Richard V. Rupp

Wille Brown holding forth at Le Central

August 3, 2020

My latest novel "Death on the High Seas" starts with a dedication page that includes - "And thank you, Willie Brown, for making the place" (Le Central Bistro) "so captivating by bringing in your regular crew of politicians from both sides of the aisle and dapper San Francisco society friends."

Le Central was my regular San Francisco watering hole. During the number of the years I frequented the place, Willie Brown was da Mayor of San Francisco. Before that, he headed the California Legislature, and was termed out. The following is from a letter I recently sent him –

Dear Willie (da Mayor) –

I trust all is well with you.

I'm not sure if you will remember me. I was one of the Friday regulars at Le Central, usually sitting next to Gordon Lahti at the bar, who you will probably remember.

I did lose a few bucks to you playing boss dice, and you offered to introduce me to your publisher when you found out I was an aspiring writer. I should have taken you up on the offer. I did end up getting my novels published by a division of Simon & Schuster but probably could have gotten a better deal with your introduction.

A copy of my second novel, "Death on the High Seas," is enclosed. I've marked several pages in it that mention you, including the Dedication page. They say write about what you know, and boy do I know Fridays, at Le Central. At least the old-time Fridays.

Before writing this letter, I reread your biography "Basic Brown," which I purchased many years ago and must admit just skim read at the time. For some reason, I was unaware of your run-ins with the FBI. Hopefully, this does not bother you, but in my fictional writing of Fridays at Central, I replace myself with Senior FBI Agent Dick Hartmann, who is accepted by the crowd and makes the place his second office. Now, I think this is alright as he heads up a violent crime squad that investigates murders. I quickly researched this potential problem, and could not find anywhere where the FBI accused you of murder. So I assume that things are good. If not, I'm sure I'll hear from you.

Should you have an interest in learning more about me and my novels, my website is www.richardvrupp.com. If you like what you see, I certainly won't mind you suggesting my works to others. I'm planning on keeping Fridays at Central alive for a bit longer, with the addition of an occasional murder to keep things interesting.

Cheers,

Richard V. Rupp, Author