ANOTHER CEASEFIRE HAS CEASED IN KARABAKH

26 October, 2020 23:10

By Michael Krikorian

“What ‘cease’? says Gevorg Haroyan, a CIVILNET photojournalist, with a very rudimentary knowledge of English, allowed to go to one of the fronts of the war here. “Only fire.”

As he stood Monday afternoon on a ridge overlooking a valley a few kilometers from the embattled town of Martuni, Haroyan and a team of journalists from seven countries, accompanied by several soldiers, watched and sensed / experienced as explosions of varying significance detonated, some outgoing, some incoming.

Another ceasefire had ceased. 

At 8:00 am, local time, Monday, October 26, a ceasefire between Armenians and the attacking Azerbaijani forces was to go into effect throughout Karabakh, which has been a war zone for a month. The ceasefire had been announced the day before with much fanfare. Even the heretofore-silent American President Donald Trump publicly referred to it in a campaign rally.   

But, this ceasefire hadn’t even officially begun when, inexplicably, the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan accused the Armenian forces of “grossly” violating the agreement. How does one violate an agreement before it starts, social media asked. The Azeris quickly deleted this statement, but it did not help their credibility and supported skepticism about their commitment to a ceasefire.   

Shortly after the 8:00 am start time, the Ministry of Defense of Artsakh announced that the Army was strictly adhering to the agreement.

By early afternoon, this was all a moot point as the artillery shells were heard throughout the region.

The van carrying the journalists was forced to continue traveling by soldiers and came to a stop near an abandoned store. From near a 20-foot wide crater in the adjoining field. A single German shepherd appeared and curled up against a twisted metal fence. Whenever an explosion was heard, the solders went quiet, the journalists worried and the dog yelped loudly, then put his head back down.

A crusty, silver-haired man about 65 years old with a Kalashnikov slung across his back walked by the group. He smiled big time at one journalist and said “Fuck them” about the other side in this war, and walked down the road.

Another Kalashnikov carrying man, this one 34, overhears the older guy’s comments and laughs. He is a history teacher in peacetime, but since September 27, he has been in battle. He looks forward to the day he can return to the classroom and teach his students about this particular bit of history. He says he will teach this chapter “with a lot of pride.” When asked who are some of his favorite people of all time to lecture about to his history students he quickly said “Hannibal”, referring to the great Carthaginian general who fought - and the defeated the Romans famously in 216 BC. at Cannae and in 217 BC. at Lago Trasimeno just a few kilometers from Panicale, Umbria. He laughs again and says “You know General Hannibal was Armenian. And he treated his soldiers with much respect.”.

Read this and other stories on Civilnet, the Armenina online newspaper. click or copy and paste this link https://www.civilnet.am/news/2020/10/26/Another-Ceasefire-Had-Ceased/404220

Michael Krikorian is a writer from Los Angeles. He was previously a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and for the Fresno Bee. He writes under the pseudonym "Jimmy Dolan" for the Mozza Tribune. His website is www.KrikorianWrites.com and his first novel is called "Southside".

In a Bombed-Out Church, Karabakh Soldier Leaves the Battlefield to Marry Sweetheart

25 October, 2020 07:51

When American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier in Monaco in 1956 there was a lot of media covering the wedding. A quarter century later, at the marriage of Lady Diana Spencer to Prince Charles in London there were throngs of press clamoring for photos. And in 2014, the media hullabaloo to get to the marriage of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in Italy reached a feverish pitch.

But, all those weddings – and likely every other wedding in history – can’t compare to the percentage of media present at the October 24, 2020 wedding of Mariam, 25, and Hovik, 25, in Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).
Accompanying the couple were two friends plus the priest. Surrounding them were 60 members of the press from at least nine countries. That works out to 92% of those in attendance were media, a record unlikely to be ever broken.

Sometime before war broke out on September 27, when Azerbaijani forces assaulted the Armenian autonomous region known as both Nagorno Karabakh and Artsakh, Hovik and Mariam, his high school sweetheart from Martuni, set October 24  as their wedding day.

