Jason and his brother are coming in for a long weekend today and I am childishly happy. First, it’s always great to see someone from “my other life” and second, it’s wonderful that it is Jason, who I’ve taken to like a little brother. I had heard about him at least a year before I met him. One of the other students in my Italian class (another entry here entirely that I ought to think about doing), Pamela Downes knew him as did the teacher, Christina DiSanzo. All I kept hearing was about how he was a travel writer, blah blah blah, Jason this, Jason that. I thought, Oh he’s gonna be a real pain in the ass, full of himself bore. A year or two later when I went to work for Tom Bullock at 2 Kings Highway West, there were five or six other office suites on our floor and much to my surprise one of them a few doors down was occupied by Jason. I was expecting this stuck up food and travel writer but boy was I wrong! Instead I meet this kid, early thirties, very regular, very bright and very funny. Friendly as hell and we hit it off the minute we met. We discovered we had a lot in common – love of food and travel, obviously, but similar politics and a wicked rotten sarcastic streak. He was friendly with the guy in the next office, Bob Dale, a brilliant type lawyer/real estate developer who is absolutely one of the kindest and most gentle people I have ever been privileged to know. Bob has looks very reminiscent of John Malkovich and for some reason I was totally intimidated by him at first, but he’s someone else I really love and trust. Anyway, those two guys were just terrific to me. We spent a crazy amount of time just drinking coffee and chatting. My office was the hub for the entire building or so it seemed. There were some other nice people in the building who have become friends as well. Ann Walters is a married attorney, Haddonfield soccer mom with a couple of kids and a practicing Republican, but I like her a great deal, huge shock! Bob’s best boyhood friend Dan Ljoka also rented out a suite as well. Danny’s also a writer, does treatments and screenplays for films. He hardly ever has anything produced but somehow manages to make a crazy amount of money. He’s a neat guy who lived in LA for years, but came back East with his wife and kids a year or so ago. He’s got great stories about celebrities, which I devour. Just a neat guy. That was a lovely little situation that. And everyone in the building tells me that woman who took my place is just a little mouse, which delights me and I know it shouldn’t. Let’s face it, I would have been miserable had they all been crazy about her. I have spoken to her on the phone a few times, and she seems nice, but lacking in personality. Tom tells me he pays her half of what he paid me. Yeah, I said, and you get half the brains and half the fun. And none of the volatility, if I am completely honest.

Anyway, meeting Jason, Bob, Danny and Annie was a great deal of fun and I am happy that I have stayed in touch with them. And especially happy to be seeing Jason today.