Every Wednesday evening in Westwood Village...

Per Stephen Mitchell, Elysee Wednesday tonight at Caffe Primo at 8pm.

 

Word is getting around that Stephen Mitchell "krasnavian" has passed away.

 

any meaning to his handle “krasnavian”?

 

Someone might have some insight, but I seem to remember it was a character in a story or something.

 

Well, I thought about starting another thread, but where to put it... What's appropriate? I understand there is discussion about Stephen up in the Rossa or Silver section, but I'm not there anymore... Seems like this is as good a place as any --- (BTW - If anyone subscribed wants to cut and paste this up in a thread, if one was created for him already, feel free...)

I mean Stephen seemed all about connecting film making and his passion for Ferrai's with the allure of Paris... I believe that's how these "Elysee Wednesday" night came to be...An attempt to bring together film and Ferrari with an international flair... The location might shift.... Elysee Bakery in Westwood or Cafe Primo, were the places I knew...Perhaps others...But, it wasn't the location that was the focus, it was the melting pot of diverse backgrounds and what we from Hawaii call "Talk Story"... Meaning, a group of people with no pretense talking **** about primarily those three subjects.. Though, nothing was off the table... I'd show up and take it all in...

I can't say I knew Stephen well, but we did get to know each other over these "Elysee" years. When I was in town, I'd drive my Fcar down and enjoy the company of the intimate group that gathered.... Perhaps five of us, perhaps thirty of us...Never really mattered...I met a bunch of fchat members in this little stretch of LA... Cafe Primo wasn't far from where I was living in the Hills, so some nights, after closing time, I'd turn the car in the opposite direction from home down Sunset Blvd and make my way down to Pt. Magu through Malibu... Something about the note of that car at that time of night just made the world slow down...Anybody that understands this section of chaos and congestion during the day can appreciate how quiet and lonely this stretch of road can be in the late hours...It was a gift...A memorable gift....Years earlier I had another surreal moment - It was in NYC... I had left DC to meet a girl for a date. I had stayed up all night and drove in the am..tt had to be just about sunrise when I made it to Times Square and not another car in sight!...If someone had told me the world had ended, I would have believed them, because there was no other way to explain it...Now, I didn't have an Fcar at the time, I was in my vette...But, I'm kind of thankful because she (date) didn't have parking where she was living and NYC is a mess and I wouldn't have known what the hell to do with the Fcar...I ended up paying to keep the car safe for the day in a garage for about $100 - $50 for the garage and $50 for the attendant...I will be true to the story though and tell you the date was less memorable and it was my fault...I shouldn't have stayed up all night as I was dead tired from the 4 hr. drive and the sleeplessness...I don't know what I was thinking...haha..Anyway I did get Times Square to myself in a vette driving with no one else...So, there's that....Haha...

So, why tell that story? Well, because I don't think I ever told Stephen, and we would have had a laugh about it...It was a typical "Elysee Wednesday" story....

The Stephen I knew was always relatively mono-toned, meaning not gregarious, nor animated...Perhaps other's knew him differently....No matter...But, I couldn't always tell fact from fiction, nor get the close enough to see what his life during that time was all about....He shared so much back story of the 60s-70s I think that's where his head was...He had a desire to keep Hollywood and Mulholland Drive the way it used to be...I can't say I fault him...He was fortunate to have life experiences in his 20's that most would dream of..

But, we did have something else in common..That was an allure of Paris (France). And, specifically, the George V...He would write about an alter ego that lived there... We would swap stories about our times there...

Well, if I know Stephen...And, well, not sure I really did..haha...I will look for him at the Bar of the George V where he will likely spend eternity looking out at the exotics lining the entrance-- Oh, and I just don't mean the cars.......In the meantime, I raise my glass and think fondly of the times we shared...

Eleyse comes every day for you now my friend.

Aloha

PS - For those of you that happen upon this thread and don't know of him, you could do worse than spend a bit of time going through his Ferrari videos and the like... Some, I believe, are posted on FChat... But, I'll make it easy and add some links...

https://emcpb.blogspot.com/

 

One thing that continues, not to wax nostalgic, but every Wed around 9 a large group of motorcycles would roll through. I was out at dinner further down Sunset with some friends about two months ago in the Palisades when the group rolled through, it started a conversation that continued through the rest of the night about some of the EW stories. I thought about Stephen, thought about checking his social media to see what he was up to, but I didn't follow through.

 

Very saddened to hear Stephen's passing. Truly on of the nicest and knowledgeable gents I've came across. RIP friend.