When the bombs started falling, Mariam’s family fled to Yerevan, for safety, but she stayed behind in Stepanakert. Hovik was rushed to the front with his army unit.

Fighting was fierce and he lost many friends. As they lay dying, Hovik thought of his wedding and the Armenian tradition that a soldier should replace his fallen comrades with children of his own.  He was determined not to delay his marriage.  To top it off, it is considered bad luck to postpone a wedding.

So, the plans held. Hovik received permission from his military superiors to have a two-day leave to get married in Shushi at the St. Ghazanchetsots church on the anointed day. Then, on October 8, the church was severely damaged by Azerbaijani air attacks. The church was attacked twice.

But the wedding was bound and determined to happen. Hovik and Mariam had planned to keep it quiet. It would only be them and two friends - the best man and maid of honor. But, as Armenians are apt to do, somebody spilled the beans and word reached the press center in Stepanakert.  

The word was out. A soldier got to leave the battlefield to marry his sweetheart in a bombed-out church. Talk about a fairytale wedding.

Today the wedding happened under a beautiful blue sky and with no air raid sirens wailing.

Miriam, dressed, or course, in a traditional white dress appeared from the sidewalk and started walking toward the church. She was surrounded by cameramen and reporters, many wearing helmets, a few wearing Covid masks. Halfway to the entrance to Sourp Ghazanchetsots, Hovik, wearing non-traditional wedding outfit of army fatigues, greeted her. The two kissed quickly and led the throngs inside.

With a eight-meter wide hole in the ceiling, and a enormous pile of rubble on the church floor, they were married in a brief, solemn ceremony surrounded by the mob of press.

Outside, the couple released to white doves and gave some brief interviews.

“My parents were married in war time,” Miriam said. “I strongly believe and hope we will be the last generation married in wartime.  And I know Hovik will return to me.”

The two got into a white Honda Civic and took off. Hovik has to return to the front tomorrow. Tonight is the night.

READ this story on Civilnet here copy and paste this link if you can’t click on it. https://www.civilnet.am/news/2020/10/25/In-a-Bombed-Out-Church-Karabakh-Soldier-Leaves-the-Battlefield-to-Marry-Sweetheart/403943

Also Read: On Karabakh Frontline, Faith Remains a Key Weapon

Michael Krikorian is a writer from Los Angeles. He was previously a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and for the Fresno Bee. He writes under the pseudonym "Jimmy Dolan" for the Mozza Tribune. His website is www.KrikorianWrites.com and his first novel is called "Southside".

THE SPECIAL FORCES PRIEST WHO GOES TO THE FRONT LINES IN KARABAKH

25 October, 2020 02:07

On Karabakh Frontline, Faith Remains a Key Weapon

By Michael Krikorian

If you can imagine a priest who was a badass, you’d get Father Varazdat, a priest who wears two uniforms. 

Father Varazdat Najaryan stands - a rock solid 6-foot, two inches -  in front of the Holy Savior Church in downtown Stepanakert dressed in his black priest robe and pulls it aside revealing his army fatigues. He’s heading today to the front lines of the war. He knows war well. He was in two of them as a member of Armenia’s Special Forces Unit.

But, these days he goes to the front in hopes of inspiring the spirituality of the men fighting the invading Azerbaijanis.

“First, we go to the front to inspire the soldiers, to strengthen and encourage their faith, to expel fear from them,” Najaryan says. “But what often happens is the opposite. They inspire us. We see their honor and courage and we are strengthened.”

On the morning of September 27,  Najaryan was at home in Yerevan preparing for service at St. Anna Church when someone yelled out, “They are shooting at Armenia.”

That was the beginning of the Azerbaijani offensive to take Artsakh, the mountainous autonomous region also known as Norgano Karabakh. Instantaneously, Father Varazdat felt the call of duty. “I knew I had to be here. The earth of Armenia was calling me

Soon he was at the church in Stepanakert and then to the front lines, a varying, ever changing battlefield, that has found him in many places and often transforming himself. “You go to the war as a priest, but once you are there, you turn into a soldier. A Kalashnikov is never far away from me.”

