Savor the magic...

You know what makes me happy? Yes, pie. That goes without saying. But what makes me happy beyond the obvious is the feeling I get when I'm watching a master working @ his/her craft.

*Britt Hume doing his little-publisized pro-bono work as a motivational speaker.

*Anything from the REO catalog.

*Speaking of catalogs, memo to my wife: Page 32, column 2, Delta SkyMall (2008, q2 edition). The thing pays for itself after just one fondu party, honey. No more rentals. I've thought this through.

*Donny Osmond replacing Pat O'Brien on the only must-see-tv left, "The Insider". I mean, c'mon.

Still, one moment...frozen in time forever...stands out..........

Let me paint the scene: July, 1998. Venice, CA. A hint of julep and despair wafting in the breeze. And working...nay....OWNING the stage in a way harkening back to such seminal moments as Donny Most's signature performance in his misunderstood (and unfortunately, uncredited) work -- a chilling reminder of our collective mortality as "parole officer"-- 1996's "Pure Danger" (in which Most STOLE the film from co-stars C.Thomas Howell--also the film's director-- and Terri Ann Linn...only to return it...WITH INTEREST).

Or who could forget Dolph Lundgren's haunting embodiment of passion and brooding poignance as Lt. Nikolai Rachenko in 1989 uber-film, "Red Scorpion"?

Both pale in comparison to the spectacle to which the world bore witness that day. Keanu Reeves is, was, and will always be Tevye. Johnny Mnemonic was but a glimpse what "Stretch" (as those of us whom are fortunate to call him friend refer to him) has to offer our nation...and the world.

For those of you for whom the stars did not align that magical evening by the sea (and also near Lincoln Discount Tire: now with one convenient location right there in Venice), know that you are the lesser for it.

Now, on with the pie.