Great people, food, music and conversation

These are a few of my favorite things from my New Years' weekend in NY:

- Dinner at Sarah's. One of the 9 guests was jazz critic Stanley Crouch who gave me an autographed copy of his novel Don't the Moon Look Lonesome.

He knows e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e!

- After a dinner which featured grilled sea bass, coconut rice, shaved brussels sprout salad, and truffle oiled honey toasts on my challah, the lights dimmed and Sarah came in singing Happy Birthday. Yep, it was my 64th, or in Biblical time, my 981st birthday. Stanley said he'd also turned 64 in December and I said, Gee, I've never met a 64-yo before.

- Since I don't drink, I had sips of everyone's wine and mixed drinks. I love booze! Does this count as drinking? I slept like Rip Van Winkle and sure enuf, my beard was fulsome when I woke up in the morning.

- Lying in bed and reading myself to sleep with Sarah and Ethan's books, such as essays by Jonathan Ames including Jesus Christ Doesn't Sound Like a Jewish Name, a laugh-outloud book. Some people use the expression "It's a hoot!" but I can't stand that expression.

- Going to the Brooklyn Museum with Ethan (Sarah was working out at the gym). We stuck together and saw the entire 350 watercolor paintings of the Frenchman James Tissot, the life and death of Jesus Christ. We were enraptured. We actually took a vote at Sarah's dinner party on whether or not we believed in God. We did it with thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Stanley thought it was childish and refused to p'pate. It was a hoot!

- The wind that tried to lift us into the air and smash us to the ground. Unbelievably cold and windy when we left the museum. It was actually a thrill to feel so buffeted by mother nature and feel her power.

- Hearing Ethan and The Bad Plus play at the Village Vanguard. Wa-hoo! Brilliant. Someone named them one of the Top Ten Jazz Bands. After they finished their set they came over to say hello. I felt Dave King's tattoos on his arms and asked about his kids Otis and Ella. These are nice people.

- Reunion with Scott after I got home. We always miss each other when I'm gone. You might say It's a Love Supreme, the album I just bought today by John Coltrane. I do love my jazz.