GURU LARRY COMES TO TOWN
LARRY ENZER
My New Camera
My dinner with Larry
So many people have become participants on this blog, but few appear with the regularity of “Guru Larry.” What makes it more than unusual is that up until last Wednesday around dinnertime I had never met “Guru Larry” aka Larry Enzer.
We were friends in the 2010 way, through Facebook, and we were actually a friend removed. I met him on the page of Barry Marine, another FB friend I have yet to meet IRL (that’s cyber speak for In Real Life. Am I hip or what?)
Barry and I met through my friend Bruce Roberts. Bruce is Barry’s IRL friend and Bruce, who is a well known songwriter, and Barry, who is a wonderful singer, knew each other through the biz (that’s Hollywood speak for the business!) Bruce and I used to drive around LA listening to Barry’s CD (pre iPod) in the car all day. He has one song, “Talk To Me,” that I still listen to all the time and I have taught the lyrics to both my girls.
So I’m FB friends with Barry, Barry grew up in New Jersey with Larry, and I had met neither one. But the person I knew was the songwriter Paul Williams who is a friend of Larry’s and somehow this connection was made on Barry Marine’s FB wall, are you all still with me?
So Larry starts reading the blog and responds in a big way. And he starts writing comments and he really got what I was trying to do.
He is an active member of AA. I’m not outing him here, he will tell you himself and does. Because of that he carries with him the AA insights that people outside the program usually don’t think about on a daily basis.
He appeared around the time Blake died and Blake too was in AA. So Larry started writing more and dispensing more bon mots that resonated and I started including them on the blog and before long he took on the moniker of “Guru Larry” and like the Oh-So- Fabulous Salva he became a part of the blog, and consequently our lives. The main difference being Salva is here all day every day. I will do a full blog on Salva soon, she deserves one.
But back to Larry: through FB he struck up individual connections with all of us– with the exception of Glenn who, although he has a FB page, never visits it. Glenn and Larry bonded over baseball; they are both big Yankee fans so they Blackberried their way through the play offs and then the World Series and if that didn’t cement a relationship the Giants had a full season, so they went through that whole thing together – cyberly. Glenn has about ten guys he watches games with from the sofa. He spends the game emailing a group of like-minded fanatical, middle-aged Jewish men who all think they can run the teams better than those being paid to do it. Larry joined that gang.
So there he was on the blog and in our world, Larry Enzer. And then last week he came to town.
Everyone had much anticipation, it’s like all cyber relationships: they can be magical on the screen but end up deflated balloons in life. Ask anyone on J-date or eharmony.com. But Larry arrived with his big grin, a warm personality, and an armful of roses and it was not disappointing at all.
Taylor came down from college just to meet him. One of her friends, Blake, (he likes to be mentioned) asked her why she was leaving Boston for the weekend, and she said “I have to go meet Larry.”
“Larry from the blog?” Blake responded.
I told you he has built up a following.
We all had some Larry time, some fun dinners; it was freezing here last week so we didn’t do a lot of wandering the streets. Larry and I did go to see The Last Station one night when Glenn had a business dinner. I totally recommend this film: it’s a beautiful to watch, intelligent, gloriously acted ADULT movie, and by adult I don’t mean porn. I mean it doesn’t pander to eighteen-year-old boys. Nothing flies, morphs or blows up, it just is. Larry and I loved it and that is even after having missed the first fifteen minutes as I got the time wrong.
All in all a great time was had by all.
Larry is not critical and has never said anything but encouraging things to me, with the exception of remarking on my photographic skills, which, well, the word skill would indicate I actually had a skill with photos. I don’t. I’m a terrible photographer. I keep buying cameras I think will help– they don’t. I buy the easiest and cheapest models. Larry made one remark about maybe I should buy an auto focus. I HAVE ONE.
It has become practically embarrassing, as both girls are much better than I am. I swear to God I did not know what an SLR was until Friday. Taylor and Eric (see yesterday’s blog) had a whole discussion yesterday about lenses and light meters and things – it was all Greek to me.My photo equipment is the battery, the disk, and the uploader many of which get lost or lumped in with all sorts of other random cords in the house.
I’m not expecting to get really good with photos, I just want the ones on the blog to be in focus. I will never be anywhere near Taylor’s level she just has an eye for framing and Lucy for nine is doing really well. For her birthday next week she is getting an SLR. I just love throwing a new word around…or some new letters. I may start speaking like the kids only in letters – BTW I BGHT A SLR IRL WTF????? That might help with my Word Warrior issues, I could become a letter warrior instead.
Anyway I decided while Larry was here we would go and get me a new camera and he would help pick it out. Then he couldn’t say anything when I was out of focus. So we went to visit Avi, who sells me my camera stuff at Adorama on 18th Street. There Avi, I got you in. Avi wants me to get him a voice over agent and get him into a film. He has clearly never heard the Polish joke about a screenwriter’s power. So we went to see Avi and I told him I wanted an SLR. I looked at them, they scared me to death, and both Avi and Larry agreed I wouldn’t be able to handle it. So I bought a Canon G11: it looks like an SLR, but is sort of a point and shoot; it’s the point and shoot for those who can’t handle the complications of an SLR. Even this one will require me to do something I never do- actually read the instruction manual. So now thanks to Avi and Larry I should have some better photos. I spent most of my time in Asia shooting with my Blackberry. Taylor looked like Avedon had left her his equipment; starting next week Lucy will too. Now at least I won’t look like I borrowed Barbie’s camera.
It was good to finally meet someone you think you know and talk to daily but in the old-fashioned, pre-internet days don’t know at all.
Larry has taken on such a persona in the blog a few friends who knew he was coming to town asked if he was single. He is single, but to meet Larry Enzer the right way you have to go through Barry Marine.
So we all had fun, we all have a new friend and I have a new camera.
Thanks for coming to visit, Larry. And Avi, thank you for not letting me buy an SLR. (I have to get Avi in, he’s really becoming a bit of a nag about it!)
I would like to pause here in memory of Sam Rosen, Bruce’s Dad who passed away yesterday. Sam was a jolly guy; always there to help, always with a smile. He has suffered a long time, but stoically and fiercely. He will be missed by many. Good-bye dear Sam. And Brucie our thoughts and Endless Love are with you. I know you didn’t write that song, but Enough is Enough did not feel like the proper way to end this little tribute to Sam, as I know you never felt that way about him. He was always a joy!
Posted in Freshman Mom
