Back from the pizza party. Quite amazing. The man has the most cultivated cacti garden around his house. Takes up most every available spot and is lovely to boot. Some succulents and a few garden plants, tomato, basil and the like, all over productive in a well-tended way.
In back, he has an outdoor kitchen with an ancient gas stove in which he makes the most wonderful pizzas. People generally show up with wine and toppings and he uses them as he sees fit with a few vegetarian options regularly scheduled, plus some veggie pizzas with seafood. (No vegan options, no cashew "cheese," nothing of that order, sorry.)
So we sat outside with a fan keeping things cool and a delightful group of people. I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in 10 years or so. I think he's suffered something, akin to a stroke or a drug-related setback (more likely the latter and possibly alcohol-related, though he was drinking). He was functioning, and he remembered me, and we had a few good chats over the course of the evening. Still, something was missing there, and it was rather sad, because he was, well, rather brilliant before. I've had the same response to dealings with a friend of mine from high school, who was also brilliant back in the day.