2Truthy's Happy Anniversary

July 25, 1987

It seems like only yesterday when I insisted to our wedding planner that I wanted a bouquet of rubrum lilies and that Spiaggia Restaurant and the Drake rooms brim with them from floor to tables to ceiling.

Last night we celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary by first having dinner at an awesome Fusion/French/Vietnamese restaurant where we dined on the outdoor patio. The weather was California beautiful, the sky was crystal clear, bright blue (finally, no smoke), the candles were perfumed with honey and the floral ambiance was gorgeous -- never mind the great champagne, food and live entertainment consisting of one male singer with a guitar and a mighty fine folksy/bluesy voice.

After a couple of glasses of champagne and an appetizer, I remarked to Mr.2T that the musician ought to sing “Angel from Montgomery” and asked him to request it. So off walks Mr. 2T to the stage area and the next thing I know, I hear the singer announcing to the now packed restaurant that yours truly was going to come up and “sing the next song.”

SHOCK-A-ROONIE!!!

2Truthy has NOT sung on stage for years and had a total and utter stage fright attack, waving off the guy and glaring and the smiling Mr. 2T who was now sitting with a group of people at their table in front of the stage area who are all shouting “happy anniversary, come on and sing.” I reluctantly walked up to the singer and tried to quietly explain that I had not sung for years as he started playing the opening chords to “Angel from Montgomery.” As soon as I hear the music, I fell into song and began warbling out the first bar. My heart was racing as I have never felt completely comfortable singing for live audiences. Acting, now that’s another story…After the song was over, the whole restaurant clapped and shouted “encore”. I thought they were kidding, as I was convinced that I was terrible. But my favorite worst critic said I was great and when the music guy asked me to sing another song with him, I didn’t want to press my luck so I opted out.

After dinner, we headed off to a nightclub where we bumped into a couple that we have over the years occasionally socialized with through work. One, a software sales person and the other a computer scientist. BOTH said that over this past year, they had both been laid off. One of them, the salesperson, said that she has completely left the tech industry and is now doing “body work and hypnosis.” (I don't know about anyone else, but I think I'd rather take an icepick to my head than turn into a bodyworker... I think this has something to do with the fact that I prefer being paid to use my brain.) The other said that he has taken a lesser position in a company doing software development on spec without benefits. Their joint income is now greatly reduced. If one of them does not find work soon within a corporation that provides healthcare, they will soon be without insurance completely. Other than that bit of all too-typical news, we had a great time as they toasted and roasted us on our anniversary celebration. I hope very much that this couple finds their angel.

To believe in this living in this country these days is just a fucked up, hard way to go, brimming with sociopaths and snoops but to ever get a chance to sing this song with Susan Tedeschi would be a dream come true. One can dream…In the meantime, I’ll take just being able to sing it a tenth as amazingly awesome as she does.

-2Truthy