Still, having seen so much, he offers his take on war and compares the AK47 to faith. “Yes, you need a rifle, it helps, of course. It is a strong weapon. But, an even stronger weapon is spirituality. Confidence in good faith is an actual physical weapon. It gives you real physical strength. Not only in a spiritual, mental way, but in an actual muscular way. Your arms are stronger. Your legs are stronger. You are more focused. Your determination mounts.”

And, he says, if you’re fortunate to be surrounded by similar fighters – and Armenians are – it only increases your instincts to fight and survive and surmount the odds.  “You are not only fighting for yourself; you are fighting for the 100 around you, behind you and to your sides.”

He talks about the “many miracles” the soldiers in Martouni, in Martakert have told him.  When pressed, he tells of one tale.

“A soldier had a thick New Testament in his breast pocket in front of his heart. He was hit by a projectile and the Bible stopped it from hurting him.”

What book of the Bible, he is asked. Was it Luke? Matthew?

Father Varazdet Najaryan smiles and says “The next time I see him, I will find out.”

READ THIS ON CIVILNET HERE, please copy and paste - https://www.civilnet.am/news/2020/10/25/On-Karabakh-Frontline-Faith-Remains-Key-Weapon/403923

IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOURSELF, DON'T BE AROUND NANCY OR MOOKIE

If you’re a journalist and you are about to go cover a war and you want to talk about it to people so you can vent some nervous energy because you’re a tad concerned you might be blown to smithereens and maybe talking about it will calm you down a smidgen, well, there’s two people you should not be around while you’re trying to express yourself; Nancy Silverton and Mookie Betts.

Right now I’m on an Air France flight to Paris and then to Yerevan, the unsung capital of Armenia and from there I’ll make my way to Artsakh, aka Karabakh, where the Armenians are at war with the Azerbaijanis. Can’t explain that now.

But, last night, that Nancy Silverton, the revered chef and, more importantly,  my girlfriend of almost 20 years, says we are going to a “socially distant” dinner party at our relatively new friends Jackie Applebaum and her husband Stephen over in Beverly Hills, up there in Trousdale Estates. 

So we get to this sleek house and everyone is very nice. I’m talking to the bartender – of course, I am. Glen a Mexican German. Serious. He father was in  the American Army. Had a German wife. We’re  talking and Jackie and Nancy saunter over.

“Tell Jackie where you’re going?” Nancy says.

“Nah. This isn’t the place.”

“Why?” Jackie says. “Where are you going?”

“Tell her,” Nancy says.

“Armenia.”

Jackie knows about the situation. “I saw the demonstrations on Wilshire. So why are you going?”.

“I’m gong to go cover the war “

Jackie stares at me for a second, then slowly turns her head toward Nancy.

I know what she’s gonna say to Nancy, a version of “Are you okay with him going to cover a war?” or “Did you try and talk him out of going?”

So Jackie looks intensely at Nancy. And she says, “So I hear you’re doing an event on October. 31st at the Ojai Valley Inn.”

Jeez, lady,  I’m going to dodge cluster bombs and you’re more interested in Nancy giving tips on how to grill a ribeye.

About 20 minutes later, I’m in the front room and Game 7, Dodgers/Braves is on a 80, 90 inch TV. A party guest walks over.

“Wow.  I just heard you going to go to Armenia and report about the war. Are you scared? Who you writing it for? Should be fascinating. What are you thinking?”

Right then, Mookie Betts shows up,  He’s racing back to the outfield fence, he leaps, robs an Atlanta Brave of a home run. What a catch.

“Holy shit! Did you see that?  Mookie made the same catch yesterday.”

He starts to walk away, to the dinner in the backyard, but turns back to me and says “We got ‘em by the short and curlies.  Yeah, we got ‘em by the short and curlies.”  

Me, I’m thinking “Fuck your short and curlies. I’m about to go to a war zone and you’re talkin’ about short and curlies.”

As for Mookie Beets. Damn that was a sweet catch.

Anyway,  I’m flying over someplace called Rouyn-Noranda in Canada now and I’m off to cover a war.  Who knows what will happen. One thing I know for sure, though. I gotta be back October 31. Nancy is doing an event at the Ojai Valley Inn.

