Awards are the best Best Of ever
Had a nice chat with an old friend from Hollister who mentioned
he had some legal papers to be signed at Paxton, O’Brien and
Borelli. I remarked that wasn’t it nice that the kids took over the
firm. What? It’s not their kids? It’s the three originals. I’m not
saying they are old but you remember that the three lawyers Paxton,
O’Brien and Borelli made nationwide news when they successfully
defended Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. A columnist for the
Hollister One Cent Lance had written a story that got Butch and
Sundance angry enough to hire the three then-young lawyers. The
columnist for the Hollister One Cent Lance wrote that Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid only owned one sleeping bag between them.
Awards are the best Best Of ever
Had a nice chat with an old friend from Hollister who mentioned he had some legal papers to be signed at Paxton, O’Brien and Borelli. I remarked that wasn’t it nice that the kids took over the firm. What? It’s not their kids? It’s the three originals. I’m not saying they are old but you remember that the three lawyers Paxton, O’Brien and Borelli made nationwide news when they successfully defended Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. A columnist for the Hollister One Cent Lance had written a story that got Butch and Sundance angry enough to hire the three then-young lawyers. The columnist for the Hollister One Cent Lance wrote that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid only owned one sleeping bag between them.
But you know there are certain professions that one should get better at with age as they have heard it all. School principals, judges and certainly in the case of Paxton, O’Brien and Borelli and most lawyers, longevity is a huge plus. So the next time you see any one of the semi-dynamic trio be sure to ask them about the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid lawsuit and they may even show you their old briefs. Aye chee waa waa, un lato de Febreze por favor!
I love Best Of lists. The Pinnacle Awards were the best I have ever read, especially for including Dan Fitch and his spoof on Best Of lists. At least I think it was a spoof. It is the funniest column I have ever read in any newspaper. I especially liked his assessment of the San Juan Bautista City Council. “It’s like Survivor or a David Lynch movie. They dislike each other, they dislike everyone else …”
The Pinnacle best as voted on by readers had few surprises in most categories. Of course Progresso Tamale Parlor is the best Mexican restaurant. My sister-in-law Liz the tamale queen makes each one by hand, from scratch. Round Table Pizza is the best and I have often sung its praises in this column. China Garden was my favorite place to take friends who love to brag that the big city 100 miles to the north had the best-tasting Chinese food. I made a believer out of them that my little hick hometown beat anything in Chinatown. Two other restaurants that should have made the list rightfully didn’t because new owners made changes that were not the reason the once-popular eateries were always packed. Why people buy a goldmine and then decide to change everything is beyond me. To paraphrase Yogi Berra, “nobody goes there anymore. It’s too full.”
Johnny’s Bar picked as best bar is the biggest no-brainer. I have news for you folks: Johnny’s is the best bar in the world. Period. And the food at people’s prices is the best value anywhere.
More on the Best Of list next week but I have to give a special mention to photographer Steve Borelli whose picture for the award-winning Strands hair salon just pops off the page. Owners Lori Alvarez and Tim Borges as photographed by Borelli look like the winners they are. I have never in my over 60 years of reading newspapers seen an ad that displayed such confidence in a product. So much so that I plan to make an appointment with Tim Borges, voted best hair stylist, to give me my first haircut since I moved to San Francisco in the late 1960s and I would like Borelli to take a before and after shot. I want a crew cut like I wore in 1953.
Loved that headline, “Teacher threatens to kill student.” Like that’s news. The nuns at Sacred Heart told me that every day for 12 years. Aye chee waa waa.
Little Richard, the queen of rock ‘n’ roll, turned 75 last week. The first time I never saw him was in 1957 at the Salinas Armory. We stayed anyway because his band was so great and in those days just to be with kids who knew how to bebop was far out.
A couple weeks later he did show up and he came on stage wearing a cowboy hat and chaps. And the night only got stranger. Little Richard is rock ‘n’ roll and even the Beatles couldn’t kill rock ‘n’ roll.
Where’s Bobby Cruz when we need him? The little old blue-haired lady got a hold of me again. “Mr. Venzykulu, Mr. Venzykulu, you are a big fat liar. You claim you’re an atheist but you always write about talking to God. But the biggest lie is that you make it sound like you’re gay but then last week you wrote that you couldn’t stand Judy Garland. You can’t be gay and hate Judy Garland.”
Tonight when I get in my Harley Davidson jammies I’m going to talk to God and also sing his favorite song: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
