THIS is a true story. It began with a 7.30 am phone call a few weeks back from a close friend.
'I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse,' he said. It was early, at least for me, but even half comatose I am capable of seizing the day if it is set up for me and requires a minimum of effort.
'You mean a tonne of money and endless sex?' Silence.
'I hope not,' the now cool voice replied. 'I called to see if you can take my wife to the Kenny G concert tonight.' My brain froze. There are at least 50,000 great reasons why I would not walk across my living room to hear Kenny G. None came to mind fast enough to weasel my way out. I would happily have taken his lovely wife to a Sha Tin District Board meeting. Or anywhere but a Kenny G concert, which has about the same effect as an evening with Kim Il-sung.
My buddy is generous. He likes to involve his friends in his cultural pursuits. He will buy expensive charity tickets to knockout stuff like the Guangzhou Girls Folk Group at Yuen Long Town Hall and then be too busy to show up, leaving half a dozen close acquaintances snoring in the front row.
The evening began with his wife and I meeting a couple he had also invited at an Italian restaurant for a quick, light, inexpensive snack. The snack might have been quick if the waiters had been in the same mode. It would have been light had it not been covered in high density melted plastic. And it would certainly have been inexpensive save for the $1,200 bill.