CHEF HIRO SONE SHATTERS NAPA SPEEDING RECORDS IN WILD DRIVE TO SAVE LISSA AND BIBI FROM GLASS FIRE

Hiro Sone had a transformation for the ages Monday.  From someone who makes a living emulating Joel Robuchon in his own Michelin-starred kitchen, someone who derives soulful satisfaction emulating Eric Clapton on a Stratocaster at his St. Helena home, Sone, with a whoosh, transformed himself into Juan Manuel Fangio, the greatest race car driver who ever speed the Earth.

Told - and blocked - by several law enforcement agencies he could not return to St. Helena from Calistoga where he had gone to gas up his essential generator, Sone argued, pled and came close to out-and-out begging, all to no avail. Then Hiro made the transformation to Fangio.

Why go from chef/guitar player to “El Maestro”, the alias of Fangio, the mythical five-time World Champion Formula One driver from Argentina known for a determination and will unrivaled on the road? Why? . Because the love of Hiro’s life, Lissa Doumani, was stranded at their home in St Helena surrounded by the Glass Fire and he had to get back to save her.

At the fire-surrounded home, too, was Bibi, their new dog that had lifted the couple’s spirits after the sudden gut-wrenching death of the beloved Koko. (For the record, a local “dog whisperer “ who viewed a video of Bibi staring quizzically at Lissa during this madness claimed the dog was asking Lissa “And just where the fuck did Sushi boy run off to? Please don’t tell me to get more guitar picks.”

Hiro was only 20, 25 minutes away, in normal times. He had left Lissa and that blabbermouth Bibi only after a lull in the Glass Mountain Road Fire which had torched much of their land, including the  family shed where Lissa would occasionally make Hiro sleep when he was bad.

Their home itself had been spared so far, thanks largely to a 25-foot fire break that Cal Fire had helped clear. .This is from a Washington Post report quoting Lissa - The entire back of our property was on fire,  we are on a small hill that is flat land behind it the big mountains to Angwin and Pope Valley. We are pretty good at knocking down the weeds around the house,  about 20' deep. This help but the cal fire guys set back fires to stop the move forward. It's a great idea but scary to watch. We had about 8 guys at our place.  For the rest of the day and into the night it was fighting the fires as they come up. This kind of fire burns the bottom of the trees and that causes the trees to fall and create more fuel for the fire.

Late last night the Cal Fire guys felt we were good and Jared also so he went back to get Katherine. Hiro was on patrol. Still putting out flare-ups as they happened. Sometime before midnight there was a tree that was really worrying Hiro so he called Cal Fire and they came back and worked the tree fire a bit but basically said he just had to let it burn its self out.

At a lull, Hiro took a opportunity to rush to Calistoga to get fuel for the generator. Told he could not take the short drive south back to his home, Hiro went Fangio. driving a Porsche 917, he head toward Petaluma like a bat out of Mar-A-Lago.

He gunned the 917, the same Porsche featured in the 1971 Steve McQueen film “Le Mans”, made a turn Gale Sayers woulda admired and headed toward, or all places, Petaluma. For New Yorkers, this is the equivalent of going from the Plaza Hotel to the Empire State Building, by way of the South Bronx.

The speed limit meant as much to Hiro as federal tax laws meant to that punkass in the White House. Bystanders, even firefighters stopped and stared. The 917’s Pirellis screamed. The engine sang Wagner. Petaluma came and went as Hiro headed for Napa.

In Napa, he ricocheted north like he was late for a reservation at Fredy Girardet. Vineyards, some on fire, whizzed by his view as his home was getting reeled in.

Meanwhile at the home, Bibi looked at Lissa and shook his head. That dog whisper, mentioned above, reportedly said the dog was saying a version of “You married him, not me.”

Seconds later, the Bibi’s ears went on alert. The howl of the Porsche 917 was piercing the smoke-filled air. Then, dramatically reducing his speed, Hiro pulled into the driveway like he had just finished a typical Sunday drive. He rushed to Lissa and all was lovely. A scary day and night, but happy ending.

