Evening Well Spent

Spent last evening with old friends Phil and Laurie whom I haven't seen in several years—they remedied the absence by having me over for supper. Laurie's daughter, Dara, prepared a beautiful five-course vegan Thai feast that was out of this world. As much as I enjoy all things "food," for health and pleasure, I lament my ignorance of the Asian pantry. The spices and flavors—not to mention the presentation—are a world apart for me, my palate being the poorer for it. So thanks for your efforts, Dara and Laurie—I felt like I was dining in a Michelin three-star restaurant down a side-street in Bangkok, known only to the most well-connected locals. Candles, music, and five different bowls—it was hard to know where to begin. At the end of the meal, when the girls were momentarily out of sight, Phil and I took bowls in hand and drained them dry. I wish I could recite all the ingredients—by Dara's quick count there were 20-30 different foods and spices involved. I wish I'd taken a picture of the table before we began.

Laurie and Phil's house is one of my favorites—a 1940's (?) era Arts and Crafts bungalow in an older part of Charlotte where houses have personality and charm, inside and out. Laurie is an artistic, creative freelance writer (articles and first-person essays) and Phil is an artistic Mad Man—okay, not Madison Avenue advertising, but close. He is in the process of creating his own line of greeting cards. My jaw dropped at the whimsical hand-drawn prototypes he showed me. I hope they'll be in a store and on a web site near you in the not-too-distant future.

My jaw really dropped when I read the article Laurie wrote for Charlotte magazine about Phil's journey to sell his beloved 1952 Fender Telecaster guitar. In near perfect condition, these early-Fifties "Teles" are a holy grail among vintage collectors and players. Long story short: Phil bought his four decades ago for $75 in a pawn shop and sold it last year for $52,000 at the Dallas International Guitar Festival. (Yes, you read that right.) Inflation notwithstanding, that's not a bad ROI. So, in the words of Jon Bon Jovie, "hold on to what you've got."

Thanks, Phil, Laurie, and Dara for a wonderful evening of sharing and spiritual nourishment—and for an amazing meal.

[P.S. In Dara, the creative acorn didn't fall far from the tree. She has her own line of hand-made women's fashions on Etsy.com. Check out her store here.)