Chapter One

The Day’s Journey (2001)

“A journey begins with the first step.”

Anonymous

“Enough! I’ve given my pound of flesh,” I grumbled as I freshened my morning makeup in preparation for the impromptu late afternoon meeting called by the Department of Off-Street Parking, generally referred to as DOSP, the managing arm of the Olympia Theater at Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida.

“What do they want now?”

As I hurriedly placed my desk in order, I grabbed the notepad I never went into a meeting without. I was uncomfortable leaving the theater on a show night; there were so many contractual details that required attention.

Don’t they know that we are in show business, which implies show first and business after? What’s so important that it can’t wait? All these questions scrambled around in my brain.

With a deep breath, I made a last check of my appearance and caught a glimpse of the lines that 18 years of stress had carved into the once-smooth face of a Florida International University student fortunate enough to secure an intern position at the historic Olympia Theater. After a final brush through my long, blond hair, I slipped into the jacket of my navy suit. My resolve to manage whatever emergency DOSP had for me and return immediately to my post in the theater, where on show nights I could always be found, channeled a more urgent pace to my petite five-foot, 115-pound frame.

I darted to the end of the corridor and pressed the button of the 1920s ornate elevator of the Ingraham Building. The doors opened, I stepped in, and it shuttled me to the street floor. I dashed out the decorative brass doors and raced across busy Second Avenue, stopping a moment to admire the side entrance of this beautiful 1920s Olympia building.

“Hi guys. How’s it going tonight?”

“Everything’s running good so far,” Artie, the owner of Gold Star Valet, shouted back to me as he moved equipment, setting up for service.

On instinct, I decided to make a last check through the theater with a quick detour down the famous alley where the greatest stars of each generation had walked to their spotlight on center stage. I traced their steps and found myself standing center stage, looking up at the moving clouds and the twinkling stars in the night sky of this magical theater. The dramatic indirect lighting enhanced the veritable essence of an amphitheater in an Andalusian garden in Seville, with colors as prevalent as those in the Spanish and Italian palazzos. I stood, absorbed in its magnificence, recalling the stars of my time here: Wynton Marsalis, Joan Baez, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, Luciano Pavarotti, Chuck Mangione and Miami’s pride, Nestor