Sonia is a food genius. She also has some kind of kick-ass job in the medical field. She tried to explain it to me but I got lost shortly after "gastrointestinal". Ironically, she wants to segue into catering. Working the other end of the business I guess. She absolutely had the goods last Thursday with a style that was somewhere between Rome and The Hamptons.
That's Shoshana in the red dress. She's the garden's community liaison. She did an extraordinary job keeping this event on track and happening.
The guy in the pink shirt is named Arthur. He's a musician too. Ok Arthur consider yourself outed.
Just over his shoulder to the right is Fabio and little Giovanni. He is already such a little man. I love him.
That's Pam in the upper left corner, she's a burner like me, Rene. We were musing about the Pagan nature of celebrating the Solstice. My personal feeling is that completing a trip of millions of miles through the galaxy and around the sun is something worth celebrating.
That's Blake in the middle. He and Kosi are celebrating their half-aversary.
Leaning in is Jeremy, a brand new neighbor. He told me that he is "the best beast of burden you will ever find". So far, it's true. He also plays a shiny little alto sax.
Sitting on the stage is Yevette. She said it made her "feel like a groupie."
The Band. From left to right. René Calvo, Kosi Gyebi-Sorenson, Jerome Jackson (relative of Michael and Mahalia Jackson, great, great, great grandson of Andrew Jackson, Yeah. That's whats up.) and on Bass David Elijah White III
The guy far left in the plaid shirt is Craig. A great problem solver and utility player. He lives one block away but we have adopted him.
That's Rohan all the way in front. She came on the 2 train. She's Pam's friend.
No idea.
That's Samaya's grandmother by the gate. Samaya is around 10. They both walk up and down the block together. Once she collected snails from the garden for a school project. I'm considering putting together a big collection posse and going after them next year. I'll put them in a giant marinara sauce and feed everybody. The blonde in the middle is Sonia's friend. She's a cellist. That's all we know at this point. Guy on the car I don't know.
There were so many kids everywhere, and that's not even counting us. The foursome in the front are Rylee, Hudson, Alessandro and Cody. Alessandro had a breakthrough on the Solstice. The other three (whom we call "The Shirtless Gang" because when they get really riled up they take their shirts off, just ask Sonia) They would never let Alessandro "join in any reindeer games" because he was too little. Thursday marked his official trail entry into the gang.
Arthur's boys. The one next to him is a musician too.
Hey that's George Moorer!
The guy in the red shirt is Larry. He is legally blind. He is also a musician and sings with a group called The Lighthouse Singers in NYC. They have an annual concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
I'm going to use this picture to say that the one taking these shots is Gini Little. So you are seeing everything through her eyes. Gini was a fine lieutenant during this adventure. She was a key player in getting the funding together and is an essential contributor to our online Think Tank sessions.
Jeremy Jumps in.
I'd also like to shout out to Daniel Frolo and Ray Franks who built the Deck we all were singing on.
Is that Bala in white? Kosi calls him "My Nigerian friend."
And the sun sets. Happy Solstice. See you next year. Lakshmi willing. :) You can see The Goddess Lakshmi (band) live at Paris Blues on Sunday evenings at 8pm.
