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Saddlepeak Lodge

Early this afternoon we went to the excellent Saddlepeak Lodge on 419 Cold Canyon Road in Calabasas (phone: 818-222-3888). The owner Ann Graham Ehringer has a Ph.D.! The service was unparalleled thanks to waiter Darron Smith, and the cuisine was heavenly -- from a Happy Sunday libation called a Bellini (1997 S. Anderson Blanc de Noir Champagne and fresh peach puree) to wonderfully fluffy souffle pancakes with warm blackberry compote and creme fraiche, from the ever-popular "goodie basket" of fresh pasteries to the homemade Kennebec potato chips. A culinary delight, in a delightful environment. We also saw Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell there, and I was struck by how often lives intertwingle every day all around the world.

Late this afternoon we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, where at sunset Melissa Rosenthal wed Michael Patrick on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I went to high school with Michael in Wilton, Connecticut, in 1986 and 1987, and after undergraduate college he and I moved to Los Angeles in September 1992 -- me to begin graduate studies at Caltech, him to begin working on screenplays for The Industry. To pay bills, Michael works at a sports club with a woman named Jill (who happens to be Melissa's sister) and a woman named Suzanne, who introduced Michael to Melissa. Suzanne knew Melissa because her husband (also named Mike) went to high school with Jill and Melissa. What's interesting about this story is that Michael and Melissa were both at Brown University in the late 1980's and early 1990's but apparently never met there. Melissa is from southern California and Michael moved to southern California to find his destiny. Apparently his destiny was to find a woman a decade after moving to California who happened to have lived in Providence at the same time he did. Sometimes lives intertwingle several times over the years and it can take years before they actually connect... and when they do, it's like... magic.

Songs that will forever remind me of the wedding:

  • "Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World", by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (interestingly, my father's favorite song of all time)
  • "At the Zoo", by Simon and Garfunkel (which also reminds me of childhood visits to the Bronx Zoo)
  • "Your Love Gets Sweeter Everyday", by Finley Quaye (which I think was used by a Kodak commercial as well)
My two favorite quotes of the evening:
  • Kevin Patrick: "This set of people will never all be at the same place at the same time again."
  • Michelle Rifkin: "Do you sometimes wish we could stop time?"
A few years ago, Michael and Rohit both thought they would never find the right person. Now, within three months of each other, both are wed. Never lose hope. When the time is right, great things can and do happen.

September 19, 2004 at 11:38 PM in Lives Intertwingle |

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