Peter Mac as Judy Garland at TheJudyGarlandShow.com

Peter Mac is back on the West Coast and performed on Judy Garland’s 95^th Birthday on 10 June 2017 at Lee Strasberg Theatre Studios.

By Joan Coulson

I first saw Peter Mac perform at one of the functions organized by Jan Glazier for a “Judy in Hollywood” in 2013. I went with some hesitation because I do not like to hear anyone sing Judy’s songs or try to imitate her. No one can imitate her, she is unique—there is only one of her. However, I enjoyed Peter’s performance; being particularly taken up with his chatter in-between songs and enchanted to meet him after the show. Note we are both wearing Judy Jackets!

A couple of days later he was appearing at the Oil Can Harry’s nightclub in West Hollywood and so a group of us went. Again, I found I was more interested in his chatter (as Judy) about the “ups and downs” in her life; pants zippers which broke, the enormous hair do the French hairdresser gave her and how it all fell down over her face. This time I watched Eleanor Lyon, who knew Judy well (being present at each of Judy’s 26 television shows) be completely captivated by Peter Mac. This was a three-day function and so we had plenty of time to talk about Judy. I realized that Peter and his partner John Mac-Schaefer felt the same way as Elly and I did about Judy.

I had followed Judy's career since I was seven years ago in the MGM movies and later witnessing her on performances on stage in London many times and during her CBS television series. I felt many of the books, which had been written, about Judy had not captured the essence of her and how sweet and charming she was in person. There was an air of informality about Judy and she had no “airs or graces” as many celebrities have. She was completely natural and funny. Elly tells the story about the day when Judy arrived at CBS (the then teenagers were waiting outside the Artists Entrance) wearing no makeup, casual clothes and a hat. She jokingly said to the teenagers, “Do I look glamorous enough for TV?” They told her NO. 

I was determined to talk about the woman I met on several occasions and how gentle, kind and funny she was. As my book included stories about the fans activities, I included how we had all enjoyed Peter Mac representation of Judy. When my book came out, Always for Judy: Witness to the Joy and Genius of Judy Garland Peter enjoyed it and often gives copies away or raffled them to fans at his shows.

Anyway, Peter and John Mac-Schaefer decided to move to the Boston area and so we followed their activities on Facebook. They appear to be doing very well appearing at the Opus in Salem, Massachusetts for a year before transferring to the Headliner at Club Café for two years in Boston every Saturday night.…..and we are sorry we are not able to catch any of these shows. We suddenly heard the news that the boys (because this is what I call them) would be moving back to the West Coast and putting on a show in honor of Judy’s birthday June 10. 

Eleanor and I talked, should we go; we had not seen each other for a couple of years and it would be an excuse to get together. In addition, it was my birthday on the 15th and a birthday treat for me. Therefore, the planning started. I looked for Southwest flight and a reasonable hotel near to the venue and found the Hotel Del Flores, built in 1928, which looked interesting. No air conditioning or coffee in the room, but it was near to the venue.

As I left home I worried about finding the correct parking garage at Sacramento airport but I find it alright but the flight is delayed two hours. I keep texting Elly who is driving from Santa Barbara; I do not want her to get to the airport too soon and be kept waiting at the airport. Eventual we meet and use directions on our phones to find the hotel. Parking is complicated at the hotel so I order an Uber taxi and we make it just in time.

The Lee Strasberg Theatre is a charming thrown back to the 1950s. 

The show starts and it is obvious that Peter has honed his craft in the last three years appearing weekly as Judy. There are many changes of costumes and the usual well-loved songs are there but he has included many new songs, which we, her fans, would have loved to hear her sing. Peter started with “This Can’t Be Love” melody but then went into the beautiful “We never said good-bye” from Sunset Boulevard. Peter sings with the style and passion of Judy, including her phrasing, but he does not try to imitate her voice. I think this is the aspect I appreciate the most about his performance. He does not try to imitate her. I was particularly touched by the story he told, as Judy, about the death of her father. Nevertheless, as in every Judy concert the mood changes quickly and the next second he is telling some witty inside stories about other movie stars who were friends of Judy. There are changes in costumes and we get many of our favorite Judy songs, but there are new ones, like Van Morrison’s “Moondance” and Stephen Schwartz’s “No Time At All.” There is a sing-a-long with songs from her movies and then Margaret O’Brien joins Peter on the stage and they recreate a “Tea for Two” segment from Judy’s television series. Margaret brought the house down by singing from the movie, Meet me in St. Louis, “I was drunk last night dear Mother.” 

