In Memoriam
In the late 1980s and early 90s, I lived
in the People's Republic of Berkeley. Berkeley was one of the forces that made
me the person I am today. UC grad school was permission I had been hungering
for my entire life, without realizing it. Yes, it is okay to spend an entire
day reading, writing, asking questions, and saying things that you weren't sure
anyone had ever said. I loved being around intellectually alive people 24/7. I
met Annapurna summiteer Arlene Blum (I felt small), Salman Rushdie (super
charming), Czeslaw Milosz (rude), Gloria Steinem (kind), Shelby Steele (aloof),
Peter O'Toole (indulgent but world-weary smile), and Frank Langella (sooo hot).
Berkeley, in those days, was all about healing, and I had alotta wounds to heal.
Berkeley's Twelve Step meetings were among the most important religious
experiences I've ever had.
The San Francisco Mime Troupe's free outdoor plays inspired me. One performance managed to turn Liberty Leading the People, from the Delcroix painting, into a character. I get chills just thinking about it. I felt, "Wow, I have found my tribe. We are going to usher in a better world!" In the cavernous, 1,466-seat UC Theater, I watched all five hours of the Samurai Trilogy in a packed house of whooping and cheering fans. Though I'm from Jersey, where excellent pizza is as the air we breathe, I must salute Zachary's deep dish spinach and mushroom pie. I danced off the calories at Ashkenaz, a warm and welcoming nightclub constructed to resemble an eastern European synagogue.
