Style, you
either have it or you
don't. And if you have it, you have it
all the time.The Rogue's Quiet Weekend
by Tux Toledo
Page 4
"May
I buy you a cup of coffee?" I asked.
The old man smiled at his wife. "Yes, indeed!" he said.
James stayed with the Rolls while I led the couple into the
cafe of the National Hotel.
"I'm Winston Churchill," I said, shaking the man's hand.
"By Jove!" He gave me an astonished look. "You're not related to the
Winston Churchill, are you?" He squinted at me.
"No, no relation," I said.
"My name's Ansley Duke," he said.
"And I'm Mary Queen of Scots," his wife added.
"She's not really," Ansley growled.
"But my real name is Mary, and I am glad to meet you, Mr. Churchill."
Her smile was as soft as billowy clouds. "I hope my little joke didn't
put you off. Is your name really Winston Churchill?"
"It is, and a little humor is not wasted on me."
"I'm glad," she said. Her toast and honey look reappeared.
"We'll have tea instead of coffee if you don't mind," Ansley said.
"I don't mind at all," I said. Some day I'm going to write a treatise
on the personality differences between tea and coffee drinkers. Keep an
eye out for it.
"Where are you from?" I asked.
"Berkeley," Mary said.
In case you don't know, Berkeley is a university town across the Bay
from San Francisco. Actually, it's a little world of its own, full of
cultural diversity, unconventional thinking, and good intentions. It's
also close to the horse racing at Golden Gate Fields.
© 2008 David Biagini