Sunday, March 16, 2014

A Toast to Lucille at her 90th Birthday Party

This is going to sound like the beginning of one of those cheesy romance novels––but five years ago one of Tom's clients had a party. It was the evening of President Obama's first inauguration, and the party was a celebration.

The moment I walked into the door of the party I saw a woman sitting across the room. She was wearing the best clothes and she had the best haircut––and she was wearing running shoes! She radiated LIFE, and in that one instant I was sure I had to get to know her.

But I couldn't get anywhere near her the whole evening. She was surrounded by other people who wanted to talk to her too––people who were pushier than I am.

As Tom and I were leaving the party I knew it was now or never. She was still talking to a small group of people. I didn't want to be rude. And I didn't want to burst in and say, "Gah! You seem like someone I'd love to be friends with. Can I have your email address?" (What if she thought I was crazy?)

But I managed to get her attention long enough to exchange email addresses with her under the pretext of getting the name and phone number of her hair stylist. So with the name of her hair stylist in hand, I went home and made an appointment with Gohar. I got a haircut. Then I emailed Lucille and asked her if we could meet for lunch––I would show her my haircut!

We met at Bursa on West Portal and it was then and there that Lucille became my life coach. In case you don't know what her philosophy is, it's FUN AND LOTS OF IT.

Here's what I'm learning from her:

-Get to know people; you don't need an excuse.
-Read more books and watch more movies.
-Walk at least 4 or 5 miles a day.

-And most importantly: ALWAYS wear the right socks.

Thank you, Lucille. Happy Birthday and I love you.

Showing off our socks. Lucille's are covered in shamrocks.


A small sampling of Lucille's socks

Lauren, Lucille's daughter, and Lucille

Sasha, Lucille's son-in-law



The party is at Delancey Street Restaurant. The cake is Lucille's own recipe.
Kendra, Lucille, Andrew

Lucille Skypes with her granddaughter, Harriet