STORY SONG… It’s the most wonderful time of the year – sorry, I’m channeling Christmas songs. Got to get a new receiver or something. I love it when a completely inane song captures the DJ booth in my head and locks itself in. Sometimes I need a couple of days before the rescue crew can break in and re-commandeer the control center.

I was hanging around with my man Michael “Mad Dog” McSweeney, an old restaurant dog who I met when we were standing in line next to each other at the staff-on-staff service during the pre-opening of the original House of Blues, in Cambridge, Mass., sometime in November about 1993. We had each been through a fair amount of big-time restaurant experience by then so we were having a blast making fun of everybody and how nervous they were. Since then, we have done a few projects, including the opening of the L.A. House of Blues and have remained close. He lives in L.A. so it’s pretty easy to see one another.

While Mike was here we cruised around town, running roughshod over joints, talking the good talk and fashioning grand plans. Thankfully, mostly due to age, reduced testosterone and a shared affinity for Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman (“I’m too old, too tired – I’m too f – -ing blind”), we didn’t get thrown out or throw ourselves out of anyplace.

CLASS IN ACTION… One person who you would never have to worry about being asked to leave is Wendy “Queen Mother” Brodie. She has set a standard of excellence, dignity and grace in our county for years and is being honored by Meals on Wheels. That wonderful charitable organization has chosen Wendy as its first recipient of the Woman of the Year Award to kick off its Women Who Care campaign.

Apparently, 60 percent of the recipients of meals from Meals on Wheels are women, many of whom cannot pay the small fee required. So, a group of supporters began writing letters to concerned women in the community, raising money to help fund the program. As usual, Brodie was there and continues her generosity of time, resources and spirit with this and other organizations devoted to helping the less fortunate. There is a Women Who Care luncheon at Ferrante’s, atop the Marriott Hotel in downtown Monterey to honor this new offshoot of MOW and to honor Brodie. It takes place Sunday, May 18, at noon, so call 375-4454 to find out how to be there and/or be part of this rich and rewarding cause. Way to go Wendy.

THE BIG TIME… Of course this weekend also sees one of our area’s great happenings, Cooking for Solutions at the Aquarium. In light of the ever-more-urgent realization of shrinking resources and the need for thoughtful solutions to feeding our planet, this event foresaw the direction our world was headed and established itself as one gathering of concerned professionals who grow, cook, plant, and ferment – and are interested in conserving the bounty of nature.

Led by the food entertainment titan Alton “Downtown” Brown, this year shapes up as another great step along the continuum of educating each other and the world about how to better sustain our food resources from land and sea. The Aquarium has been at the forefront of ocean sustainability for years – even its food-selling program, directed by the impressive Dory “Hybrid” Ford, seeks to minimize its carbon footprint along every step of its high-volume, very busy food service operations. Look for cooking demos, wine tastings and lectures. Many events already are sold out.Get onto www.cookingforsolutions.org or call 647-6886.

KEY POINTS… I’m on pins and needles about the upcoming golf tournament being put on by local acupuncturist Ric “Saint” Valentine. He’s trying to rebuild his practice after the Alvarado Street fire in Monterey destroyed his office last year. It takes place on May 18 at Rancho Cañada with a 12:30pm shotgun start and ends with a Texas barbecue buffet and awards dinner. If you want in, call him at 241-4449. If you don’t golf or can’t make it, stop at Il Fornaio on the evenings he bartends and drop huge tips on him so he can get those needles where they belong, helping folks heal. You can e-mail him, laxval@aol.com.

On May 29, Chef Matt “Officer Joe” Bolton will be pairing a special menu to accompany the wines of Graff Family Vineyards from the Chalone appellation high up in the Pinnacles. This will be the second Winemaker’s Celebration Dinner to continue the series launched a few months ago. I was at the first one and, between the gorgeous food by one of our area’s great unsung chefs, the delicious wines, the limbo contest between Covey Restaurant Manager Michael “Ken Doll” Marcy and frequent Covey guest Fermin “Cha Cha” Sanchez, it was a social soiree to beat the band. With the beautiful Graff Family wines for this one, you won’t want to miss out – plus Michael told me he might wear a kilt. Call 620-8860 and make reservations – what the heck, do the combo package that includes a room and stay the night. What the heck, come early, play golf, do the dinner, get a massage, play golf again the next day, stay another night.

I would like to take a moment to honor a woman who recently died from pancreatic cancer. Nancy Holden, co-owner of Bay Publishing in Monterey, along with her husband Wayne, ran a first-rate publishing outfit that created works directly affecting the hospitality industry. They did a lot of the published materials for the Monterey Convention and Visitors Bureau and other local clients. I once worked with her during the creation and publishing of a book about Monterey County wineries and restaurants. She was way too young, way too alive and way too nice a person to be stricken. My love goes out to Wayne, her family and close friends and to the community at large. We will miss her dearly. Peace and love.