We ended this day with a lovely dinner with one of Rockmore’s New Orleans friends from the mid 60s through the 80’s. This person had just been one of the French Quarterites that lived in the village that was Rockmore’s domain. He had arrived from England and made his way at first as a teacher and then as a writer. He was enthralled and captivated by the Jazz music scene and did a book on George Lewis (jazz musician) which gave us the best insight into Bill Russell (jazz historian and favorite subject of Rockmore). He also did an excellent piece on Larry Borenstien which gave us a feel for how the man that was the hub of the French Quarter in the 60s and 70s operated and held court.
He had eventually gravitated to Washington DC and discovered conservatives and with his writing skills became a most important person in the literary and journalistic world of the conservatives. So important, in fact that he is a Hoover media fellow at Stanford University. The Institution seeks to secure and safeguard peace, improve the human condition, and limit government intrusion into the lives of individuals.
Fortunately, our discourse had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with Noel Rockmore. It was enlightening in many ways because it is not often that we get to talk closely to any of Noel’s friends, (gallery owners, girlfriends and patrons, yes), but not too many guy friends. We loved how impressed our host was with his friend Noel Rockmore. He called him a genius even though he hates to use that term “but in Noel’s case it was true”. We have heard those exact words over and over again on the Rockmore Trail.
He was so appreciative that Noel had recognized something in him that caused Noel to want to discuss endless topics often not related to art or music. Noel also shared with our host his feelings about how Noel approached his often brief intimate relationships with women which were fascinating but diametrically opposed to our host own personal feelings. There was no sense of commitment but much more a sense of living in the moment, it was the late 60’s and obviously Noel embraced it completely.
I tried on several occasions to compliment our host on being recognized for his works and his publishings in his lifetime. He shrugged it off and was much more interested in why Rockmore was not recognized in his lifetime. He recounted the screaming tantrums that Noel would often have at openings or with influential folks that needed to be impressed by Rockmore not chased away. Through the course of dinner we slipped more and more into the old times and his and Rockmore’s old world. The food at Chef Geoffs was outstanding and the cheese grits were superb. I did mention to our waitress that we knew the person that started the trend of serving cheese grits and shrimp in fine restaurants, Rockmore collector and restaurateur, JoAnne Clevenger at The Upperline in New Orleans.
At one point, our host look like he had a realization and asked us, “You know Noel so well, how many times did you meet Rockmore?’ Our reply, “Maybe once when he picked up a check from Shirley, it was not memorable. Everything we know is from interviews and research” We could tell from his slightly startled but amused look that he was amazed that he was reliving old times with his Quarterite friends with this couple who did not even remember meeting Noel. He complimented us and told us how important he thought that the task we were doing was. It felt good and was a nice ending to our Washington DC adventure.
To all of you who have welcomed us into your homes and lives and shared your art, your feelings and your Rockmore experiences, we want you to know how much we appreciate it and how special it is to be able to do what we do. To the Davis family who works with us and encourages us and shares in all our victories and defeats, we will get there! To Shirley Marvin, who believed in Rockmore from Day 1 and believes in us now as we try to fulfill the dream of getting Noel Rockmore the recognition he deserves, thanks mom. We love you.
· Epiblog – As we walked our host back to his condo, Tee, despite having agreed many times to not engage anyone in political conversation especially our host, decided to advocate on the plight of gays and women clergy in the church. There I am tapping her hard on the butt as she pontificated and she just keeps walking and talking and defending her views. To her defense, she did not bring it up first and her points were well taken and our host seemed to actually enjoy the brief round of sparing. Whew!
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