Suddenly I hear Peter/Judy start talking about a person who wrote a book about Judy and went to a recording studio with her along with Lorna Smith and I realize he is talking about me. I shrink into my front row chair, but Peter is not finished with me, he comes down and sits on the edge of the stage, and as Judy, thanks me for writing my book. He then proceeded to sing to me, “A Foggy Day in London Town.” This was a most surreal experience. Of course, I know he is Peter Mac reproducing Judy but it was uncanny and moving, particularly as I have never had anyone sing, in public, a song to me! Thank you Peter!

Randal Malone as President of the Council presented Peter with an award “The Southern California Motion Picture President’s Award is presented to Peter Mac who has proven to be the number one Tribute Artist in the world. Through his accurate and positive portrayals of women from Hollywood’s Golden Age, he keeps alive and protects the legacy of these amazing women.” 

This council formed in 1936 and Margaret O’Brien is the Chairwoman. More than $2,000 was raised at Peter’s show and it all was presented to the Council for the specific purpose of outreach to the older and infirm members of the council and their peers for access to services. Peter and John have committed to more fundraisers and performances with Margaret.

Margaret has a charity, which she created to raise money for dogs getting them placed in new homes, and she works tirelessly on behalf of our four legged friends. 

Then there is a romping sing-a-long Oz melody. Finally the show is over. 

But not quite because it is now photo time. Margaret and Peter greet every member of the audience and have photographs taken with them. 

We all retreat to Canter’s, a well-known deli and coffee shop on Fairfax Blvd. We were located at the end of the coffee shop with Margaret O’Brien on one table with Randal Malone and friends on one table and Peter, John, Sissy, Elly and I on the other table. Every now and again people would move positions, and Margaret and I chatted about Peru, a country we both love, and our families. 

We talk for hours and hours because when a group of Judy fans meets the evening can go on for a long time. Finally, our evening finished at 4.30 am the next morning. Elly and I got to meet and know Peter’s stage manager, Sissy Debut. Sadly, I do not have a photo of her. 

John, a friend of Randal’s presented Peter with this beautiful portrait of Judy.

I believe that a dynamic future is ahead for this team of talented entertainers. They have a great future ahead of them and so watch out folks. Their web page is TheJudyGarlandShow.com

Michael Feinstein's Tribute to Judy Garland on Oct.1, 2016 with Lorna Luft & Liza Minnelli at Feinstein's at the Nikko, SF

Jon Perdue, Rob Mills and I met with Jack Wood in the lobby of the Nikko Hotel in great anticipation for this Judy Garland tribute. Jack and Jon had shared many of their stories with me about seeing and meeting Judy in years past and I had included them in my book, Always for Judy: Witness to the Joy and Genius of Judy Garland, (pub. 2014, Yarnscombe Books) so we were very happy to be together again sharing the joy and magic of Judy.

Liza Minnelli had been in the audience on the previous evenings and so we hoped we would see her also. Just before the show started, we were all delighted to see Liza appear and sit in the audience with us.

Michael started by saying that this show was a tribute to the talent and artistry of Judy Garland.

Michael is just not a ballad singer; he has done his homework working for years to preserve and music of the composers and lyricists of the Broadway Theatre and Hollywood Musicals (1920s-1950s eras). In 2000, the Library of Congress appointed him to the National Recording Preservation Board. Therefore, Judy’s music is his music!   

He opened the show with “That’s Entertainment” a song in tribute to the great musical movies of the past. The two television screens at the side showed excerpts from these movies, not Judy specific. I imagine he has used this as an introduction to other events, as he regularly does shows about the great composers and lyricists of the past in the theme of the Classic American songbook.

I had never seen Michael perform before and found I was pleasantly surprised at his warmth, charm, and range of his voice.

His first Judy song was “Just in Time” using the Kay Thompson’s arrangement, which was so perfect because Kay had been Judy’s dear friend and Liza’s godmother. He really nailed it in true Judy fashion. His voice had enough power to do justice to “her rendition” of this so well- loved song among the Judy fans. He went on to mentioned that although Judy often sung the old remembered songs from her movies occasionally she found a new one and sang for us “I’d Like to Hate Myself in the Morning” by John Meyer. He finished this opening segment with “Swanee.” This last song was such a favorite of Judy’s and she often sung it as an encore at her concerts. (I had been lucky enough to have been taken by her to the EMI recording studios one day in August 1960 and sat three feet behind her when she belted it this number with the Norrie Paramor orchestra. It is in the London Sessions CD, so it was particularly nostalgic for me.)   

