The Old Bags Luncheon, sponsored by Homeward Bound, a Valley organization that provides transitional housing for the homeless and victims of domestic violence, features a silent auction of vintage and designer purses. We gave at the office, sweetie - now can we go to the mall and shop? Here's exciting news from the society scene: Now there's a charity luncheon where you can actually pick up a fabulous handbag (one that might even have some history) and give to a very good cause at the same time. We've gotta tell you, if we have to go to one more charity luncheon, we're going to puke up our chicken plate. Drop in when Tits on a Stick (she insists they're real and she really answers to that name) is working. And Groggy's has it going on: The kitchen makes a mean sandwich, and the digital jukebox plays virtually any song ever recorded. The bartenders know their business even when it's busy, you'll never wait longer than a minute for a refill. Skill levels vary from rank amateur to pretty damn good, but this isn't a place for hustlers just a kick-back-and-relax neighborhood tav where the eight-ball rules. Groggy's is just such a rough-around-the-edges spot, with six tables and plenty of room between them. Attractive members of the opposite sex are a bonus, but not required - you're here to shoot pool, not watch players bend over to make shots. You want a place where people treat each other with respect, but fighting words are occasionally exchanged.
The kind of place where no one tells you to take your feet off the neighboring barstool where the drinks are strong, a game costs 50 cents, the sticks are straight, and chalk is plentiful. Laurie promises she'll come home to do a reading.Ī pool hall, as opposed to a billiards parlor, should be comfortable but with an edge.
We won't have to wait that long for our next Laurie fix An Idiot Girl's Christmas: True Tales From the Top of the Naughty List will be released in November. We miss Laurie, but we can't wait to read her tales of life in greener pastures. When her first book, The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club, hit the New York Times best-seller list, we figured Laurie wasn't long for Phoenix, and we were right - last year she moved to Eugene, Oregon.
We've never laughed as hard as the night Laurie read the essay about the time her brown corduroy pants split, then offered them up as Exhibit A. Everything, from the time she tried out to be a Playboy bunny to the time her mother got a cockroach stuck in her ear. After countless years as a columnist at every rag in town (but this one) from Planet to the Arizona Republic, and - count 'em - four books of essays, we know everything about Laurie Notaro.