Wednesday, December 21, 2011
More than 40 years ago, my father, “Jake” took me on journey I continue today. While the journey continues without him, he left me with a passion for people, creativity and collaboration. We went to the Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was quite a trip that started at the home of a french art collector and ended up in the presidential motorcade from Cape Haitian to the home of Antonio Joseph, a young artist who was just making his way into the art world. We rode up to the Citadel on horseback, witnessed a moonlit voodoo ceremony in a chicken coop, and enjoyed “millionaire’s salad” in the French gingerbread home of the late Larry Peabody, a famous Manhattan interior designer. Jake was not a wealthy man, so it wasn’t money that opened all of these mysterious doors. He was just so dog gone fun to be around that he was invited into places few people have ever been. I was fortunate to have tagged along. Years later, I look around the Jake’s Cafe environs and see so many memories of Jake, from an old bindery press to a voodoo drum to the head of a 21 point buck hidden in the attic above his office. This place is so rich with adventure and creativity.
