In Eckleburg's Eyes - 12/15/2008, Part 1

I spent Friday night with JTH and TK at MoFoS.

We were seldom talking amongst ourselves as the regulars came out in full force. I had just missed Amy and Jeff from Applebees as well as JBT and his crew, who had left to celebrate SCB’s birthday at The Butcher Shop. Thankfully, one customer I did not miss was De La Rosa. This was his response to my request to get a photo of him with JTH and TK for posterity. Yes, he left the store. (He did have to get back to work.) When asked which of our trio he hated most, he was speechless. Some races are just too close to call.

De La Rosa entered the store at 6:47 pm. I may start documenting this like I do Steven Pearl’s attempts to take charges during Tennessee basketball games. Some notes are just to amuse myself.

We spent a great deal of the night talking with LC, the creator of Men in Black (MIB). He is a regular. (Read: understatement.) He began by noting how many people have died recently. Forrest J Ackerman (founder of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine), Beverly Garland (who played Fred MacMurray’s wife on the last three seasons of My Three Sons), Van Johnson, and Bettie Page are all recently deceased. Thankfully I was there as, other than Page, the staff had not heard of any of the others mentioned. I do not feel that this was a substantially high death toll of “celebrities”. I think people on this level of fame die all of the time. LC is just more aware than most.

The conversation then veered to LC’s experiences on the set of MIB. He has a cameo in the film though one has to know where to look to spot him. (Believe it or not, I have never seen either MIB movie, though, of course, I own both.) LC also noted how impressed he was that the film’s star, Tommy Lee Jones, asked permission to get a soda from the extra’s craft services stash. I always enjoy conversing with LC.

Believe it or not, there is a great art debate ongoing at MoFoS. As mentioned and pictured, a new employee has decorated the store by sketching holiday art on the windows. Prior to this decorating, EA had been given permission to decorate the back room of the store. Now, JBT is debating whether or not to let her as he insists that his employee is the better artist. Remember, EA is an art major at UT who is presently commissioned to paint a portrait of UT wide receiver E.J. Abrams-Ward. JBT’s criteria for his assessment is that EA outlines her art before painting. He does not feel this constitutes art. EA do not fret. By this rationale, Leonardo da Vinci was not an artist either!

So what are EA’s plans for the backroom? She has been planning a mural featuring a hairy chested CTH, a woman with a heart tattoo that reads “De La Rosa”, and LC pictured with an Asian woman. These are just some of the options that have been discussed. Would De la Rosa get it?