Michael talked about the The Wizard of Oz and then went to the piano saying “If you know the words please don’t join in…except one person,” referring to Liza. Then he sang the song which had been sung to Dorothy in this movie; the Scarecrow’s lament, “If I only had a brain;” then the Tin Man’s,” If I only had a heart” and finally the Cowardly Lion’s, “If I only had the Nerve.”

He brought back the musicians and introduced pianist Colin Freeman (Lorna’s husband who had taken time out as musical director of The Little Mermaid to be part of Michael and Lorna’s tribute to Judy,) bassist Daniel Fabricant and percussionist Mark McLean, who had been with him for a while.

Michael introduced Lorna Luft who quickly went into a rousing version of Judy’s “San Francisco.” She told us afterwards how she had spent quite a bit of time in this city because her son had attended San Francisco State University and she figured she had helped with the city’s economy by the number of parking tickets she had paid during that time! Lorna has a wry sense of humor. She added that she would be back here again during the holiday period appearing in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. (Both Jack and I have tickets for this.) She chatted about how happy she was to be with us and that this show was a party. She told us that she was anticipating the birth of her third grandchild as her daughter-in-law had gone into Labor at 10 am this morning. She was very excited about this new addition to her family. She introduced the next song by telling the oft-told story of how Judy first heard strains of “The Man that Got Away” on the golf course when Harold Arlen hummed the tune and later that day Judy sang it for the first time in the Palm Springs Club House. Lorna has a quite different way of handling this torch song. She doesn’t sport the sweet smile of her mother, but puts a great deal of dry humor into the hurt that the songstress is experiencing, remembering this broken love affair. Good for her! Then she went on to talk about Al Jolson’s influence on her mother and sang his song—which has now become Judy’s song: “Rock-a-Bye my Baby with a Dixie Melody.” 

The show was very fast paced and it is difficult to be sure just what happened next but it may have been Michael’s melody of Judy’s songs including “Our Love Affair,” “This is my Lucky Day,” “Zing went the Strings of my Heart, “Get Happy,” “I feel a song coming on,” ending with a rousing “Come Rain or Come Shine.”  

Then he told the story of how Judy had explained to Hugh Martin—composer of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and other songs for Judy—when they were together at the Palace in 1951 why people were so effected by her sad songs “I always smile when I sing Torch Songs.” (So true, I had wondered about that often.) He went to the piano again and sang a medley including, “Look for the Silver Lining,” from the movie Till the Clouds Roll By,  Noel Coward’s “If Love Were All,” George & Ira Gershwin’s “But not for me,” from Girl Crazy and Irving Berlin’s “Better Luck next time” from Easter Parade.

He brought Lorna back onto the stage and they decide to do the Judy/Barbra Streisand’s duet “Get Happy/Happy Days are here again” from Judy’s CBS Television series. Some of the songs included in medley were, “After You have gone,”  “By Myself,” “S’Wonderful,” “How about You?”  “Hooray for Love,” “You and Night and the Music,” “It All Depends on You” and then going into the finale of “Get Happy/Happy Times are Here Again.”    

The show ends with Michael—echoing what I had said in my book, “Judy will be a part of our culture for 100, 500, and even 500 years in the future”

(p.243)—talking about how the legacy of Judy Garland will go on forever and he sang the song Judy loved the most, “Through the Years,” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

The show ended but not quite, because Lorna came up again and introduced her sister saying, “You can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family. I am so lucky. I am so lucky because a woman who has been so supportive of me, and has been there when I’ve fallen down, when I’ve gotten back up, and she has always said to me ‘We’ll go through everything together.’ And, I am very, very fortunate because she is here to night. Ladies and gentlemen—my sister Liza Minnelli!”

Michael and Lorna brought Liza onto to the stage and she settled herself in a director’s chair. Michael asked, “What should we do?” “It’s up to you, whatever you want,” replied Liza. Michael asked, “You want to do a song about this big black instrument?”

