Pacific Palisades, CA. The house that P90X built. 2002
Welcome to Jon's starter home just south of Malibu. To his left is a sweet view of the Pacific Ocean. Purchased with P90X money. There's a decent chance some of your very own sweat helped to pay for the remodel on this place and the one that's even bigger and nicer up the road in Malibu. But this house sits just above Gladstone's, the busy seaside fish restaurant where Bubbles, my college girlfriend, worked during our last year at UCLA. Around the corner and up Sunset Blvd. is the Jack-in-the-Box where I experienced a turning point in a memorable evening during my first post-college job, when I was playing chauffeur to a limo full of partying teenage high school girls during a sweet 16 party. But that's another story for another time. I'm sure Jon's had his share of good times in the neighborhood, too. Jon's had good times in a lot of neighborhoods, of this I am certain. (Here's one in Mexico where a bunch of us had a bit of fun at his 40th birthday.) His 2 Degrees of Jon numbers, what with all those P90Xers he's met all over America, has gotta be off the charts. I've taken a few cross-country drives with the guy myself. He's no shrinking violet. At this point in time, I'm guessing he's met millions of people! And chances are good they're gonna remember the fit 6'5" guy with the calves like healthy yams. Now excuse me while I head out to start P90X for the 25th time. I got this.
While it's true, Beachbody, Tony Horton and P90X have been a happy addition to my life, it's this idea Jon and I hatched back in '92 that he'll be forever linked with in my mind. The fact that his mind and wit immediately took to the notion of swapping titles and writing drunken poems on cocktail napkins sparked my enthusiasm. Barstool Poetry was a damn good idea and it only took one night for us both to realize it.
(posted 7.1.14)