(EDITOR’S NOTE - The dog is named “Bibi” which is Lebanese for ‘love’. When a reporter late Tuesday afternoon asked if the dog was named after the nickname of the punkass Israeli prime minister, Bibi went on attack mode. The reporter is listed in critical, but stupid condition at Silver Oak Hospital.)

EDUCATION SECRETARY DEVOS BOTCHES SCHOOL QUESTIONS BUT TAKES CREDIT FOR CHEF TRACHT'S IMPROVED CONDITION

In a bewildering nationally televised interview, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos fumbled badly on questions regarding the reopening of public schools and somehow managed to make matters worse by bizarrely saying the Trump Administration should be credited for the vastly improved condition of a hospitalized Los Angeles chef.

Devos, speaking on CNN, said schools “need a plan”, while offering none, but then switched directions like Gale Sayers in the open field when she went off on a tangent about Suzanne Tracht, the chef/owner of Jar Restaurant on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Tracht who has been at Cedars Sinai Medical Center for 12 days showed marked improvement over a mysterious illness that was originally thought to be Covid-19, but - after five negative tests - left doctors scratching their heads as to wait was the actually medical problem. Tracht suffered from some of Covid’s classic symptoms such as high fever, body aches. weakness and most disturbingly a near shutdown of her breathing system.

This weekend her condition improved dramatically, so much so that her daughter, writer Ida Trevino, actually got her an Egg McMuffin. This seemed to inspired DeVos, considered among the stupidest education secretaries of the modern age.

“I’m not sure about how the schools will reopen, but I am sure Chef Suzanne is doing better,” DeVos told CNN’s Dana Bush who couldn’t have looked more perplexed if an aardvark showed up and asked her to dance. DeVos went on to say, “Thanks to President Trump it looks like pot roast will be available sooner, rather than later.”

Tracht’s press secretary Michele Huckabee Rivera. who has been at her side throughout the ordeal, said she was not surprised by DeVos statements because “she is a stupid idiot. Damn. that lady is dumb.”

Doctors at Cedars were very encouraged by Tracht’s progress.

“When she first came in here, she couldn’t cuss at all,” said Dr.. Julius Irving, a lung and dunk specialist. “But, this morning Suzanne said “DeVos is a dumb fuck” six times. That’s terrific. If she can maintain that tomorrow, and maybe add a “stupid shit” or two, we will release her.”

UPDATE - Tracht followed Dr, Irving orders and was released Monday at 3:27 p.m..

MICHELLE HUCKABEE RIVERA PRAISED FOR "SUE'S NEWS", PRESS RELEASES ON CHEF SUZANNE TRACHT'S CONDITION

When Suzanne Tracht fell ill recently and rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, family, friends, colleagues and fans around the nation were thrust into a quandary.

How would the countless admirers of Tracht, the chef/owner of Jar restaurant in Los Angeles, stay informed about her condition? Fortunately, Tracht, as sick as she was, knew this as well. And she had the solution.

She hired back her former press secretary – and rumored lover – Michele Huckabee Rivera to oversee the information released to the not only the media, but those very people who were worried sick that Suzanne was sick.

(Tracht has been at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for the past nine days with a mysterious illness that had classic Covid-19 symptoms including fever, back ache, extreme difficulty breathing, but she tested negative of the virus five times. Doctors are still not sure what the problem is and it still might be Covid despite the negative tests. The good news is the last two days she has been improving.)

Rivera began by announcing over a week ago she wouldn’t be able to handle all the calls and message requests for Suzanne’s condition individually, but set up a group system which became known as “Sue’s News”.

Sue’s News soon went viral.  By Thursday afternoon, more than 100 million people worldwide were following Huckabee Rivera’s updates.

“Michele has been a savior for me,” said Tracht, whose complex diagnosis was interpreted by Michele in words understandable to most, although both Nancy Silverton and Michael Krikorian had some issues with the briefings.

For example, several times they asked each other  “What that hell does she mean by that?” and “Why is she on ‘anti-fungal meds?  Is she allergic to porcini or morels?”

Chris Baron, Tracht’s financial advisor, said Huckabee Rivera was doing “a nice job in a difficult situation. But, what I want to know is who is taking care of her dogs. Please don’t tell my wife Teri i said that. I don’t want to give her any ideas.”