Then Liza began the opening verse of “I Love a Piano.” Her mother had sung this song in the movie, Easter Parade. Liza has a particular magic all her own and every movement, turn of the head, gesture is unique and she really enjoyed herself having fun with this song.

It was great to see her well and happy being with Michael, who she is obviously exceedingly fond of, and with her sister. She commented how she loved hearing Lorna singing Mama’s songs.  

It was a happy occasion celebrating the joy and magic of Judy Garland. As I mention in my book, although Judy is gone “We are lucky enough to hear her voice when her two beautiful daughters….sing.” (p. 242)

Thank you to Michael, Lorna and Liza for a beautiful evening and bringing back so many memories. 

"Hello Dolly!" at the California Music Theatre in Sacramento

                On June 20. 2016 I went with a group to see “Hello Dolly!” at the California Music Theatre in Sacramento. ” This is a classic musical that I had never seen so I was glad to sign up. I knew it was about a character named Widow Dolly Levi, matchmaker who set her cap at Horace Vandergelder, with Music & Lyrics by Broadway legend Jerry Herman and choreography by Gower Chapman. Carol Channing had played “Dolly” in the original Broadway production in 1964 and Barbra Streisand in the 1969 movie. 

 Many recorded the title song including Sinatra, Bobby Darin and jazz musician Louis Armstrong. There is a funny story attached to the Armstrong recording. In 1964, his agent persuaded him to make some recordings of show songs.  About three or four months later while they were playing their usual jazz numbers in Nebraska, the audience called out for “Hello Dolly!" Without him knowing it, the recording had become a great hit on the radio and jukeboxes and he had completely forgotten he had recorded it and had to send for the music. They put the number in the act, with Louis playing the 32 bar trumpet solo and singing the chorus. The first night they played it, pandemonium broke out and his recording became the No.1 Song in the United States for several weeks. This had never happened to a jazz musician before and in 2001, his version was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Anyway, back to “Hello Dolly!” in Sacramento. The thing that struck me was the excellence of the orchestra conducted by Craig Barra who has been with the Music Circus for almost thirty years. They were so sharp and bright so I felt we were in for a good show. 

I was pleased and delighted to see there was more than just Dolly Levi (Lynne Wintersteller) and her antics in this show. The romantic leads were actually a middle-aged couple Cornelius Hackl (John Scherer) in love with Irene Molloy (Jacquelyn Piro Donovan)and he gets to sing the beautiful  “It Only Takes a Moment”  to his love. 

Above everything else, the dancing captured my attention. In the second act, we get to see the classic “Hello Dolly!” number set in the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant. Rudolph (John B. Williford) and the six waiters entertain us with “The Waiters’ Gallop.” Cheers to the costume designer for their outfits: the combination of white spats, apron and shirts with black shoes and pants highlighted with red bow tie and waistcoats and their magnificent dancing were the highlights of the show for me. Dolly Levi enters the restaurant and the theatre explodes as she greets each of the waiters.

A lovely uplifting afternoon!   

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella or Ella at the Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco

On Wednesday May 4, 2016 I set off with a group from my community happy to be leaving  Vacaville for a while. Our driver, from All West took us on Route 37 so that we could cross into San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge, always a thrill no matter how many times one does it.

Lunch was at the Beach Chalet overlooking a grey sea, often that way in the city. I enjoyed Kale Salad, Grilled Salmon and a “to die for” New York Cheesecake.

We drove along John F. Kennedy Drive through the 1,027 acres of Golden Gate Park, which is larger than Central Park in New York. We were luckily enough to Carolyn Roy with us; she had worked with the Golden Gate Police Dept. for 30 years and knew so much about the park.

The area was originally sand dunes and from the 1870s John McLaren (Superintendent of the Park for 53 years), worked to design the park, initially planting 60,000 trees from all over the world.

We saw many of these trees on the drive along with lakes, a soccer field and golf course. We passed two windmills, a herd of buffalo, and beautiful gardens in front of the Stow Lake Boathouse and Japanese Gardens, along with the Conservatory of Flowers which uses re-cycled water.  We passed the many buildings of the California Academy of Sciences; the Planetarium, National History Museum and the new Aquarium along with the new building housing the deYoung Museum.  

