It’s not common to be friends with your friends’ dads, but Gerald was my friend. Funny and bright and excellent with words. He was the editor of The Ledger Dispatch, the Amador County Newspaper, after all. He also worked at the hardware store. And at the bowling alley.
One night, we all decided to order dirty martinis at the Amador County Fair after the destruction derby, and I tried to keep up with him. To this day, it is the drunkest and most hungover I’ve ever been.
One day, I was home exploring Les Blank’s catalogue, beginning with Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980) and up popped — Gerald? I texted Ginger to confirm. Sure enough, he went to the very first Gilroy Garlic Festival in 1979 and knew Les.
Gerald was part of the world in a way that brought me such joy.
He encouraged Ginger to open her own restaurant and she eventually did, Small Town Food and Wine, one of the warmest places you’ll ever visit. I had wanted Ginger to open a restaurant for years, as well. Gerald and I were alike in…
