Last evening, I attended a lecture given by George Scialabba. One of the great highlights for me was meeting, in person, a thoughtful historian and dedicated progressive, Rick Perlstein. The most amazing part of the evening, however, was the invitation to join Rick, George, and a few others for a late dinner at Mazza's, a Lebanese restaurant on Lincoln Ave. Besides the excellent food - the best baklava I have ever had, a lentil soup and stuffed zucchini that were to die for - I also had the pleasure of sitting and chatting not only with Rick, but with Jeff Kelly Lowenstein and his lovely, charming wife.
The night was amazing for any number of reasons, not the least of them being the more than occasional glance down the table when I realized I was sitting and chatting and having dinner with Rick Perlstein. Easy-going, not at all affected by his position as an emerging, important figure in left-wing intellectual circles, it was a thrill and honor not only to have met him, but to be accepted by him and a small group of folks whose lives revolve around two things that matter most to me - ideas, and liberal politics.
It was this human connection, far beyond any topic we discussed - which ranged mostly across issues of who we were, what our lives were like, very much "getting to know you" kinds of things - it was this human connection that was most important. I feel very privileged to have been with that small group in that very dark restaurant last evening. Especially since the early-evening Chicago traffic made me extremely late for the lecture itself.
Oh, yeah, there is that $50 parking ticket, too. . .