The musical was enchanting in this lovely old theatre filled with moms with little girls in their party dresses, retirees and tourists. The singing, dancing and costumes were perfect but I think most of us were curious about how they managed the transformation of Ella and the Fairy Godmother’s costumes on stage right in front of our eyes!   Many of the songs were familiar to us particularly “In My Own Little Room,” “Impossible” and “Ten Minutes ago.”

The Prince, was impossibly beautiful — be it if slightly unworldly! The Producers of this show had developed the characters of the two ugly stepsisters to make them more interesting. One was a comedian who kept the cast and audience laughing all through the show with her antics. The other sister was in love with the local social activist and after the couple becomes friends with Ella, the three of them work to open his eyes to inequities in his land, and everyone lives happily ever after.

 A special mention is given to Lauren Sprague as Marie, the Fairy Godmother!

Seems I forgot to publish this: Remembering 'Old Blue Eyes,' Mr. Francis Albert Sinatra

The television is full of tribute programs to Frank Sinatra on what would have been his 100^th birthday and although I am up to my eyes on packing for another trip, I feel I must add my two cents worth.

I recently watched his first movie at MGM, Anchors  Aweigh (1945) and Robert Osborne commented that Frank credits Gene Kelly with teaching him how to act in front of the camera, in addition to teaching him how to dance.   Thought that was nice because I know Gene had always credited Judy Garland as helping him on his first movie For me and My gal (1942). Gene had the biggest part in his movie but, this 13 year old girl was attracted to the shy sailor following his more sophisticated friend on adventures ashore. I was touched when he sang, “What Makes the Sunset” at a restaurant table but when he sang, “I fall in Love too Easily” I ‘fell in love’ – me and millions of other teenage girls all over the globe who saw his movies or heard his recordings.

If I were asked to rank my favorite performers on a scale from 0 – 100%. Judy Garland would be ranked at 150%, Frank at 125% and Ella Fitzgerald at 120%. If I could have sang I would have liked to sound like Ella. We were lucky in England to have the BBC radio who were determined we would be exposed to all sorts of music. Apart from classical music they played, in addition to Pop music all the great jazz performers of the age and of the 1920s. We heard Fats Domino, Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, Modern Jazz Quintet; in addition to the more well-known Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and all the big swing bands. I loved all the girl jazz sings and Bill Eckstine. When interviewed many British musical performers refer to this time when they heard all the great American performers on the BBC radio.

 Judy and Frank never played opposite each other in a movie but they appeared on many radio programs together and were very good friends. Frank admired Judy and was always there to help and guide her in any way he could. In fact, it was at his suggestion that she started recording at Capitol records. We learn about his first recording at Capitol from the James Kaplan book on Sinatra (2010).   As Frank sang “get the string around my fin-ger''  the brass kicked – Bang -  and the band was cooking. Frank was smiling as he sang,   Afterwards he asked who made the arrangement, “Nelson Riddle” says Alan Dell   “Beautiful” said Frank. (p.616) this started their collaboration. Nelson Riddle did one of the first Capitol recordings with Judy called Judy.

When considering Sinatra’s body of work, we must not be distracted by his sometimes-volatile private life. His body of film work is more than impressive, we all know his dramatic roles, From Here to Eternity, The Detective,  Man with a Golden Arm  in addition to the musical comedies, Guys and Dolls, The Tender Trap, Ocean’s Eleven and High Society. This work shows his intelligence and determination. TCM were showing his movies recently and one I had not seen before was called The first deadly sin  (1980) and Frank would have been around 66 years old then. He plays a near retirement serious New York Police Sargent, Delaney, with a difficult case and ailing wife. There is one 3 or 4 minute scene when he comes home to an empty house after a particularly difficult day of police work and a visit to the hospital to see his sick wife. We hear the key in the lock, the cat murmurs hello and Delaney, says “Hello Rocky.” He puts a bag of groceries on the counter, takes his overcoat off and puts on a chair, then his jacket, loosens his tie, goes over, and turns radio on and lights a cigarette. He walks over to the desk glances at the mail and throws it down with disinterest. He wanders around the empty apartment, goes over and touch his wife’s a half finished painting. He drifts around the apartment, turns the lights off and goes upstairs. This scene of utter loneliness was worth an academy award on its own. Of course, the strings of the Gordon Jenkins orchestra helped. Roger Edens said in the Chicago Sun-Times. “Who would have thought, in all honestly, that Frank Sinatra still had this performance in him?”

