Glen Burtnick recalls...

We were on a gig together, the venue was up in northern New York, a few hour drive, so we decided to meet and carpool it. We planned to meet up someplace he could park Crappy The Car overnight, while I drove us north to the show. With Farquar living in Yonkers & me down in Jersey, we needed to choose a good meeting point. During our phone call, after some thought, Farquar announced "I got it, I got it. I know the perfect place" in his typically marble-mouthed/New Yawk accident (no "r"). 

"Where?" I asked. 

"The most famous rest area on Earth!" he said. 

(He made a number of ultimate, greatest things ever type pronouncements in my presence. He once informed me the noodling octave piano answers to Lou Rawls' opening three words at the start of "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" was "the greatest piano part in the history of music". How do argue with a guy like this?).

I responded, "That's funny. So where's this most famous rest area on Earth?" 

"Take a guess" he replied.

Now, I can be an impatient guy, and guessing games seem ridiculous to me. 

But, let's get real (to coin a recently used phrase), "ridiculous" was a favored Farquar device. 

It was rare one would have a normal conversation with this cartoon character of man - interaction was his playground. 

His was almost a sort of a Pee Wee's Playhouse surreality (at least the way it seemed to me). 

He was zany, wacky, nutty, playful and one of a kind. 

Loved to f**k with you, me, and absolutely any and everyone.

But I wasn't in the mood to have to guess what he was thinking.

"I dunno, c'mon. I give up" I said. 

I just wanted to know where we'd meet and get off the phone by this point, but typically, Farquar wouldn't have it.

"No, you gotta guess" he insisted. (Was he stubborn, or what?) He was gonna make me, and he knew it.

I sighed. F""k. Okay, accepting being quizzed on what HIS perception of what "The Most Famous Rest Stop In The World" was, I tried to slow my thoughts down. Concentrate. Focus. 

Exasperated and annoyed, coming up with the first rest stop - with a name - that came to mind, and maybe even a little intimidated that I'd have the wrong answer on this game show of his in which I involuntary found myself the contestant, I blurted out "The Vince Lombardi Rest Stop".

In his slowest, most animated, satisfied inflection, Farquar responded "Thank you".