Can I brag for a minute?

Old Lady and I recently began a comment-based Celebrity Throwdown where we keep trying to one-up the other on the number of celebrity contacts we have each had. Since the worlds of renown and notoriety seem to be drawn to both of us inextricably, I imagine our little game may last quite some time.

While my brushes with fame have never gone much further than the occasional Hollywood party, our beloved Poor George has actually worked and interacted with the rich and famous in professional settings.

For those of you not intimately acquainted with our Poor George, he is a professional clarinetist by trade, in addition to being a leisurely gourmet. (As talented as he is at maintaining my BMI at just a few numbers above optimum level, he has never chosen to make money off his food skills.)

Poor George has had the pleasure of playing gigs with the likes of:

Dizzy Gillespie



John Faddis




Quincy Jones



And as of last night, we get to add Phillip Glass to the mix.



George recently began playing with the Greenwich Village Orchestra, so I went to one of their concerts last night. Among other things, the orchestra performed Glass's Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, a strange sounding piece, as is true with much of Glass's work - but I love twentieth century music, so it was right up my alley.

Before they began, the conductor casually mentioned that Mr. Glass was in the audience and asked him to come up on stage to say a few words. Apparently he lives just a few blocks away from the auditorium, so it was easy for him to drop by and listen to George and his friends perform his work.

How cool is that?

I hope that Poor George will still remember to talk to us, the little people.