How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Brought to you by the Delta Variant

​I was headed south for a few days: two meetings, one reconnection, and some quality time with friends. I am happy to report that I not only survived but thrived. I had put a few protocols in place and followed them rigorously. One, a face mask would always be worn inside. Two, I’d only have unprotected anal sex with street prostitutes that had been fully vaccinated (This was a firm rule, and I would only consider breaking the rule for intravenous drug users). 
 
The drive was hideous. I-5 is fastest but filled with meth-fueled truckers, racing to beat their best times to Los Angeles. Occasionally, one would wipe out and leave us all tied up in a jam lasting for at least two hours while overworked highway patrol officers separated the bloody remains from the twisted metal and hot pavement. My first celebrity sighting was at a Chevron Station just north of Bakersfield. Not only did I have the privilege of paying over five dollars a gallon for gas, but I was personally introduced to a large host of flies last seen in the film, The Amityville Horror.  The flies hitched a ride for the last two hundred miles, annoying me with the constant buzz of show business stories, a couple surviving the opening of both front and back windows, making it to Hermosa Beach, where they eventually left to stay with in-laws.
 
I had a couple of meetings that went extremely well, and a mask was always within reach.
 
The first meeting was a lunch with an established director in the historic Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. Iconic location to such classic films as Pat and Mike, Against All Odds, and countless television episodes of The Rockford Files. Lunch was great, conversation was better and should be reaping some results very soon.
 
Yet another meeting on Thursday, this time with a producer on the same project. Breakfast was in Brentwood and consisted of avocado toast, latte, and a conversation with one of the industry giants. Amazingly enough, his resume did not include that he was one of the nicest people I have ever met in my entire career, and I count myself extremely lucky.
 
Alas, the visit was way too brief, the time spent with friends old and new, fleeting. Special thanks to Siri for getting me everywhere I needed with no problems. Sometimes even saving me a minute or two. I did learn something very important. Los Angeles is a very good city for podcasts. Since everything is at least an hour away, it is the perfect summer destination if you want to catch up on your podcasts. And a car is one of the few places you do not have to wear a mask.

And now a word from the world's most vulnerable choir: