Norma is from Tennessee, just like me. During WWII she travelled out here and ended up staying for three years. She worked at a printing company. Top of the Mark was one of the spots she frequented with her pals. Last night the five of us sat in the same corner where they used to sit, with a view of the bay.
Norma likes martinis. I had recently read a study that said the most important thing you can do for your brain is to take on new challenges. So I decided to learn how to make a martini, and had been practicing for weeks. When the moment for martini presentation arrived, I poured the drink and stuck two olives on the plastic pirate sword. I handed her the glass. Tom asked her how it was. She said, "Good. A little heavier on the vermouth than I'm used to."
Kelly then showed me how to make a superior martini. He poured vermouth into a glass and swirled it around, but ended up pouring all the vermouth from the glass back into the bottle. The glass was left with nothing but a thin film of vermouth. He then poured vodka into the glass, and then poured that from the glass into a shaker with ice. When he strained the drink back into the glass, it tasted nothing, nothing like the one I had made. It's clear that I must keep practicing.
