Memorial Day Special: Last Repasts

I've been asked what my last meal would be at least a thousand times, so the idea no longer seems all that fresh to me.  But when my old friend Owen Spann first came up with the idea, it struck me as another brilliant way he'd invented to find out who people really were.

Owen was a genius at making people reveal themselves.  His radio show, on KGO in San Francisco, made him a beloved figure; he was one of the pioneers of sane talk radio. I got to know him when I was a restaurant critic for New West Magazine; he asked me to become a regular on his show and taught me almost everything I know about that particular medium.

There are dozens of books like this one now, but it's still fun to see what people came up with when pressed for an immediate answer. (I wish I remembered what I said when Owen asked me. Sadly, I don't.) Julia wanted seafood platters and rare wines. And Yehudi Menuhi thought a glass of goat's milk in a cave was the perfect way to take off for eternity.

In any case, Memorial Day's about remembering.  And I am very happy to be reminded of Owen.