2 thoughts on “Brian didn’t have a sincere bone in his body. Well, maybe one. 1987

  1. What a message the Universe just sent my way. This blog caught my eye while doing research for my book and I am stunned by the presence of two men I used to know! Brian who had the finest selection of Hawaiian shirts in his Polk Street shop, including the one he chose for me to wear to the Bette Davis One Woman Show in 1978! And his partner in crime, Chris “B” Lenwell! who was a librarian at Mofo when I was working in Word Processor! I became his DJ for two of his parties. One in the Hamm’s Brewery penthouse and what I will always remember was B as Claudine Longet and Brian as Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, dressed from head to toe in the latest slope fashion right down to his skis and ski poles! B lip-synched “Lamore est Bleu” (of course) and re-enacts that fatal shot as the song fades away into the night! The second party I did for “B” was “B’s” Farewell Halloween Christmas party in a Western Edtion or Hayes Valley hotel. Even Herb Caen cited the party in his column! Last October I visited SF to guest DJ a 40th Anniversary Party or the Trocadero Transfer that Go Bang! produced at the Stud. I was staying in a Tenderloin Hotel on Jones Street and on Sunday morning, I took a walk up Nob Hill to see the AIDs Memorial Chapel in Grace Cathedral. There is an altarpiece by Keith Harring which I never saw here (there is one in Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan), but I was the sound and light man for the producer of a benefit to raise the funds to purchase that piece. I returned to Manhattan before that happened, heard about it from one of the priests at my church in NYC and now I was going to admire the fruit of my efforts. (I was strictly a volunteer for the fun of it and the prize at the end of the rainbow.) Anyway, I left on my walk up Jones Sreet and I made a Hosanna when I felt certain I was standing across from Chris’ apartment building where he lived when we first met. He was close to my colleague and future lover who worked at Mofo as well. Will was a librarian with Chris and the took an IT management position in Word Processing when Mofo was selected as a beta tester by IBM Data Products when they developed a networked and intranet providing system. He was still living there when I returned to the City in 1994, but I didn’t see much of him before I moved back to NYC in 1997. But I remember his stunning collection of Kennedy/Camelot souvenir collectibles. He was a bit obsessed with Jackie, even did a film about that day in Dallas, portraying Jackie, of course, and climbing out and over the trunk of the car, as in real life, and in Halston pillbox, skirt bloodied as well! What a wild and crazy guy he was and I am feeling blessed to have known him and even more amazed by this synchronous discovery! I now will really explore this blog to learn its provenance and maybe more! jc

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