Game On

I emailed Ron the moment I heard. “The MJ jury’s gone home for the night. Game on.”

Rivulettes of sweat were running down my spine by the time I got to my apartment. Mike and Chris were waiting on the stoop, styrofoam cooler in hand. “The cooler went over well at The Yale Club,” Mike said.

“Ivy Leaguers need cold beer too,” I said.

Game on.

Last night, Ron and Jodi Lieber and I threw a book release party for “2 Do Before I Die” editors Mike Ogden and Chris Day. On my roof deck. On a 90° night. We squeezed fifty people onto my little slab of cement way up in the New York sky. We served champagne and deep dish pizza flown in from Chicago. And we had a great time.

When night had fallen, and the party was at its critical mass, Mike and Chris said a few words of thanks. They presented me with a custom-made “2 Do Before I Die” t-shirt (“Meet My Childhood Hero”) and flattered me with their praise.

Truth is, I owe them the thanks. Mike and Chris and Ron and their peers are the kind of folks I want to know more of. They’re writers and journalists and artists, and they’re not hell-bent on being hip, happening, or cool. Which as far as I’m concerned, is about as hip, happening and cool as is possible.

By the time the last stragglers left Ron, Mike, Chris, Heather and I clutching our increasingly warm beers on this increasingly cool night, I was exhausted. We bagged up the empties, boxed up the leftovers, and collapsed in front of the AC. Ron guzzled large volumes of Poland Springs, Mike picked at my guitar, Heather and Chris kept gabbing, as I struggled to stay awake.

This morning, I resisted the urge to microwave some pizza for breakfast. Instead, I stood in front the AC and ate a few scoops of mint chocolate chip. I was tired. I wished I didn’t have to go outside into the ridiculous heat or fake my way through a day of work. I wished Mike and Chris lived in New York instead of London. I wished I had more friends like Ron, Mike, and Chris. And I was bummed.

So, here I am at The MTV, buoyed by the memory of lots of great laughter, lots of great heart, and lots of great friends.