clearing out. The sun had been just right, creating long shadows and dimming the sky enough to tint everything
with a light orange, leaving me with beautiful pastel pictures.
My second glass of wine came first followed by the two dishes I had ordered. My friendly waiter stood by while I
sampled the first tender ring of lightly breaded fried calamari, just to make sure I approved of my food as equally
as I had of the wine . Another nod was truly all I could offer as I tossed the burning but delectable ring around
inside my mouth. Once again he was pleased that I was pleased and I doubly reinforced my delight with my food
by snapping him sure thumbs-up sign. I then reached for the delicate thin wine glass and took another sip. The
food and wine mixture in my mouth was delicious; my choices just kept getting better.
|
“I see you’ve been taking some pictures,” said the waiter.
“Did you get any good shots? Any sunsets? There was a
beautiful sunset tonight.”
“As a matter of fact, I think I got some great shots today.
There certainly are some interesting things going on out
there and some unusual looking people. I like it here a lot,
Venice Beach,” I told him with pleasure.
As I spoke I reached for my compact digital camera near
the Spanikopita. My keys, notes, pen, and small notebook
were strewn on the table.
“Do you have time to look at a few shots?” He looked
around and saw that the restaurant was not busy and the
manager nowhere in sight so he eagerly agreed, apparently
not just looking to humor a customer for tips.
Before I powered up the camera I said, “You know, I felt like
I had gone into a time warp when I was walking around out
there today. I thought that it was 1969 with all the hippies
and long haired scruffy people. I saw a few old VW vans
with peace symbols painted on them and flowers. I could
smell marijuana smoke all over the place and vendors were
rolling joints and smoking right out in the open like it was
nothing. It was really cool. It was strange to see. It was
weird.”
“By the way, my name is John,” said the waiter, offering me his handshake. He had a strong firm grip which I
returned in kind. “I’m Mike, nice to meet you, John.”
John said, “I know what you’re talking about, Mike. There are some truly interesting people out there. I’m not sure
if you’ll ever find another place like Venice Beach.”
