by Deb L

Celeb Sighting: Spotted dining out at Petros, Metlox, MB, last week was Michael Stars, the LA designer who has been instrumental in the style that is “casual couture” since he had the brilliant idea to get women out of their boyfriend’s big ass unflattering t-shirts in exchange for the now indispensable “baby tee.” It became the staple of his future collections, growing out of his original designs, unisex boxy t-shirts he hand painted and sold at a Manhattan Beach fair back in the mid-‘80s. Word is the native South African was very friendly and even offered to send his server a new style shirt to get her opinion on it. Nice to know he listens to his public…

Funny Folks: A few weeks ago I went to an improv comedy troupe performance at the Hermosa Beach Second Story Playhouse, Pier Ave/PCH called “April Fool’s”, and was blown away. Funny enough, while waiting outside the L.A. courtroom, I got to talking with a woman who happened to be from Long Island, just a few towns away from me. So when she mentioned she was in a comedy troupe, all I needed to know was when and where! There are about a dozen funny folks in this crew ranging in age from their 20s to their 60s. They dressed in jeans and red t-shirts and took turns going up on stage in different groups, and with the help of the audience (Pick a place! Pick an activity!) they made magic. I’d never seen anything like it. Good clean fun for all ages. Keep up on their gigs on Facebook at April’s Fools Improv Troupe. For general info on the HB Playhouse call (310) 372-4477 or go to hermosabeachplayhouse.com. Laughter is good for the soul…

New: Remember TJ Charlyz (nee Strawberry Patch, now Blue 32), Hermosa Ave, HB? Well former owner Steve Dahdah is back with a new restaurant in Redondo called Calamari’s, Torrance Boulevard at Prospect. Steve tells me they have great Italian food and they deliver – bonus. Check out calamarisrestaurant.com or call (310) 792-9300.
New to Delivery: Finally, the place for sandwiches in Hermosa, Mickey’s, Hermosa Ave, is offering delivery from Pier-to-Pier (Redondo-Manhattan), everyday from 5 to 9 p.m. Call (310) 376.2330 or order online at mickeysdeli.com…

Sprechen-sie Deutsche? Well, they were last Sunday in Africa! I made the mistake of watching England get their bangers blown off at a British bar and the bloody buggars were bouncing off the walls. Funny enough I was at that same bar the week before wearing my, “Mind the Gap,” shirt and a bloke asked if I knew the meaning of the phrase. “Yeah it means don’t fall in the friggin’ hole!” In the NY subway system we aren’t that polite. When the doors are about to open there is no announcement that says, “Approaching Piccadilly Circus. Mind the Gap,” like the London Underground. There’s usually an inaudible announcement that’s supposed to be “Canal Street,” but sounds more like the teacher in Charlie Brown, “Wawahwah,” and if you fall down, we laugh at you. No one was laughing last Sunday when England fell to Germany nor when USA lost to Ghana the day before. I actually watched that game at home because I wanted to pay close attention. I had to laugh when the British commentator tried to get into the American mind: “I can imagine a lot of people back home in the USA watching this, really, with glum faces and in silence just hoping, praying something will break,” and I thought, “Oh bloody hell!” as I pictured my fellow countrymen, running around with American flags tied around their necks as capes and those hard-hats with the two cans of beer attached to the sides on their heads handing out Jell-o shots to their friends who are playing quarters on their dining room table. I am proud of my people getting into the world’s sport this year but we still don’t really get it. It will be a cold day in Tucson before we call it “Football” or the rest of the world calls it “Soccer”…

Thank You: I’ve received many emails, calls and kind words since my heavy public admission of what’s been going on in my life and, truly, you have kept me going. They say, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” but I wonder, what if it kills you? What is the lesson I keep missing these past 38 years that is so important the Universe chose to hit me with it so drastically this time? My self-analysis has led me to some hypotheses, one being my trouble with the passage of time. I remember nearly having a nervous breakdown the four months prior to my tenth birthday because in my mind after “9” I would no longer be a “one number person,” and the finality of that fact wreaked havoc with my psyche. So what happens now? Now I take one day at a time. I can’t look too far ahead because it’s too overwhelming. I really think the all-powerful Universe could have come up with something a little less tragic but what do I know…
Questions? Comments? Contact DebL at BarflyDebLG@aol.com

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