Tuesday, August 15, 2000

Barbecue on a Fireboat

It was silk and steel. It was fine Chardonnay and grilled hotdogs.
It was the drama and beauty of the Manhattan skyline and the
dark(er) expanse of the New Jersey side. It was cool breezes off
the Hudson River and the sooty fumes from the diesel engine. It was
an evening study in contrasts.
   
Soliloquy hosted a smallish party on the John Harvey, a working
fireboat, of which Catherine Winchester's brother, Rafe Evans, is
part owner. The hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken were all being
eaten as quickly as they were coming off the grill. Other guests
snacked on salad and potato chips. I chatted for a while with
Launch Center 39's director of marketing Cherry Arnold and
Soliloquist founder, president & CEO Catherine, who looked the
lovely hostess in a black cocktail dress. Soliloquist CTO Mark
Lucente was holding court up front, while Matt Glitzer held court
in the back. I chatted with ClickRadio's senior marketing VP Jim
L’Heureux and Soliloquist chairman of the board, Arthur G.
Altschul, Jr.. Duty Free Guide CEO (and event-list fame) Bernardo
Joselevich was enjoying the evening breeze, donning his lei from
the Doubleclick party earlier that evening. We had a great
conversation with Zen Digital's Suzanne and Daniel Zen. Soliloquist
Shelly Shick and I snapped some photos of guests and gathered round
as Johnathan Saxon, Matthew and Catherine serenaded us with a
rendition of Heartbreak Hotel, sung to a simple guitar
score. Lyrics included glowing tributes to key members of the team,
which you can find on the website. Sitting on the wide ledge of the
boat's side, we were not more than 10-feet from the water. It
glistened as we charged down Manhattan's West Side and sat under
the glowing torch of the Statue of Liberty's flame. Sheer beauty
and inspiration. (Full lyrics for the Soliloquy song: www.thecyberscene.com)