This evening, meet up with Ann for a glass of wine. We head to 23rd Street. 23rd is a very hip, popular place in Portland. It starts at the bottom of hill called ‘Vista’ and a street ‘Burnside’ and runs, so to speak, all the way to the banks of the Willamette River. And I love going there because it is part of the neighborhood where I grew up. For example, there was a chic children’s clothing store named YoungLand at a place called the Uptown Shopping Center. Now it’s a Chico’s store. I think they should re-name it Chico’s YoungLand. The entire area is testament to the adage, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’. 23rd and Johnson, a wine bar Ann hasn’t been to. Since that is such a rarity to find a place she doesn’t know, seems like a perfect choice. And indeed, it a converted house, kitted out to be an intimate little wine bar serving primarily Italian wines and tapas. While there, fashion models, representing two neighboring boutiques waltz through pressing between the bar and the tables. A few moments later, a gentlemen pushing his ‘pop-up-paint experience’. [You’ll have to get the explanation from him but it is based on the concepts of the painter Bob Ross http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MghiBW3r65M] comes in to give a pop-up prep talk and hold a raffle. When I turn toward the entrance to see what the next interruption is to be, I see him. A young man and his girl. I turn to Ann and say, “My nephew just walked through the door”. He doesn’t see me yet. But then the patron offers him a seat at the bar, and he looks to see with whom he will be seated and voila! What are the chances. I had not yet seen him on this visit and so it was a welcome meeting. But what are the odds!!