A day with Mr. Werner

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Location
Los Angeles, CA
Ben, that is.

Ben is in SoCal doing an internship. He is staying just a couple of miles from my home. My wife and I took him out for a little tour of Los Angeles. It was a pleasure meeting the young man. First we went to the Hollywood Hills to view the Hollywood sign and Hollywood reservoir. Next stop was the famous Hollywood walk of fame on Hollywood Blvd. We took some pictures at the Chinese Mann Theatre, where Ben spotted the hand and shoe prints of an Austrian actor named Oskar Werner. Ben was convinced Oskar was his long lost relative. In one picture he is standing on Oskar's shoe prints. Then we headed to downtown Los Angeles. After a brief tour we stopped at LA Live and had lunch at the Yard House. We found Ben to be very intelligent and smart. We had discussions on various topics like food, work, religion, sports and of course woodworking. The trip ended with a tour of my home and shop. I had forewarned Ben that my shop was a work in progress. He gave me some pointers and offered his help setting up the shop, which I accepted.

We plan to meet again and there is also a possibility that we may visit the Maloof's compound together.

https://picasaweb.google.com/105827091961384989933/June172012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMSo6Mu9i6-qQQ&feat=directlink
 
Mohammad, I can't thank you enough. Looks like you guys had some fun. I think I saw you almost smiling in the pictures. ;)
Watch out for Ben's shop suggestions though, they usually lead to spending more money.
 
Whadda ya mean, Ken? Mo's grinning from ear to ear in every shot. :) The mustache is hiding it. :D

Great to see you two got to meet up. :thumb: I'm hoping to get back to LA at some point while Ben's in town so I can meet him in person, too.
 
An Excellent day indeed! Thanks for showing me around, it was quite enjoyable. Great pictures too, kudos to the Mrs. :)

Dad: that only goes for your shop. :thumb:
 
THAT IS GREAT. It is nice to have a friend in a foreign land.

I guess California is like a foreign land. I have known quite a few people who have moved to the romantic Southern Calif. only to return to "home" in a few weeks or months.

Ken asked about having Ben visit my shop in Oceanside. I think I scared him off explaining the drive. However, Ben and/or Mohammad is welcome at my place any time. I'm sure that Glenn would say the same thing (He is an hour and six minutes away from me most of the time.).

Enjoy,

JimB
 
well done, mohammad,, but i didnt see any of that great home cooking ..didnt you feed the poor boy:) and your wife looks like she could be his sister so young looking:)
 
I must add that Ben could easily become a judge in woodturning competitions. He critiqued some of my turned pieces and his critique was spot on. He has a great design sense. He can quickly identify problems relating to form, finish and grain orientation. He noticed I hadn't particularly paid attention to matching the grain (which can be costly and I also find it monotous and boring) on the segmented rings. I think he has learned a lot at a very young age and I am sure once he is done with his studies, we will see some marvelous pieces from Ben.

Vaughn, let me know when you are in town. I might join you and Ben when you guys meet.

Jim, thanks for the offer. I just might take you up on it. How far are you from the Maloof Compound?

Larry, we were out most of the time so we decided to have lunch at a restaurant.
 
Mo, Ben has a good deal of experience in this regard. He does it for everything I make, and always finds something that could be done better.

that must be why those chairs are taking so long to finish he keeps finding more things to make right:) wont be long and neds shop will be in second place in completion time spans:):) duck-n run
 
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