Still, Michele Huckabee Rivera has been tremendous on all fronts, both in encouraging and loving Suzanne and informing the public.

“I don’t know what I would have done without her,” Suzanne said.

Neither would have we.

.

TRUMP ORDERS MICHAEL SINGER STATUE REMOVED FROM ST. LOUIS PROMENADE, BUT PROTESTERS BLOCK NATIONAL GUARD

When President Donald J. Trump ordered a statue of a revered American journalist best known as a fighter for the downtrodden to be removed from the promenade of St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, authorities thought it would be a simple “Tank and Yank ”, the term the National Guard uses for wrapping a thick iron chain around a monument, attaching it to a M-1 Abrams tank and yanking it down.

But, it sure didn’t go smoothly Tuesday in St. Louis as thousands of protesters, many from organizations including Journalists Matter, gathered near the statue of investigative reporter/producer Michael Singer and prevented the National Guard from removing it.

Pro-Singer demonstrators gathered in the early morning hours near the Missouri side of the Gateway Arch and surrounded the 17-foot tall Singer statue - known locally as Mike’s Perch - as the sun rose over the Mississippi River and the National Guard began assembling for the take down. With speakers blaring blues harmonica legends Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II, the crowd began chanting slogans such as “Singer Singer We’re Gonna Cling here” and “So he’s a little cranky, he’s tougher than your tanky”.

The pro-Singer Statue crowd, estimated at 13,000 people, were vocal, but mainly peaceful. Many carried signs, including dozens which read “United for Singer”, “Mexican Farm Workers For Singer” “Black Panthers For Singer” and “Armenian Americans Usually For Singer”. One woman, being interviewed on CNN, carried a sign which read “If Ruth Reichl Knowingly Lives With Him, How Bad Could He Be?”

As the National Guard and Missouri State Police tried to force their way to the base of the Singer Statue, one young man stood in the tank’s way. It was Nick Singer, Michael Singer’s son.

“That young Singer went Tiananmen Square on those motherfuckers,” said Stan Musial, a local baseball player. “He went ‘Tank Man’ on those robots.” Musial was referring to the famous incident on June 5, 1989 when a lone young Chinese man stood face-to-tank on Chang’an Avenue in Beijing during student pro-democracy protests. (As an aside, Fox News reported that while the younger Singer was confronting the tank, a Russian made T-72, he received a text from a Monica Albu which read as follows - “How long r u gonna stand in front of stupid tank??? ‘Woman Under da Influence' starts at 6”)

Meanwhile as this was unfolding, Trump tweeted furiously about the failure to remove the statue and, according to White House sources, spent much of Tuesday in the Oval Office toilet. “Knowing that little creamer bitch, he probably was gassing all day,” said White House Director of Laundry, Debbie White.

Among the pro Singer marchers was Tammie Featherstone of Atlanta, Georgia who drove down to help prevent the tank and yank. “Singer is a good man who fights for those who need his voice,” said Featherstone, whose nephew Jimmy Atchison was shot to death by an Atlanta policeman in January, 2019. “My nephew was killed and a week later D’ettrick Griffin was killed. Singer spoke up for them, Tweeted for them long before it was the right thing to do. It’s still the right thing to do, of course, but Singer been doing it for his whole career. “

One man seemed perplexed about the whole situation.

“I mean i know the dude’s bool,” said Cleamon “Big Evil” Johnson in a phone interview from Men’s Central, using the Bloods word for “cool”,. “But the thing is why he even have a statue in the first place? The man ain’t dead. Statues are for the gone. The long gone. Singer alive and kicking. You feel me?”

Singer, who turned 80 today, could not be reached for comment. He is said to be in quarantine somewhere in the South Bronx.

j

HELLO STRANGER, IT SEEMS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK AGAIN, OSTERIA MOZZA'S GREATEST NIGHT AS THE CORNER ROARS BACK

By Jimmy Dolan, Mozza Tribune Staff Writer

Hello Stranger, it seems so  good to see you back again. How long has it been?  Ooh, seems like a mighty long time.  

