Princess of Cups I met my friend Terese when I was a freshman at Slo-noma High. She was already out of school, but I met her when she came to visit her best friend, who worked for my best friend’s parents at Dailey Floors, exactly where McDonald’s is today. Being older than us automatically meant she was cool. The fact that she not only had a driver’s license but also a cute car to take us “partying” pushed her to the top of our list of friends. Truthfully, even before we started spending almost every Friday night with five girls stuffed into her two-seater, MG convertible, I liked her immediately. She reminded me of Sarah Jessica Parker in my then-favorite TV show, “Square Pegs.” For me she was refreshing relief from all the usual high school girls who, by pure adolescent survival instinct, needed to be like everyone else. Terese was, and still is, one-of-a-kind with her fashion, her music, and – especially pleasing for me – her honesty.
As we got older and started meeting boys and other new people with cars, Terese became an early high school memory. Years later, however, our paths crossed again. And again and again and again.
Coincidentally, we’ve both landed in the wholesale jewelry manufacturing business. She works for the husband-wife team Cheryl and Roger, while I work for the husband-wife team Cheryl and Barry, right here in Sonoma. These two jewelry business worlds collide, surprisingly enough, clear across the country in Philadelphia. Twice a year I’ll see Roger on the airporter or somewhere along the way to the Buyers Market of American Craft, and while I’ve not seen Terese there herself, I know that the jewelry in the display booth 3,000 miles from home has been made by her talented hands. Terese is jewelry designer in her own right, hosting fun jewelry parties where she sells her amazing pieces to friends and friends of friends.
Another thing we have in common is an interest in filmmaking. A few years ago, through a circle of friends that I met at my insurance office, where I was always running in to re-instate my canceled policies, I was invited to participate in one of her many creative projects. As part of a class she was taking, she needed to do a community project. Since she’s an artistic, creative person who likes to make movies, she wanted to create a venue for local amateur filmmakers. A few months later we held our first Less-Than-Amateur Film Festival in a conference room at Saddles. Tickets were fifteen bucks at the door and we filled the room. It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work organizing the event while simultaneously making a movie, so we’ve decided that this year we’ll just stick with the organizing. We’re fully committed to actually doing it this year, so stay tuned for more information.
About a year ago we ran into each other at Murphy’s, where I met her boyfriend, Dustin Smart. I learned that he was in a band so I hooked him up with my special musician Bob Taylor, aka Colonel Angus and Bob Star. Now when High Voltage does a show with The Spell Merchants, Terese and I get to play groupie together. (When she can stay awake….)
Most recently our friendship has been renewed by the fact that she’s started doing Tarot readings at the tattoo shop down the street from my house. Being a columnist for “The Springs,” I’ve been dying for an excuse to hang out at Highway Tattoo and get a little inside scoop. Last weekend I spent a few hours of Sunday with her there, chatting with owner Jim and Andrew the piercing expert. I studied the world of ink, needles and the Princess of Cups. But I’ll tell you about all of that later when my amazing friend Spitznagel flips the Debauchery card and finally gets his “commemorative” tat. Or would that be the Fool card?

You can make an appointment for a card reading during the week, or you can just stop in on the weekends. Saturdays, 2-9 p.m. and Sundays noon to 6, right across the street from the Pink Palace, aka Sonoma Mission Inn. Just look for the chickens. Call 707.938.TATU (8288).