The last time I saw Frank perform was at the Circle Star Theater in the Bay area. I’d taken my pre-teen children because I felt it was important that they see and witness this giant of the entertainment business. We also saw Sammy Davis Jr. there. I had seen them both years earlier at the Palladium, in the 1950s.

A very mellow and kindly Frank came down the aisle at the Circle Star Theater that night greeting his admirers, with a big smile and accepting their gifts of flowers and Jack Daniels whiskey. This was a very happy and contented time of his life.

Thank you Francis Sinatra for all the pleasure you have given us through the years. Thankfully we have the movies and recordings.

Adventures in Washington Dulles Airport December 2015

My adventures in Washington Dulles Airport December 2015

I am flying home from Virginia after spending a fortnight with my daughter and three grandchildren over the Thanksgiving Holidays. We had spent a lovely Thanksgiving Day with Dr. Thomas Albert (Carolyn’s music director) and his family. We had been to see rock n’ roll artist Patrick Sweany at the Bright Box in Old Town, Winchester, Romeo and Juliet at the Shenandoah Theatre and visited the Museum of Shenandoah Valley to view costumes from the British movies on loan from BAFTA. This was my favorite worn by Mrs. Barry in the movie, Finding Neverland.   

My daughter teaches at noon so I am dropped off early at 10:30 a.m. for a 5.30 p.m. flight, but I do not mind because I look forward to meeting interesting people at the airport. I discovered my interest in foreign and different people when I hitchhiked around Europe a couple of times with my cousin Marigold when we were in our early twenties, and it is while traveling that one finds exotic people.

I try to check my bag but there is a new procedure and I am sent to go to one of the new machines in the terminal. You punch in details of flight and a label is printed out to go on luggage. Then the bag goes over to the bag checker. More automation, soon there will be less and less jobs at the airport.

 I am off on my adventure through the airport. “Where do I go?” I ask the assistant standing in a central position. “I’ll get you a wheel chair,” she offers. “No, No, I don’t want a wheel chair, I have five hours to find my way through the airport” I insist. The next guide at the entrance to gates points me in the direction of an elevator when I tell him “I don’t do escalators or stairs.” “Okay”, he says, “then punch in M for Monkey.” I suppose he thinks I will forget M for Main.

I find myself in a long cravenness area leading to the security checkpoint. The officer looks at my boarding pass, and gasps, “5.30 pm boarding time.” It is about 11:45 am. “I know,” I reply. “I did ask my granddaughter would I should do and she said, ‘Shop, Shop!’” He laughs. This the first time I have ever made a security guard laugh. “Well, there are some good eating places around the D gates.” He tells me.

Next stop, an attendant who points left or right to go through security checkpoint. I go left and find myself behind a tall foreign man trying to handle four pieces of baggage. He tries to balance the lighter ones on top of the carry-on suitcases while he looks for his boarding pass. Why has he four pieces of luggage I wonder and then I spy his wife, master or owner who glances occasionally back at him. He has great difficulty getting the four pieces of luggage on inspection trays and even more trouble balancing the smaller bag on top of carry-on bag to start his walk again. I am observing them and the woman gives me a glare – why does she remind me of an opera singer perhaps it is her haughty gaze. She is quite elegant; obviously, she should not have to carry even her handbag, which this poor soul is trying to manage. He starts shuffling off, and his walk reminds me of the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz.  “This way,” She commands and they go off in a different direction to me.  

The next area has a donut shop and so I buy two. Then I see a newsagent, I will treat myself to a newspaper, I’ve always liked the Wall Street Journal - $3, the last time I bought a newspaper it was $1.50! A wheelchair goes past me, “I’ll come back for you,” The pusher insists. “No, No,” I insist. “I am okay.” Time for a ride on a train. There two different kinds of trains; I don’t know why sometimes one goes on the posh one and other times not.

We arrive at Gates D & C and I start up the slope to main area. “Let me get you a wheel chair,” an assistant offers. “No, No, I have loads of time.” I spy the Lancôme shop and go to investigate. Manage to contain myself and only purchase a lipstick for $12. 

