Dinner Banter with the Fanchers, at the Loft in San Pedro, on Friday, 12/17/21
The nights are getting longer, and colder, too, even in Long Beach, California. It got down to 35 degrees last night, and by the end of this week the low temperatures just 70 miles north of here will be under the freezing point. And that’s at less than a thousand feet above sea level. Anybody in these parts who craves a bit of snow on Christmas Day and temperatures dropping to the mid-20s can always drive to 5000 feet above sea level in Idyllwild.
As one of many celebrations of the Winter Solstice’s approach, Linda and I had dinner with Alexis and Jim Fancher at our studio at the Loft in San Pedro. One of the highlights of the evening was a discussion that focused on Otis Redding’s version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” shortly after which Jim Fancher pushed back from the table suddenly, and stepped to center stage. I was completely floored by his shoes, which I hadn’t seen earlier because they arrived as I was hustling off to get our order of food from our favorite local restaurant, Senfuku. I didn’t have time to say more than a quick hello and scoot around the corner as Alexis and he ascended the Loft’s rear ramp, which was minimally lit.
I’m not much into fashion, but these shoes were gorgeous. As my readers well know by now, I am not interested in using my blog to build any kind of advertising base. This image and link, therefore, owe their presence only to my admiration for footwear that makes me wish that Marcel Duchamp were around to present it as a “ready-made.”
https://www.nike.com/flyease/go-flyease
How attractive were Fancher’s shoes? Two poems immediately popped into mind: Laurel Ann Bogen’s “For Love of Shoe” and a piece I first heard recited back in the early 1990s: “Please Don’t Steal my Air Jordans.”
https://bombmagazine.org/articles/two-poems-18/
https://www.kpbs.org/news/midday-edition/2012/08/28/poet-reg-e-gaines-being-last-celebrity
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/events/72994/reg-e-gaines
Sunday, 12/29/21
Long Beach, CA
About Bill Mohr