Denizens of the Jungle … SB Peter and Silverbelle Alicia

[You thought we were completely finished with our series on scrambled eggs … and we are.

SBs Peter and Alicia are Denizens of the Jungle from Southern California Troop: Silver-laid-backs. Coincidentally, we were recently in touch about a subject of universal interest, scrambled eggs.]

“Hi, I’ve enjoyed your posts last week, mostly because scrambled eggs are about the only thing I can cook, or think I know how to cook. I was reminded of an event that took place years ago, when videocassette recorders were popular and people rented and watched movies that way. A friend told me about a great party theme where you invite folks over and tell them to bring a videocassette cued up to their favorite scene. First the presenter explains why they liked the scene so much and then hits “play.” Eventually, we refined and expanded on the idea by choosing specific themes: Christmas, comedy, food, etc.

Anyway, we did this “video party” a couple of times when I first got to my Carlsbad job. And they were actually fabulous. Some of the clips that staff brought in were utterly brilliant.

The reason I am telling you this is because I put together for Alicia, a series of movie scenes of people cooking SCRAMBLED EGGS (or their highbrow cousin, the omelet). Unfortunately, because I am going slightly senile and things are getting fuzzy, I can’t remember my entire playlist, but I do know that included the final scene from Big Night which I still think is one of the most touching scenes ever recorded on film:

So you have inspired us to have scrambled eggs this weekend. And to really top it off, we have a French bakery (a fifth-generation French baker) we have discovered nearby where we get fresh croissants and baguettes. And tarts. And quiches. And …

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Peter tells us about himself in his own words:

Marital status? Married. Finally! My wife’s name is Alicia. We got married in 2008; her second, my first. Yes, I said first!! At age 60! I waited until I met just the right woman (and finally moved out of my mother’s house). No, I’m kidding about that last part, but not the first part. We met on Match.com. No children (see that part about when we got married.)

Education : MA in Art from City College of New York, BA in Art History from Columbia University

Profession: 35-years in museum and arts administration positions (and an earlier five-year “career” as a starving artist/bartender in New York City). I spent 10 years as special exhibitions coordinator at the New York State Museum, seven as chief curator at the San Jose Museum of Art, three as director of the Evanston Art Center, and 12 more as cultural arts manager for the City of Carlsbad, CA. Hmmmm, either I can’t hold a job—or I was in high demand. I’d prefer to think the latter!

My career highlight: organizing the exhibition “Diamonds Are Forever: Artists and Writers on Baseball” in 1987 for the New York State Museum. The show then traveled nationally and internationally for five years to 20 other museums. So I was semi-famous: “the guy who did the baseball show…” It was a fun project, and got lots of people (like my brother the wrestling coach) into a museum for the first time. That was the idea really: making contemporary art accessible and inviting to a large number of people.  Chronicle Books published a book related to the “Diamonds Are Forever” exhibition which sold about 100,000 copies.

Current work status: Retired, and to my utter surprise, love it.

And finally, complete the following sentence “The most surprising thing I’ve learned in 50 years is that …”  Everything’s relative.