I know where I was…Beau and I were opening our first store over in Pacific Grove in honor of what would have been our step-mother’s birthday if she’d lived to see the day. Claude was one of the few people in our lives who believed in us and she was always true to her word (though sometimes those words could be blunt).

Sidebar: I’ll never forget her retort to a question she asked of me once when were on our way to a family vacation on Lake Powell. She said, “What would you do if you could do anything?” And I said “I’d open a store.”

And she said, “Retail? You’ll never make a dime in retail!”

(I won’t write what I thought about that particular comment ’cause it’s her birthday.)

But Claude’s (unfortunately true) observation about retail didn’t stop her from putting her money down and betting we’d do what we said we would and build her a viable building out of the dump of a condemned laundry she owned called The Grove.

And for that I thank her. The store is long-gone, but Happy Birthday Claude Levy (and a shout out to my step-brothers Jimmy, Eric and Philip ’cause I know they’re thinking about their mom today…they’re in New York at Claude’s twin brother, John’s, birthday party.)

To which I will add: Happy Birthday John Shalam! And Happy Birthday Grove Homescapes!