Wednesday, December 15, 1999

Xmas, Xcetera



Thanksgiving was great. I flew to CT where I was met at the airport by Dan Haar, who is still wearing that same old "THC" hat he has had for years. We stopped at his exciting workplace and his lovely home with its brand new stoop and then met my sister Cindy at a truck stop off of I-84 for a late dinner. My sister doesn't usually hang around truck stops, but this was a special occasion.

I spent the next three days at Cindy's house enjoying the holiday with Annie, Angelo, Chris and Justine. Chris is playing Greenday songs on my old guitar, while Annie and Justine regaled us with wild tales of college dorm life. Not much has changed except they all have computers and pierced body parts. And Annie has a tattoo.


Angelo cooked a sumptuous feast for us and we were later joined by Stephan who was on his own, as Susan and Saile ("John") were hanging out with my folks in Orlando. Stephan drove me to the airport early the next morning and I was home by noon.

No sooner did I get back than I made reservations to return for Xmas.

The next weekend, Mitch Cohodes showed up from Tucson where he has been living for some time (but I don't know why.) Mitch drove in with several fancy chairs that he picked up at various tag sales and second hand shops. He sold or consigned the chairs at a couple of upscale furniture dealers down on Melrose Ave. not far from my place. Apparently Mitch is some kind of chair expert. Anyway it was great seeing him again, he hasn't changed much, except for a few gray hairs. We hung out a Barney's Beanery, flirting with the waitress and watching the Arizona game on ESPN. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) the waitress that I kissed on my birthday wasn't working that night.

Work has been very hectic lately and I've been finding it difficult to make time to work on my screenplay. I finally got a good chunk written last weekend and it's turning out to be pretty interesting and kind of funny.

I've shifted my Friday night run to Saturday morning as it is getting a little cool and quite dark in the evenings. On Saturdays I go up to Lake Hollywood where it is absolutely beautiful (and flat). Last weekend it was sunny and mild and I wore just a t-shirt and shorts. Hard to believe winter is almost here.

As far as Xmas is concerned, here are the facts:

I arrive at Bradley Int'l on Xmas day as do my parents, from there I assume we will go to Cindy's. On Tues the 28th Mom is seeing a Broadway show and the rest of us are going down to NYC to spend the day as well. Everyone is invited, bring the kids. We are still trying to come up with a plan that will allow for eating, shopping, sightseeing and of course, hanging out. That night I hope to take my Dad out to hear some Dixieland jazz if we can find some. Any suggestions are welcome.

I'll be heading back on Y2K day, assuming they still have air travel...

Response to the HOLLYWOOD DICK website has been lukewarm, with only one list of favorite movies received so far, from my cousin Randy, the rocket scientist. Am I to understand that it takes a rocket scientist to click on the highlighted text and type out a simple list of movies? I think not. I hope to post the results so that all may view them, but it sure would be cooler if there were some more results to post.

This may be the last newsletter I ever write, since the end of the world (as we know it) could be just around the corner. It's been a great year, though, and I think the next one will be even better.

Hope everyone is happy and well

Love, Hollywood Dick