So, this month's edition of Los Angeles magazine has yet another Joni
mention. I swear Kit Rachlis (the editor-in-chief) either has a Joni
fascination or is her best friend. In his monthly *From the Editor* column,
he is talking about the idealistic Los Angeles of yesteryear. In his
fantasies, he writes:
"...That golden age goes something like this: Family farms dot the San
Fernando Valley and orange groves fan out from the foothills of the San
Gabriel Mountains, the Doors are performing at the Whiskey and X is putting
on a show at the Masque; the movie palaces on Broadway are booming; the
public schools rank among the country's finest; Groucho Marks and JONI
MITCHELL [emphasis added] are holding court at the Brown Derby and Bette
Davis and Frank Gehry are regulars at Spago; jazz and R&B are pouring out of
Central Avenue; Dewey Weber and Tom Morey [my personal hero] are surfing off
Zuma; the beaches are never crowded; and the air is so clear you can see the
glint of the Pacific from as far as Sierra Madre. The clanging of the red
cars can be heard down the boulevards. And thanks to freeways, everything is
just twenty minutes away..."
Me again:
I am supposing that, in this fantasy, Joni held court at the Brown Derby
separate and apart from Groucho. I can't really see Joni at the Brown Derby
- it was like a smokey, ancient relic from the golden days of Hollywood - the
last one (it was a chain) closed in the early 1980s. I certainly can't
fathom Joni with Groucho.
So my question to you all. We'll assume Joni went to the Brown Derby to
swill down a few Brandy Alexanders and have a few Winstons (American Spirits
weren't around then). She ordered the Cobb Salad, made famous there, and for
dessert, strawberries with whipped cream. She has a table for six -- you are
one of the guests, who would be the other four and why? By the way, Joni is
picking up the check (even though her music makes her no more money than she
needs to buy and keep a Bel Air mansion.)
No regrets,
Coyote Rick
Casa Alegre
Hollywood, California
