with multiple varieties may only have three or four -- but which of the 200 brands do you want to try?  O what to do??!

And when I say "on and on and on" with the flavors, seriously, I'm not kidding.  There's peach soft drink.  And espresso coffee soft drink.  And sarsaparilla.  And there was huckleberry soft drink.  And...and...okay, you get the point. 

Yes, that's mint julep soft drink.

And as you shop, wafting through the air is music from the '50 that helps put you in the proper frame of mind to wander the aisles here.

But Galco's doesn't even limit itself to these 750 varieties -- there is a "make your own soft drink" stand where the combinations are near-limitless.  And by "near-limitless" I'm not exaggerating.  There are about 30-40 bottles of syrup which you can use separately or combine to make your own special flavor.  You get a bottle, fill it three-quarters of the way with either light fizz or heavy fizz soda (your choice) and then take 8-9 pumps of whatever syrups you want.  (If you want single pumps of nine different syrups, that's fine.  Hence me saying "near-limitless.")  Then, take it to the bottle capper on the far right of the area, and finally add a label for your personal soft drink.

I made a banana-strawberry soft drink, with light fizz.  I haven't had it yet, going through a few of the bottled brands first, as a sort of control.  But I can't wait.  (When I went to check out, the knowledgeable guy there -- he said he's tried about a third of the product in the store -- was curious what flavor I'd made.  I could tell he was wary, since I assume so many people probably make either one-flavor or exceedingly weird combos.  When I told him -- strawberry-banana -- his eyebrows raised.  "Oh.  That sounds good!"  So, here's hopping.)

It's probably a great place to take kids, for the sensory overload, the overflow of history, the fun of seeing all the artistic labels and unique beverages.  The problem, of course, is that your children would likely be on a sugar high for the next year from just one trip.  (They do have some diet soft drinks here, it should be noted.)

Galco's Old World Grocery is otherworldly and unique.  Alas, most people can't get there, but you can at least check it out online, and watch the great many news story videos about the place I mentioned that they have embedded there.

In fact, here is that original hour-long Huell Howser show that introduced the place to me.  (If you read about him on Mark's site, this is your chance to see him in action at his up-beat best.)  If you don't want to watch the whole thing, jump to the 7:30 mark, past the pre-soda history of the place and get directly to John Nese in his enthusiastic glory.  (That's him below in the yellow shirt.)  And all of Huell Howser's intricate details about the place and its various sections (including the sandwich-making that Nese's mother does, and has for 50 years) that he digs out.

One note: in the video John Nese refers to the "aisle" with soft drinks.  Big as that aisle is, it's more than just one aisle. There are at least two, though one is smaller, plus all the boxes sitting out, plus the soda creation booth.
​

And if you want to watch something shorter, here's a six-minute piece on Galco's that MSNBC did when they used to have a business-hour show.  It's very good, and focuses wonderfully more on John Nese from a business perspective and his philosophy: "Not fewer suppliers, less choice.  No, no, no, no.  More choice.  Just overload 'em, continually overload 'em...and you'll win.  Simple." But if you watch this MSNBC one instead, do at least also check out a few minutes of Huell Howser's enthusiasm for the place, too...
​

About six weeks ago, I wrote here the tale of my friend Peter Carlisle, when he made a visit to Los Angeles, and we got to spend a few days together while his wife Judy stayed in Kentucky with their daughter and son-in-law's first baby.  (Peter had been there, but after a while everyone knew he would just be in the way...)  Peter, you'll recall, is the former mayor of Honolulu and had been the city's long-time Chief Prosecutor.  And he is also a piece of work to spend time with -- a joy, a whirlwind, unique, exhausting, smart, funny, infuriating and a thoroughly wonderful guy.  Even though we don't agree politically.  Though much more than I do with most Republicans, since he is a New Jersey Republican.  As I mentioned previously, if he ran in the Deep South would be chased out of town as a damn liberal.  But he's not, remotely.  However he fits in just fine in Hawaii -- even if the concept of a New Jersey Republican being mayor of Honolulu is one you might have a hard time wrapping your mind around.  Shaka brah.  Fuggedaboudit.

My article was very positive -- I think... -- but also scathing in showing what an outgoing, fun, maddening, annoying, good-natured, and periodically bewildering person Peter was.  And it is not only to his credit, but speaks highly to who he is that he joyfully linked to it on his Facebook page, warts and all.  Peter is a rare politician who take as good as he gets.

