Hankering for a break from the frizz-inducing Chicago heat, Wiltz went west to the hometown of Starbucks, where more than 7,000 journalists of color are swarming the city for the largest gathering of news folks in history, Unity ’99.
This is a place that takes its coffee seriously–be it double decaf latte, mocha machiatto or plain old joe. So much so that you can pull up the SUV outside the downtown Nordstrom and grab a little curbside cafe. City denizens take a perverse pride in the grimly, grizzly gray weather. When temps start edging up around 79 degrees, the locals complain about heat waves. Air conditioning is not a concept they understand.
But music, they get
Seattle is the home of grunge, the late Kurt Cobain and his Mrs., Courtney Love. (She turns 35 Friday).
It’s also the home and final resting place of Jimi Hendrix, a man who still makes our hearts sing.
So we made the trek to the Greenwood Memorial Park Cemetery and Funeral Home in nearby Renton, where Hendrix is buried next to his grandmother in an unassuming grave.
A humble marker reads, “Forever in Our Hearts: James M. `Jimi’ Hendrix, 1942-1970.” All hours of the day, fans from all over the world–many of them too young to understand his legacy–flock to Greenwood to pay their respects. They leave flowers and cigarettes, guitar picks and American flags, and scribble tender testimonials in the cemetery guest book.
One rock band made a pilgrimage from Russia to hold a concert by Hendrix’s grave. “They all come to his grave and play their songs,” Greenwood’s Willie Mae Houston told Wiltz. “And they always say, `I wrote this for you, man.’ They’re letting his light carry on.”
Political buzz
GOP presidential frontrunner George W. Bush was invited several times to speak at Unity ’99, and several times he declined. Word was he was too busy wooing Bill Gates, who lives here with all that money.
Bush told Unity officials his schedule wouldn’t allow it. But Thursday, he suddenly found enough time in his itinerary to make an “unscheduled appearance” at Unity, where he chatted with conventioneers for about 25 minutes. Said Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker: “He felt that this was an important signal to send out to minority journalists. He cares about the minority vote.”
Democratic presidential contender Bill Bradley also spoke Thursday, and Al Gore is scheduled for a Friday appearance. They, too, care about the minority vote.
Meanwhile back home in Chicago Frizz Sister Warren reports:
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All Oprah, all the time
How long can it be before the Oprah Winfrey empire expands to bed linens . . . outboard motors . . . spaghetti sauce? Oprah’s latest venture is her own 4-6 times a year magazine with Hearst. The mag’s name is uncertain, although it will–what a surprise–have “Oprah” in the title and as cover girl for the debut issue next March.
As American as . . .
Based on what we know about the movie “American Pie,” the moms of the world are no longer going to be willing to appear in the same sentence as the words “apple pie.” That said, the raunchy film opens Friday and, to garner some publicity, Universal Studios is holding an apple pie-eating contest in front of the Wrigley Building at noon Friday. The good news is that the pies come from Ann Sather Restaurants, not some crummy cardboard-atorium. And there’s a Thai food-tasting at the plaza across Michigan Avenue at the same time if you want an entree before dessert.
Richie recruiter
The envelope looks impressive. The return address says simply, “Mayor’s Office Chicago 60602.”
At first glance we thought it might be a very special invitation to a select group of extremely important journalists– addressed to our house by mistake.
Not so. In fact, Richard M. Daley, mayor, is letting Chicago’s St. Xavier University use his name, city seal, reproduced signature, etc., to recruit local high schoolers who are beginning the college-application process. The mayor’s sister, Pat, is a St. Xavier grad.
Further scrutiny reveals the letter wasn’t even addressed to us but to a college-bound teenage lad in the Warren household.
Though the boy was unmoved by the pitch, the mayor certainly got his attention–which is more than the kid’s parents manage to do.
Down at the bottom, in small type, the letter noted it was “printed and mailed” at university expense.
Inc.-lings
Harry Teinowitz–half of Harry & Spike’s ESPN Radio 1000 show–films a scene Friday in Bonnie Hunt’s “Return to Me.” “It involves David Duchovny, Minnie Driver, me and a lot of whipped cream,” he told us. He’ll lick it off in time to take the radio show to Comiskey for a special 30-minute broadcast before the Cubs-Sox game. But Harry’s saving a dab for the delectation of Tim Weigel when he does Weigel’s Ch. 2 show “Face-2-Face” Sunday evening. . . . At Saturday’s Cubs-Sox faceoff, Sox wives will sell $2 raffle tickets for a cash prize, with proceeds to charity. Look for manager Jerry Manuel’s wife, Renette, and Kim (Bill) Simas, LaShunda (Chris) Singleton and Susan (Craig) Wilson.
Air kisses
Friday birthday: Barbara Cartland, 98; Brian Dennehy, 61; Anna Galuszka, 106; Tom Hanks, 43; David Hockney, 62; Fred Savage, 23; O.J. Simpson, 52; Jimmy Smits, 44; John Tesh, 47; Constance Zatarauskas, 103.
Saturday birthdays: Saul Bellow, 84; David Brinkley, 79; Andre Dawson, 45; Arlo Guthrie, 52; Jerry Herman, 66; Jean Kerr, 76; Sue Lyon, 53; Alice Munro, 68; Virginia Wade, 54.