PORTLAND PRIDE (And A Wee Bit Closer to My Boyfriend Conan O'Brien)

I probably should've written yesterday telling you millions of Biz & Barnes fans to watch Conan O'Brien last night because and old dear friend of mine Thomas and his band (Pink Martini) were the musical guests. But I didn't think of it. It got me reminiscing.

Thomas is the genius piano player and one of the first people I met in Portland. He lived upstairs from me at the Fountain Place Apartments, a downtown structure which was as architecturally sound as sand castle, but had an enchanting fountain in the 'courtyard' which made me feel like Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday", even on bad skin days. Gus Van Sant used to visit the apartment across from mine twice a day for five minutes each visit while he was shooting "My Own Private Idaho".

Anyway - Thomas and I would get up to no-good and mischief all the time. We'd throw impromptu parties at both our places and create completely different moods at each pad. One night he stormed into my home to alphabetize my albums because the thought of them being out of order or without categories kept him awake. He'd always introduce me as "The Wonderful Jordana" to people at parties. When I was having a particularly difficult time in my life, he was there for me through every minute and saw to it that I was comforted at every turn.

We drifted apart, but this happened after Pink Martini really started taking off. We'll run into each other about once a year, and we know better than to say: "Let's get together!" because of the business and lives changed - but the affection is still there and we really are happy to see each other. The last time I ran into him, he dragged me up to his place and gave me some free stuff; an original german edition of the book "Bambi", some discs and kooky Japanese candy. He also pulled out a photo album and showed me pictures of nights I forgot about with people I used to know - and we all looked fabulous.

I'll miss you Thomas. I'll miss you very much.
Thomas Lauderdale
1970 - 2005.