The young and the restless

Lastnight I could not sleep, absolutely could not. I was wandering the house in my pajamas, thinking about two things: Leonard Pennario, and the fact that I have to cook the family Thanksgiving.

At 4 a.m. I decided I was getting nothing done so I may as well set the table. So I did that. I got out all my Grandma Kunz's Limoges china and arranged all the plates and selected the napkins. Being a woman is great, I have to say that. All it takes is doing something like this and bingo, your mind is off your troubles. I was standing there going, OK, that gold napkin looks nice, but maybe I should switch the gold and the blue napkins... Then I got out all the trays and platters.

Then I sat down at the computer and went over a little of Pennario's Capitol sessionography. This is a listing of what he recorded and when. It was like crack cocaine and I could not put it down but finally I just could not focus or see. I said, OK, I'm going back to bed. Now it was 5 a.m. or something.

And stupid me, I set the alarm for 7 a.m. I should have set it for 8! Because Mass wasn't till nine. Well, I was so out of it.

So there I am, up at 7. And you know what? Two hours' sleep, and I felt great!

Here is something weird my sleep doctor told me back when I used to have this insomnia problem a lot. He told me that people used to prescribe sleep deprivation for depression. If you are depressed, you can always go without sleep, and it improves your outlook. For a while, anyway. I would think that after a while it would catch up to you.

Today I was high on my lack of sleep and I was going around making friends with everyone. I met this great couple at Viva Vivaldi, at First Presbyterian Church on Symphony Circle. We were in the same pew. They met each other while they were bicycling in Belgium. I could not believe that. I met my husband on a barstool! I told them that and we were laughing and laughing.

They live in Tonawanda on this house right on the Erie Canal and they are going to invite me there. They said so, anyway. We shall see.

What with all this excitement I almost forgot to say I ran into my friend Ari Silverstein. At the Brick Bar on Allen Street! Ari was in town to hear Mark Murphy. He had a T-shirt that I photographed. That is what you see above. It said to rub his stomach for good luck. Needless to say I rubbed Ari's stomach.

That will surely bring me good luck.