Peter and Lana-- Our Friends
It is such a rare gift to have good friends. Marianne and I have many friends, and usually they are as unique as we are. Peter and Lana Graff is one such couple. Lana is a walking fiend and knows the best routes. She is a local, a former elementary music teacher, a choral composer, excellent soprano, jewelry maker and peace activist. Her husband, Peter, a former business-development expert, originally from New Jersey, is active in the theater and a true bass. Marianne and Peter formed a quick bond 20 odd years ago, through the theater, and enjoy martinis and Metaxa together—oh the stories I could tell. He is a little older than Marianne and has had to start wearing hearing aids. Recently he got a cutting-edge of technology set that he is trying to get use to. Lana still has to yell at him, “turn them up, or pay attention--you old coot!
They both meet back in 1992, during a production I created and directed “Impossible Broadway”. It was a high-powered Broadway Musical review that was one of my crowning achievements. Later, we were witnesses at their civil marriage ceremony at City Hall after Thanksgiving that year. They went on to do “The Mikado” with us, just before we left the theater for the first time. They have sung with Vintage for years. She’s got a beautiful, pure soprano, and he is as ‘bass-y’ as you get—having sung with the Nassoons at Princeton, 50 plus years ago.
We have been to the coast and Yachats several times with them. We always have a great time. I remember one Fourth of July, walking the beach in Florence (Oregon) for hours with them. The tops of my feet got so sunburned, but the walk and the company were wonderful.
Friends share food and good times and the four of us have certainly had conspicuous consumption together. We started a dinner group and had progressive meals—with international themes from all over the world. Lana started her a couple of her own annual parties, a summer festa and a winter solstice party. It’s always fun with them.
Tidbits to Travel Tuscany By
I had started to read as much as I could about traveling in Italy and smart ways to travel for our "Soggiorno in Tuscany". Yes, Rick Steves is the pro, but he is also selling things. One unforgettable quote comes from his endorsement of a money belt that looks like a regular belt.
“Relax: When you wear this money belt, feeling a street urchin's hand in your pocket becomes just one more interesting cultural experience.”
Or in pushing an agriturismo…
“One of the joys of staying for at least a week in one location is you can develop a true dolce far niente ("sweetness of doing nothing") attitude.”
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