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I can still hear the rapid-fire “smek smek smek smek” of bare feet on solid pour polyurethane. As he rounded the first bend I looked at myPhone’s stop watch and realized he was going to beat his time.  He challenged himself to get 1:25 and he was way ahead.  Chepe was running this track barefoot; and he was doing it fast, burning it.  Moments before he sat on the edge of his seat, pysching himself up, amping himself.  Moments after he had to lay on the ground, about to puke passionate, pumping vessels throbbing in his head.  As he lay there panting, my mind rewinded the days events.  The fun-as-shit-I-love-being-a-chef lunch dish up.  A dip in the fountain, a boozy aftrnoon nap; a reprieve from relentless heat, a snorey slumber.  Soon after as we lined up for salmon and started to spot other Chefs, enjoying service or fine wine; poured by more familiar faces.  The fish roasted over a long trench I couldn’t get too close, I was sizzled, scorched.   A trench of fire!! We ate salmon and salads in the sinking sunlight.  There was also pork. We drank wine with decadent abandon; swilling with senseless pretention and simply sloshing out as the next selction sauntered up smiling.  Our table mates included the former director of the American Heart Association, his friends and relatives.  Behind us nearby eating; the Chef from Toro Bravo; we felt friendly in good company.  Ditching our table at dusk we hit the dessert buffet and then the still scalding fire. A couple chasing each other around the trench made me grin.  It was fast approaching the opening of the Library Wines so we turned to the center of the venue.  Soon after we had more sips to swirl and ran into my old friend Jeremy, he had also worked the event and was now partying.  After tasting so much wine it all began to taste the same we bounced, we knew of a secret stairwell somm soiree with more wine and friends. In a flash my head hits the present, the way-back machine having caught up with itself.  Fuck I love days like this.  My best buddy sprawled supine below trying to catch his breath, and me in the stands, reeling.