True story. I was approximately 38 years of age. It happened at ‘Louie’s Backyard’, (the beautiful restaurant). My editor, Risa Kessler was down from NYC. I never dined in/at the restaurant then as I was too busy cooking. BUT she was my editor and a force of nature and delight. So when she asked me to dine with her I didn’t say no. It must have been raining because we sat inside the small dining room. Mid meal a woman approached our table holding her menu. She was a sight to see! She pronounced her love for the food and asked me to autograph her menu. “Please make it out to me. Oh! I’m Rita Moreno”. Risa’s jaw dropped. Mine too. Once I regained my composure, I asked her why she was not sitting with Leonard Bernstein. The great conductor hung out in Key West often back then and loved Louie’s. She swiveled her head around and said, “Wow! That is him.” Then she looked back at me and said, “I’ve never met him”. After the production of “West Side Story” and the well deserved hoopla and she’d never met the musical genius? I stood up and took her hand and walked her over to his table. He looked up. Recognized her and jumped to his feet. The magic of Cayo Hueso.