The Doors of Perception
I remember when it happened. I was in college. It was the ’60′s and like many others I was immersed in the changing culture. The effects were extremely positive and life changing. One dramatic change was choosing to be a vegetarian. That was over 40 years ago and previous to that change, my diet consisted of all things unhealthy from the standard American diet. Now, when I try to trace the roots of my decision to earn a living in management and food service, I think back to helping my little sister learn how to “cook”. This is a photo of me tasting the cake we made with her Easy Bake Oven when I was thirteen. Little did I know I would later perfect my culinary skills and own restaurants and cafés from Tennessee to California. . . ps. Hasbro still makes their Easy Bake oven.
1974 Memory Lane
I co-owned a health food store and a small cafe in the deep South in the mid-seventies. Over 40 years later, my previous partners and friends still own it today. We catered to health conscious people and touring rock bands. I got to feed popular musicians like the Beach Boys, the Eagles and Joni Mitchell. When I sold my share in the cafe in 1976 I moved to Nashville to continue my interest in serving healthy food. But this time, it would be a full scale natural foods restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. And brunch on Sundays!
The Laughing Man in Nashville
When I first opened 
The Laughing Man Restaurant I knew that Nashville was hungry for something new. Little did I know how hungry they were. For the next three years it was standing room only at The Laughing Man. There was always a line to get in and always a great meal to be had on the inside. Ahead of its time, the non-smoking environment coupled with fresh juices and gourmet vegetarian fair, was a big hit for Nashville and its celebrities. Shel Silverstein and Chet Atkins were regulars for breakfast and many a delivery was made to the local studios for late-nite jazz musicians like Chick Corea, Larry Coryell and Dave Brubeck. While in town recording his hit album Comes A Time, Neil Young was frequently seen drinking carrot juice at The Laughing Man between sessions. And some of The Laughing Man’s waitresses were seen at his studio between shifts as well. . . After years of serving the Nashville faithful, in 1979, I sold the restaurant and moved to California.
Fun facts from The Laughing Man Restaurant:
- Sony Bono always liked his freshly squeezed juice cut half with water.
- June Carter Cash frequently came in for breakfast with curlers in her hair.
- There were “special” herbal pancakes that weren’t on the menu. 
- The most popular dish on The Laughing Man menu was steamed veggies over brown rice. The dish came with a tossed salad and a tasty sauce for the veggies and rice. To this day, whenever I meet someone who ate at The Laughing Man, they always want to know what was in that special “sauce”.
1979 In between Then and Now
Over the last thirty years my lif
e has unfolded in ways I never could have imagined. I’ve been to Hawaii’s Mt. Wai-’ale-’ale, the wettest place on earth and I’ve driven across Death Valley in the Mojave Desert in a convertible in July.
I got to eat dinner with close friends in the Windows on the World restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center just before 9/11 and I got to see Michael Jordan play at The Omni in Atlanta before he retired as “the greatest ever”.
I met Stevie Wonder at a pay phone once in the Laguardia Airport. He was wearing the most am
azing pair of rattleskin boots. Sadly, I forgot to tell him about the sweet potato pie I made one time for the Pointer Sisters. They liked it so much, they talked about it on stage! During the dot com boom, I sold websites for 7-figure start-ups and I even dated a woman that worked at Craigslist. I was in downtown San Francisco for the World Series Earthquake in 1989 and I’ve watched the sun set on the Pacific many many times from Mt Tamalpais in Marin County. I stood in line f
or a spot on The Apprentice once but lost I lost interest in Trump’s chauvinist style and left before the interview. My father was a Frisco railroad executive but it turns out that my friend’s father was the mysterious FBI agent, Deep Throat. I got to see Tina Turner on her final concert tour and I got in on a photo sh
oot underneath the St. Louis Arch with Heidi Klum. I made a peach cobbler one summer for Al Gore and I met Mike Tyson in a video store in the Catskill mountains. I’ve catered to VIP’s from the kitchens of The New York Palace and the Hyatt Regency on Park Ave and from inside Winnebagoes traveling through California’s Sequoia National Park. I’ve taken 60lb tunas from the ocean, filleted them and made sushi for hundreds. Ov
er the years I’ve watched vegetarianism go mainstream and now I find myself eating food raw. I’ve been lucky enough to swim with some magnificient Bottlenose dolphins and to hang out with a few Bactrian camels. I’ve talked with luminaries like famed chemist Albert Hoffman, “Alive” survivor, Nando Parado, 5 time World’s Strongest man, Mariusz Pudzianowski 
and world economist, Paul Zane Pilzer. I’ve talked with world renown geneticist Mae Wan Ho about her discovery of the Rainbow and the Worm and I’ve taken Jeffrey Smith’s speaker training about the dangers of genetically modified foods. I’ve helped butcher ceremonial cows for wedding feasts and I’ve prepared Jackfruit curry for many a South Pacific island celebration. I’v
e fasted on juice for 30 days and I’ve discovered the rejuvenating power of green drinks. I’ve never gotten used to the taste of kava but the Kopi Luwak I’ve been served had a “special” taste all it’s own. I’ve seen the most amazing glow in the dark mushrooms growing in the tropics and I’ve been inside Francis Ford Coppola’s private wine cellars at his vineyards in Napa. . . Most importantly, I’ve been to the sacred island of Naitauba and prostrated at the Brightness Gates, the entrance to the Mahasamadhi site of World-Friend Adi Da, my Spiritual teacher for over 30 years. In a world beset with innumerable challenges, Adi Da’s book, Not Two is Peace, is His compassionate advice for a much needed Global C
ooperative Order.
It’s been a long journey these past few decades and a graceful one. I’ve followed my heart and my passions. There have been a few bumps in the road along the way, but I’ve learned from my mistakes and moving on is one of life’s most important lessons. Today, I call the San Francisco Bay area home because of the culture and its micro-climates. Did you know that in parts of Northern California, you can pretty much find whatever weather you want within 3-4 hours of wherever you’re standing? It’s amazing.
2011 – It’s a New Day
For more
than forty years I’ve met and served food to all kinds of people. And now the Internet has leveled the playing field. I live in Marin County California and given the changing world we live in, I’ve launched a virtual café, a website connecting people with information and tools that benefit the human family. A place that isn’t limited by the time of day or location. A place where people can go online and see who’s in the cafe, what they’re eating and what they’re talking about.
Now with Facebook and the Internet, I can do this on a scale never before imagined and talk to a lot of interesting people along the way. And although I can’t actually feed people while they are in the café, I can share with them some of the latest trends in eating as we take a closer look at the green domain altogether. The café is called, The Blue OK and we launched on Earth Day, April 21st, 2010. We have a raw foods kitchen with up-to-date information and tools that benefit the human family. Stop by anytime. I hope to see you there.
ps. this is a comic from syndicated cartoonist Jeff Oriff. Jeff has a comic strip called, “Great Moments in Rock n Roll.” I’ve had a few of those and this strip shares one of my favorites. Jeff’s caricatures are quite good and it happened just like he drew it. . . Thanks Jeff, “I’m not worthy”.