Fun, too, were the comments I got from people who knew Peter, some who wrote me directly, some who posted online.  One long-time work associate explained that she would have written to me earlier, but was too busy laughing, and called the piece "epic" and spot-in, adding some of her own stories.  Others said things like how you actually nailed Peter to a T.  But my favorite comments came from Peter's dear wife herself, the ever-patient dynamo Judy Carlisle (known among many as "St. Jude"...), who wrote to me -- "You described him beautifully. Now everyone knows what my life with him is like!!"  

(And yes, I asked for permission to quote her.  And yes, she replied back with enthusiastic permission, adding that "everyone that knows him well will probably understand. At the very least I may get a little sympathy."  But far and away my favorite comment of Judy's in her note was, "As you can imagine I have many stories about the absent minded Peter. I always wonder how he even gets dressed in the morning.")

Keep in mind, this is the former mayor and long-time Chief Prosecutor of a major American city.  But make no mistake, he's an extremely bright, highly-focused guy.  It's just that that focus sometimes makes him oblivious to random, basic things in life.  Like what floor his hotel room is on.  And the room number.  And where the car is parked.  And...well, you get the idea.  Especially if you had read the article.
 
Anyway, in that May article I mentioned having written an earlier story about Peter in the Huffington Post five years ago when he was running for re-election as Mayor, largely telling about our time together in grad school at UCLA and on a road trip we took up the Pacific Coast to Canada and back after graduation, as well as some early visits together.  It actually got picked by the local Hawaii press, who were amused by what their civic leader was really like in his Early Days.

Since Peter is still talking to me, I figure he gave it his approval.  Something I was uncertain about because I hadn't told him beforehand and, like my recent piece, I felt it was very positive yet overflowing with its own warts.  But the day after it appeared, I got a phone call from him in the Mayor's office, laughing.  

I thought that since I already gave you the follow-up and referenced the original, it was only proper to bring the thing back.  So, here it is, from June 27, 2012.  Back, for perspective's sack, when another political figure who was born in Hawaii, later to move to my beloved Chicago was in the White House.
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One of the problems with growing up is that eventually you reach the point in life where the clods you grew up with are now in charge.  When you’re a kid, you don’t think twice about who the pilot is flying the airplane.  But one day, you realize that the child who used to always forget his phone number is now performing neurosurgery on someone.  Or you know that the chef at your favorite restaurant used to eat mud.
 
But none of that compares to my own sobering moment when I realized that a pal from my earlier days was now the mayor of the City of Honolulu.
 
Fortunately, I didn’t know Peter Carlisle as a child.  Just the thought of that gives me chills – a really loud eight-year-old with a bushy moustache.  We became friends in graduate school at UCLA.  He was in law school, though still – how shall I put it? – unformed as a mature adult.  I was getting my Masters degree in screenwriting.
 
And now the people of Honolulu elected Peter the mayor?  Yes, I know they’d elected him City Prosecutor four times.  But it’s one thing to be City Prosecutor, where the only thing people care about is “did you convict the bad guys?” – and Peter and his staff did, which is why he kept getting re-elected.  And it’s something else entirely to be in charge of everything…and represent your city.
 
I’m sure that the people of Honolulu are happy with Peter Carlisle as a fine representative of their city.  But they didn’t see him go to the Pizza Palace seven nights in a row to watch the movie The Producers, over and over and over (and over) again on the big screen TV, rather than study.  Or they didn’t see him watching the “Three Blind Mice” scene in Monty Python’s And Now for Something Completely Different, and losing all self-control, actually hyperventilating with so much apoplectic laughter that he literally nearly passed out.  The voters may see an effective former City Prosecutor.  But this is who I see.
 
Here’s how difficult it is for me.  One particularly violent criminal, after getting convicted, called Peter “the most evil man in Hawaii.”  Or something like that.  I don’t remember exactly, though, because I was too busy convulsed in hysterics.  What everyone in Honolulu saw was the intensity of the high-profile trial.  All I could see was the camping trip Peter and I took up the Pacific Coast Highway after grad school, which didn’t mesh with Evil Genius, unless you count how annoying he got when he didn’t get his way, or tried repeatedly sing the wrong lyrics to “Marian the Librarian.”  Hey, I didn’t like to let him drive, that’s why it’s hard for me to see him in charge of a city.
 
