At long last, I finally stopped in Fremont on the way home to meet and chat with Fawzi Benhariz, or "Benny" as most of us know him. He's also called "The Rock Balancer" and "The Stone Dancer" by many. A rock sculptor, Benny has been around for a long time on one of the main drags in Fremont building and balancing rock sculptures for the locals to enjoy, from school children to city planners (who sometimes aren't so charmed by the unlicensed use of the street parking strip). I had a great chat with Benny. Besides having someone to chat with, he said he especially liked my warm hands. When I came back with a few dollars to pay my "gravity bill" he wouldn't shake my hands since they were dirty so instead suggested a peck on the cheek European style. I was happy to oblige. He was one of the most authentic people I've met in a long time...right up there with Julie Butterfly Hill.
The plan for the evening was Paula Poundstone. Went by the new downtown Whole Foods. Had some tasty organic grub and picked up the May issue of Vanity Fair, their latest green issue. I just did a quick read, but was pretty impressed, they went a lot deeper into the issues this time around. Right before the show, I ran in to Chantal Stevens, Executive Director of Sustainable Seattle. We had a great chat and conspired a little on possible future projects for our little sustainable corner of the world. The show itself...flawless! Paula was hilarious, no surprise there. She actually brought up several sustainability topics so I was pretty psyched...global warming, overconsumption, urban sprawl, and several more key topics. Unfortunately, I was laughing so hard through most of it I can't remember any of the good lines.
