GUITAR MAN

The man with no voice

Welcomes wandering minstrels.

Wide smile, twinkling eyes.

I recently accompanied Phoebe and Justin to

Westwood Music, Justin's favorite guitar shop.

The store is not just a great place to buy guitars,

but it is truly a slice of LA music history that still

thrives, despite today's mega-store trend. The

store opened in 1947 by Herman Walecki and

catered mainly to classical musicians. Fred Walecki,

Herman's son, started working there when he was 14

repairing instruments and took it over when he was

19 upon his dad's death. He changed the focus to

guitars and good 'ol rock. The store has a warm

atmosphere with two big leather couches you can

lounge around on while trying out guitars. In the

back is a room filled with amplifiers and electric

guitars where you can plug it in and kick it out.

In the 70's the store was a hub for rock musicians

and Fred was their go-to guitar guy. It was a home

away from...to the likes of Jackson Browne, Neil

Young, Bonnie Raitt, David Crosby....The bigs. In

2000 Fred was diagnosed with throat cancer and had

to have his voice box removed(laryngectomy). With

enormous medical bills facing him and his family,

the rock aristocracy came together for a two-day

benefit concert for Fred at the Santa Monica

Auditorium. They were all there: Jackson Browne,

Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Meisner, Spinal

Tap, Jeff Bridges, David Crosby, Graham Nash,

Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Ry Cooder...

The Guitar Man survives and thrives with a little

help from his friends. He speaks with the use

of an electrolarynx placed against his throat. He

sounds a little techno-robot, but he has plenty of

stories to tell and lots of expertise to impart. His

shop is special. Check it out: www.westwoodmusic.

com

JOHN PAUL STEVENS

Jaunty in bow tie

Our nonagenarian

Champions reason.

Justice John Paul Stevens joined the

Supreme Court in 1975, appointed by

then-President Gerald Ford. Although

he considers himself a "judicial conservative" 

JPS seems to have taken up the mantle of 

liberal lion, given the unfortunate rightward

swing the court has taken. He recently wrote a

90-page dissent following the court's 

5-4 decision to allow corporations/unions

to bankroll political candidates and thus

even more greatly influence the outcome

of elections. JPS turns 90 in April.  Here's

just a tidbit of his intelligent dissent:

At 

bottom, the Court’s opinion is thus a rejection of the com­ 

mon sense of the American people, who have recognized a 

need to prevent corporations from undermining self­ 

government since the founding, and who have fought 

against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate 

electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt.  It is a 

strange time to repudiate that common sense.  While 

American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority 

of this Court would have thought its flaws included a 

dearth of corporate money in politics. 

  

PEET'S

A.M. ritual

Unites familiar strangers.

Two shots espresso.

On my way to work

I frequent the local Hillcrest

Peet's for a small Chai lattee 

and a quick peak at my latest

New Yorker. I notice the same

cast of characters who share

my schedule.  We recognize 

each other and participate in

one another's a.m. ritual but

are strangers. Still, I feel an

attachment to this community

of sorts.  By the way, Peet's 

serves up the best Chais.