Communion Sweet

A party of order or stability, and a party of progress or reform, are both necessary elements of a healthy state of political life.
-- John Stuart Mill

Saturday, June 7, 1997

I got my sister to come over and give my dead battery a jumpstart, then drove the car to my neighborhood Texaco station. I like to give them my business to keep them in the neighborhood, and because Texaco is a sponsor of the Metropolitan opera. I asked them to charge the battery, and to replace every light they could find that was burnt out. This is the kind of job that I could do myself, but it is manifestly evident that I am not going to, so as a new policy of being kind to my car, I'll have them do it. They said they'd be open until six o'clock.

Then home, update my diary, and off to the festival. I was wearing one of the dresses that Freddie gave me, because I didn't expect to be home til very late, and I had two (!) parties on the agenda. It's a long, crinkly rayon dress, made from cool black and white prints, with a v-neck and seams sewn on the outside with red thread. With my black lace-up boots, I was ready to walk to the Harvard Exit!

Because my festival buddy A--- is a lifetime member of Cinema Seattle, he was invited to the closing reception of the Filmmaker's Forum, a part of the festival aimed at aspiring filmmakers with panel discussions and special events. (We never go to this, because we aren't aspiring filmmakers, and because it costs extra money, and because it would mean missing movies.) He got invitations for me and D---, who actually is an aspiring filmmaker. D--- agreed to drive. None of us knew where the address was. We zipped out of Anthem, and stopped by the Texaco station in time for me to get my car key and pay for the maintenance.

The house was a beautiful place on Lake Washington. Some serious money went into this villa! The garden had some of my favorite plants. A gravel area in the back was surrounded by lavendar, with peonies, roses, smoke bush, and a japanese maple.

Lots of people there whom we didn't know, and one visible celeb, Brendan Fraser. We feasted on tandoori shrimp, caviar potatoes, and hummus with roasted red peppers. I had the feeling I knew one of the band members, but I think it was someone I knew slightly several years ago, so I didn't approach him. What would I have said? "Hi, aren't you the guy that used to affect that phoney British accent whenever you thought you were saying something funny? Say, what was your name anyway?"

*     *     *     *     *     *     *    *

So A--- and D--- went on to the evening screenings, and I got to go to Vanguard! Vanguard is a monthly social fannish gathering that has been going on in Seattle for many years. Jon Singer was displaying his latest ceramic creations and glaze experiments.

Luke told me that I actually appear in the video from Janecon, which is where I first met up with these folks. Cool! In other news, I heard about plans for the Australian trip of the DUFF delegate, and listened to Victor and Sheila gloat about the luxurious accommodations at the Salish lodge, where they are spending the weekend.

Anita's Home page Anita's Book of Days Previous Next