Next to eat and I look at the menu at the first eating establishment, Bistro Atelier. An English breakfast catches my eye. There is a long bar and eating area. A couple of waiters wander around so I guess this is how you get food. A tall angular man in his fifties guides me to table at front of entrance but I would rather sit behind in the corner so I can watch people walk by. The breakfast comes and it is enormous, must have been 4 eggs scrambled and 4 rasher of bacon and a pile of French fries. He brings me coffee and a large glass of water. I hear an accent and I ask where he is from. I am born in the States he says, but then admits that Greek is his first language – he had a mother who insisted he speak Greek so he could understand the culture. He also speaks, French, Italian and Spanish. He tells me about his father, who was born in 1901 and immigrated to the States and their early life. He works at this eating establishment until noon and then on to another and another. He obviously has it down to a fine art and works when the trade is busy. It is very quiet now, the early morning travelers are gone. I attempt to refill my water bottle from the glass of water, but he insists of filling it from the tap at the bar. I read my newspaper and watch the world go by. He gets a $4 tip and so my breakfast was $18.

I check the screens and my flight is still going from Gate D1, which is way down the corridor. So maybe I should start to walk.  

I love the felt carpeting, which is so much easier to walk on than shiny marble floors at Sacramento Airport. At one point, there is a steep slope and I rest for a while. I remember Gate D1, I have left from there before and it is very quiet. I look around for somewhere to sleep and notice there are already two women lying down along the side walls, and so this must be the place.  

I find a place along the outer wall in-between the other two sleepers and lay down. It is amazing how much more rest you get when lying down rather than sitting up. An hour or so goes by and I hear the announcement for boarding for Denver. I sit up and look around. I see there is a man sitting near me, next to the sleeping woman. I look accusingly at him, and ask, “Are you going to Sacramento?” Yes, he replied and explained he and his wife had a dreadful delayed journey from Nashville because of the heavy rain. Nashville! I think. What a delicious accent. He is willing to talk. He is going to officiate at a funeral of a very dear friend who had just died of cancer. He is a “preacher man” from the South. How marvelous, I think, and we talk for an hour. He first had a funeral business and then sold it to his brother. Now he is a stonemason making the headstones for all over the area. He shows me examples of his work on his phone and covers a wide area up to Tennessee. His son is in the business with him. He likes this better because he can control his time better. He seems to have always been in the death business but is remarkably cheerful. I ask him, do you feel there is a life after death? “Yes” he nods. His wife wakes up and smiles kindly at us. She has heard these stories before.

We both lay down to rest again.  It is nearing boarding time and I realize I should have found something to eat because we have a five-hour flight but there is only pizza nearby so I will have to buy something on the plane. I take off for the bathroom, “Do you want a ride?” says a cheerful chap in a buggy. “This is a pretty good job you have” I remark, “riding around the airport giving people rides.” He grins.

The flight is unremarkable. I do talk to a Chinese couple seated behind me who have been here since 1949 but look as if they had just got off the boat. When we disembark, there is only one wheel chair; I think the Chinese woman needs it more than I do and insist on walking out. Nevertheless, the attendant orders another one for me and a young student from Pakistan wheels us both down to baggage claim. He tells my new Chinese friends he spent 10 months in China and loved it. He has cousins in England. A big family contingent meets my Chinese friends and so the student wheels me out to area where the limo is waiting. I turn to look at him and marvel at his hairstyle. Cut very short sides and back with a big pile on top of his head.  How did you manage that I ask. When I blow-dry it, I spray it with hair spray. Must be one of the new styles for young men, I think!

Trip nearly over. But not quite. I board the limo and driver picks up a “walker”, this is the name given to a casual pick-up. Yes, he is a student but busy picking people up and dropping them off -five passengers. There is one woman left on the van as we take off on Highway 80, she lives in Dixon and we turn into the country. He drives purposely as if he knew the area although I could see he was using a GPS. I compliment him on his navigation skills and the woman who was being dropped off agreed laughing, commenting that it was easier in the daylight.

We are alone, perhaps now he will talk. “What are you studying,” I ask. “Sociology” he replies. Interesting I think. Then he starts talking, telling me that he started in Astrology Engineering, but he hated it; then he took Economics and had more negatives things to say about that discipline. Then he found Sociology. I ask what his parents thought of these changes. They had never been to college and didn’t really understand. However, I did because I discovered Anthropology when taking a Physical Anthropology class for my degree at the University of San Francisco. By this time, we are at my house and I am signing charge bill. “So what will you do with this education,” I ask. “I hope to do something to help the poor.” My goodness, how wonderful, I reply and I wish him well.

Thank you to the people who made my trip so much more interesting!