1221 SW 4th

My dinner with Tom

Tom took me out for a meal the other night, to thank me for helping with his campaign. He's quite a guy, but I must confess it was an odd evening.

It started when I asked him where we should go. He went on and on about how we needed to go to a tapas place. "A lot of small plates, young man, that's the way to do it. They add up. People in Portland are going to resent you if you eat those big platters."

OK, whatever. We bike over to the restaurant, and it's really crowded. We put our name on the list and take a seat out in the waiting area. The hostess asks if we have a preference for a seating location. Tom tells her, "I envision a site where excellence will be the norm, and all diners can achieve their potential." She rolls her eyes and says, "Sir, would that be a table or a booth?" He says, "I want to partner with my public-sector colleague to build a solid, diversified dinner."

It takes about 20 minutes to get a table. Every time the hostess reads out a name, Tom says, in a loud voice, "I'm not him." Smith, party of two? "I'm not him." Jones, party of four? "I'm not him." By now, people are staring.

We finally get a table, and the waiter comes over and asks if he can get us something from the bar. I order a microbrew. The guy turns to Tom and asks, "And you, sir?" To which Tom replies, "That's not the kind of decision I would rush into. I believe we need to have a conversation with the community before we choose."

The next four years are going to be – well, interesting.

Posted by Erik at June 9, 2004 11:53 AM