Dog-Day Peeping
Martinis & Bikinis Surfrider Benefit
It’s harsh when you have to disappoint your own dog. But that’s how I felt last week, when The Indy’s Angry Poodle Kramer-ed into my office, saying, “I got something for ya!” with a look that said, “And there’s no chance you’ll ever want to do it.”
“It probably won’t be very fun,” Trixie explained, “a ton of Republicans will be there :” Clearly, a salesdog the Angry Poodle is not.
Tempting though the promise of non-fun coupled with the idea of an evening spent nodding politely during impassioned Romney vs. Huckabee (i.e., seriously? and seriously?) debate may have been, I had other plans. Plans to check out an event that required very little in the way of salesmanship. It’s title-Martinis & Bikinis-said it all, and, to be honest, they had me at martinis.
The affair, which went down Saturday night at the Contemporary Arts Forum, went to benefit the Surfrider Foundation, doubling as the closing reception for Glass Love: Contemporary Art and Surf, and it was a hot ticket. Intra-office “Are you on The List?” conversation went on for days, and I doubt a string went unpulled by those greeted Saturday night with the news that it was sold out.
Regardless, I was on the list (score one for the job), and arrived with a crew of fellow gratefully hooked-up souls to find the patio outside CAF packed with peeps enjoying the martini portion of the entertainment. I wandered inside, where Kelp was providing the requisite Dick Dale-style soundtrack, checked out the amazing art on the walls, and popped backstage to chat with MC Jenny Schlax, cruelly stricken with an ill-timed sore throat. That lap completed, I settled in with a glass of purple booze that tasted like candy (I certainly wasn’t in this for the bikinis), and enjoyed the scene. Seamen appeared while drinks did the opposite, and we were eventually herded back indoors for the fashion show, which went down in a flash of flesh and precious little fabric.
To the organizers: Nice work. To the models: You’re lovely/You make me feel inferior. And to the Angry Poodle, a word to the wise: You win more flies with honey than with vinegar. And though, I suppose, that clever little analogy would make me the proverbial fly, as long as the honey keeps flowing, I’m perfectly okay with that.