Those are the opening lyrics of one of the most enduring songs ever, Barbara Lewis’ 1963 monument to emotions, “Hello Stranger”.  And last night in Los Angeles, the tide of emotions broke deep as Osteria Mozza roared back to life with what was - not arguably, it just was - the greatest night ever on the Corner.

It was great because it had been so bad and the great redemption on Saturday made the triumphant return to being open and full of life all the sweeter.  As Knuckles Washington from Imperial Jordan Gardens in Watts says “The best thing about getting knocked down is getting up and having a magnificent redemption. 

The “knockdown” was not one, but several. The shuttering of a city, of a nation, really. Then, after two weeks of a food giveaway program, the entire Mozza Corner locked because of the greatest blow of all,  Nancy testing positive for Covid. Then Nancy going into San Quarantine with her trouble-searching boyfriend Michael Krikorian as they waited and prepared for Covid’s worst, which, thanks Zeus and ginger-infused hot water, never came. Then the powerful protests of the inhumane homicide of George Floyd swept through our city’s streets, and in its ugly wake, the trashing of our lovely neighbor MelroseMac and a dust up on the Corner itself by cockroach bitch ass punks.

So tension was thick before Osteria Mozza opened Saturday night. There was none of the usual banter, no wise cracks among the wait staff. It was all business.  The staff was lean.  But, they were elite. Five of them had been previously awarded the prestigious Employee of the Month. The Corner’s Director of Operations, Kate Greenberg, was the evening’s host. There were no somms, but Joe Bastianich, a wine guy from New York City, filled in. Even the kitchen crew, head by executive chef Liz Hong, was somber. The only thing her chef de cuisine Nicolas Rodriguez said at all to this reporter was “I finished ‘The Wire’ last night.”

The first hour of service was borderline awkward, it was that quiet. It took awhile to get used to not seeing people at the bars. But, as the night wore on, and the comfort level grew, the trepidation of being out in a public dining room dissipated and the place began to feel like, well, like Osteria Mozza.

Hello stranger, it seems so  good to see you back again.

Eddie and Coco were back at table 31. Sid and Joni were out in the patio. Nancy, with the joint’s most striking mask, strolled the room, stopping to greet old friends, to congratulate a college graduate, to enchant a young chef.

For the vast majority of diners, it was their first meal out in months. And the staff felt honored they had chosen Osteria to be their initial foray into a sit down restaurant. Walk by a table and you could feel the relief people had of being out and feeling good. The wine flowed and the conversations did, too.  So much so that people stayed longer at their tables than usual. So  much so that by 8:00 there were 30 people outside on the corner of Highland and Melrose waiting for their table. Thankfully, at Nancy’s urging and Joe the Somm’s pouring,  they all had a drink in their hand and were excited to be where they were.

If one table stood out it was 72, the hidden corner table nearest Highland and southside bar, where two Los Angeles fire fighters held court with their ladies.  They were having a ball. They were the reason people go into the restaurant busines, to have customers like that. . One of them LAFD battalion chief Richard Fields had even briefly went to the same high school as Nancy, Birmingham.

But, our host asked Krikorian if he could get them out of that table so some of the sidewalk crowd could take it. They had reveled for three and half hours, but they had the vibe of people who would get it. So Krikorian explained and they were delighted to give up their table and join Nancy and Michael at the bar for a couple more.  Alain Birnbaum, the Mozza GM, said today they were the coolest table of all time.  Patrick “Paddy” Daniel, the bartender, agreed.

So in the end, we saw some old friends and met some new ones that we will be able to one day say ‘Hello stranger, seems so good to see you back again.”

One of the servers last night was Elyssa Phillips who this reporter enjoy messing with. But she said something that I thought was beautiful. Elyssa said “Last year we were awarded a Michelin star. Tonight we showed the world what that really means.”

Damn, if I’m ending a story with a quote from Elyssa, I guess the world really has changed. Hopefully, in a positive way,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSa0EH0LiGk That’s a link to Barbara Lewis singing a live version Hello Stranger. Who wrote Hello Stranger? Barbara Lewis did.