Lights Go On, Part XXXVIII -- Friends

As much as I feel at home in New York,
it is when I come to Los Angeles
that I engage and re-engage
with the irreplaceable pleasure of
lifelong friendships.
Last Saturday it was the wedding of
Lynn Hayes and Danny Jordan
for which I wrote a song with Danny.
While here on the West Coast
I am the grateful guest of
Steve and Carol Nicholson,
college and lifelong friends
who trekked back to Memphis Tennessee
for my wedding many years ago.
Yesterday, I visited
Gayle Levant, who was Jeanne's
Maid of Honor
and her husband
John Richards.
Gayle is the premier studio Harpist
in Los Angeles
and John Richards
has served as a scoring engineer
on hundreds of films
including seven Oscar winning scores.
Gayle and I met on a recording date
at the beginning of both of our careers.
We became fast and lasting friends
and Gayle's passion for design
was a boon to Jeanne and me in our home.
It was a boundless joy to
be a guest yesterday in their home
that I can only describe as being full of
Gayle warmth.
What began as a lunch at Vitellos
ended only after an extended dinner conversation
in their kitchen that lasted until 1:00am
These are among the greatest elements of joy
in my life.
We talked about family, our respective relationships with
The Carpenters, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand
Quincy Jones and countless others.
And the cherry on top for me?
Enjoying John's English Classic cars
A 1933 Talbot
(I hadn't heard of one either)
and a 1935 Riley
(Nor that one)
I arrived home in Malibu after 1:30 this morning,
crept upstairs so not to awaken Carol and Steve
and slipped into the most pleasant dreams of a deep sleep
fostered by the love of friends.
Grateful
Cherish
Fulfilling
These words have literally leapt
from my heart
onto this page.