The Data Port

Winning The Lottery

It’s a game we all play: What would you do if you won the lottery? Won big, won so big that you could frame your life any way you chose?

Except in the  way I am about to tell you I don’t believe my life would change too significantly…or say, rather, that I would not initiate great changes. I like my home and think I would keep living in it. I enjoy household chores, fixing things, and working on the bikes. Oh, I might hire the occasional handyman or housecleaner, but apart from that I can imagine my life grinding on pretty much as it does now.

I might buy another motorcycle, but we have two already and motorcycles can only be enjoyed one at a time.

Whenever the what-would-you-do-if-you-won-the-lottery question is asked I think of my father’s friend Harvey Hayes. When my father was a young actor Harvey was an old one. He lived in a bed-sitter in Chicago’s South Shore Country Club. My father took me to visit Mr. Hayes once (I sat quietly while they rehearsed a scene together) and I can remember being fascinated by the fact that he didn’t have a kitchen.

He had a sort of pantry with a small sink and a fridge, but he clearly never cooked. I asked him what he did for meals…his situation was now riveting…and he replied, “Well, young Arthur, I go to restaurants. I’m an actor, not a cook.”

That answer had a more profound effect on me than I suspected at the time.

If I won the lottery I would never cook again. I simply loathe cooking. I know it’s supposed to be creative and satisfying and all that, but I simply hate it. I dislike having to prepare a dinner for guests and getting all the courses to come out at the right time. I hate scrubbing up afterwards.

I would much rather treat my guests to a nice meal at an excellent restaurant. I could afford it if I had won the lottery.

Oh, I might have a small pantry kitchen like Mr. Hayes, where I could keep some bread and peanut butter or a box of orange juice… something I could eat at the sink when I got peckish… but for the most part I would eat all my meals out.

At my favorite places I would be well known. As a regular I could ask for special service…”I’m not very hungry tonight, do you suppose the chef could do a plate of sliced tomatoes and romaine, with some nicely buttered sourdough toast?” Well of course…because I was a regular who had won the lottery and always tipped well.

And I would never cook again.

A Man With A Motorcycle Parks Anywhere

Well, almost anywhere. You can’t park in any University of Arizona parking structure, or short term parking at the airport, or in most city parking structures. In short, anywhere with an electronic gate. One reason for this may be that the metal sensor plate buried in the ground before the gate is not wide enough to catch the narrow footprint of a motorcycle or scooter. Another reason, according to the University, is that the noise of a motorcycle sets off car alarms. Frankly, my dears, I think this is a heap of whale waste. There’s no evidence that this claim has ever been tested.

When I did a volunteer reading for a University professor the UofA apparently thought it would be all right to arrive in my 32 mpg car but not on my primary form of transportation, my 60 MPG BMW f650cs motorcycle.  I think it’s time to organize a protest “park-in”

Here’s an Action Item for Arts and Development Bloggers

The Downtown Tucson Partnership is holding a public meeting on Monday, June 29.  ”Arts, History, and Culture Organizations” are invited to hear a presentation titled “Building The New Pueblo.” It’s the Partnership plan for revitalizing downtown  (Oh, Goody! Another plan !) and  it wants our participation. My guess is that Arts and Development bloggers ought to attend

Here are the details:

WHEN: Monday, June 29, 5 p.m.
WHERE: Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave.
RSVP: Teresa Bommarito – teresa@downtowntucson.org or call 547-3338, ext. 2.
Please RSVP by June 26.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
Glenn Lyons, CEO of the Downtown Partnership, will reveal his strategy behind recruiting private investment into Downtown as part of the larger picture of ensuring an economically strong and culturally rich city core. The goal is to find Downtown’s niche in a broader development plan that includes projects led by the City of Tucson as well as areas that are outside traditional Downtown boundaries.

Shameless Plug

Well two really, but they’re connected. I’ve been privileged to appear in a number of Rogue productions and will get a chance to play with the Rogues again later this year.  After the curtain call and after cleaning off my makeup and getting dressed I’m far too wired to go home to bed. I want a Martini and I want a meal. But it’s now 10:30

or later and in many (maybe most) of our better restaurants the cooks are cleaning pots and the waiters are counting tips. Not at Pastiche, my favorite bistro. You’re always going to find a mixture of all sorts of folks, although at the post-ten-PM hour it is as likely as not after-theatre diners, actors, dancers and musicians. Hope to see you there, so say hello.My favorite table?  #59, in the bar.