Music, friends, and mangos.

From Woodstock to Woodland Hills, here's Sha Na Na!

I love people. Sometimes, I think I don't, but that's when I'm tired and my shoulder hurts and I've been bombarded at work by anxious patients and cranky staff and demanding doctors, but I'm human and I get over it. Tonight was one of those times when I was glad to be alive and surrrounded by people. Cool people. Quirky people. New people. Old friends. Fun.

I had invited my Party List to join together to hear Sha Na Na at a free concert in the park in Woodland Hills. I was concerned that hardly any one would come, considering the finals of the Lakers game, but I decided that, no matter what, I would just enjoy the music and whatever else came along. What a surprise!

From one of the guys who has been at all my events, a gentle but fun guy who took photos and kept me company, to the lovely Persian women who drove over the hill, to the new guy who informed me he was looking for a clone of himself in female form, to the Wowette who connnected with him and laughed and smiled for hours, to the newly widowed woman who remembered me from high school, and on and on, I had a ball. Imagine all these people, most meeting for the first time, talking and laughing and dancing under the warm sun? Lovely.

And I must not forget the new guy, who we shall call The Mango Guy. There he was, quiet but smiling, holding a mango and moving it from one hand to another and then admitting, "well, we find love wherever we can." I couldn't tell if he was nuts or funny or kidding or all, but he was a dear. And he carried some of our stuff to the car, telling us a story by reciting a poem by a well known American poet. I can't make this stuff up, I just can't. And then there's my cohort in fun, my Wowette friend, who cracks me up with almost anything she says, and then she laughs and snorts and neither of us can control ourselves and, geez, can you put a price on being with such wonderful people?

So, on those days when I'm overwhelmed and hassled and need to be alone, I will remember that, whenever I want, I can be in the presence of such quirky people who lift my spirits and make me forget my troubles. Lucky me.

That's Bill, Me, The Mango Guy, and Bev.