One of the problems with growing up is that eventually you reach the point in life where the clods you grew up with are now in charge.  When you’re a kid, you don’t think twice about who the pilot is flying the airplane.  But one day, you realize that the child who used to always forget his phone number is now performing neurosurgery on someone.  Or you know that the chef at your favorite restaurant used to eat mud.
 
But none of that compares to my own sobering moment when I realized that a pal from my earlier days was now the mayor of the City of Honolulu.
 
Fortunately, I didn’t know Peter Carlisle as a child.  Just the thought of that gives me chills – a really loud eight-year-old with a bushy moustache.  We became friends in graduate school at UCLA.  He was in law school, though still – how shall I put it? – unformed as a mature adult.  I was getting my Masters degree in screenwriting.
 
And now the people of Honolulu elected Peter the mayor?  Yes, I know they’d elected him City Prosecutor four times.  But it’s one thing to be City Prosecutor, where the only thing people care about is “did you convict the bad guys?” – and Peter and his staff did, which is why he kept getting re-elected.  And it’s something else entirely to be in charge of everything…and represent your city.
 
I’m sure that the people of Honolulu are happy with Peter Carlisle as a fine representative of their city.  But they didn’t see him go to the Pizza Palace seven nights in a row to watch the movie The Producers, over and over and over (and over) again on the big screen TV, rather than study.  Or they didn’t see him watching the “Three Blind Mice” scene in Monty Python’s And Now for Something Completely Different, and losing all self-control, actually hyperventilating with so much apoplectic laughter that he literally nearly passed out.  The voters may see an effective former City Prosecutor.  But this is who I see.
 
Here’s how difficult it is for me.  One particularly violent criminal, after getting convicted, called Peter “the most evil man in Hawaii.”  Or something like that.  I don’t remember exactly, though, because I was too busy convulsed in hysterics.  What everyone in Honolulu saw was the intensity of the high-profile trial.  All I could see was the camping trip Peter and I took up the Pacific Coast Highway after grad school, which didn’t mesh with Evil Genius, unless you count how annoying he got when he didn’t get his way, or tried repeatedly sing the wrong lyrics to “Marian the Librarian.”  Hey, I didn’t like to let him drive, that’s why it’s hard for me to see him in charge of a city.
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It is not a great idea to scarf a lot of walnuts and then guzzle several glasses of water at 10:30 in the evening, not long before you go to bed.  It will bode for a really bad night.

Our Motto
"We do personal research for the benefit others, so that you don't have to."
-- The Management

Today was "Go to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field Day."  I always judge a visit to Wrigley as a success by one of two criteria.  The first is if the Cubs win.  They didn't, they lost 5-3 against Colorado, but it was a fun game, down to the Cubs having the bases loaded in the ninth inning.  The second criteria is if I don't splash mustard on my pants and shirt.  I didn't -- so at least in part it was a successful day!

The thing that I especially love about Wrigley Field is not the grace and Old World charm of the architecture, which I do love, but it's location.  In most of the world, cities build their stadium in some out of the way location where they can clear a lot of land, not just for the structure but also for parking.  But Wrigley Field is in the middle of a residential, tree-lined neighborhood of brownstones.  You're wandering along the sidewalk, turn a corner and then suddenly this ballpark sprouts up in front of you..
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​This is behind the ballpark, and that ahead is Sheffield Avenue, which borders the park behind right field.  Heading off to tiyr right would be Waveland Avenue behind the left field bleachers.  Up in the right corner you can just barely see the edge of famous manual scoreboard.

However, going to the ballgame wasn't the only treat of the visit to Wrigley -- or even the best.  The other day, I wrote here about my cousin Diana Leviton Gondek and how she had been commissioned to do a painting for the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics.  And I mentioned she had recently be commissioned by the City of Chicago to make another Honor Horse sculpture as a tribute to fallen policeman, her third.  They had a ceremony for it at the 19th Precinct.

Well, it turns out that the 19th Precinct is at 850 Addison -- and Wrigley Field is 1060 Addison!  So, I took the L in early -- it stops a block from the ballpark -- and walked a couple blocks to the precinct station.  I proudly introduced myself as "cousin of the artist," and they were all gracious, and told me to make sure to tell my cousin how much they love the sculpture.  

As I told Diana, I would bring a painting of oats for it.  It was most appreciative.

​The elves taking care of the homestead were very disappointed they couldn't be there, too, because they wanted to take a ride on the horsey...