Life is Never Dull With Dennis

Dennis, or Denise as it is pronounced in Russia, is one of my oldest friends in Russia. We met back in 1989 when I was studying Russian at the Steel and Alloys Institute and he, Vanya and Alexei were young students at the Music Conservatory, fresh out of the army. We had a wonderful time in those carefree Soviet student days. Life has changed for all of us. Vanya, from what I hear, remained in the music profession, Alexei became a mafiosa small fish and is probably dead (no one knows) and Dennis, well, he’s been wheeling and dealing for 16 years now and his lifestyle exhibits the results of his labor. He is an avid wind surfer, traveling to Bali and Maui on a regular basis and just recently picked up poker.

Upon my arrival in Moscow, I found him on his cell phone at 1 a.m. in Las Vegas where he had just arrived to enter a poker championship competition. He was there for a month, and I managed to catch him on his one week back in Moscow before leaving for Turkey to windsurf. He was tanned with a handsome 5 o’clock shadow and his notorious devilish grin, short hair, shorts and flip flops. He picked me up in his big black SUV and showed me his furniture warehouse and his auto service/car wash/parts shop on the ring road and then took me to Fauchon, a high class French pastry shop for jasmine tea and decadent sweets. It’s the first place since I’ve been back that has cloth napkins.

He has been in and out of several businesses, making them successful and selling them off and going on to bigger and more profitable ventures. At 36, he’s managed to survive and thrive with some extremely savvy business skills, a little luck and a lady killing charm. He’s still playing the female field and professes to have no children, than he knows of I’m sure! He’s into construction these days, a booming business, and is looking for investor money. Seems the cost of borrowing locally is much too high and foreign investors are not good risk takers. I’d love to talk to some venture capitalists, because as far as I’m concerned, Dennis can make money out of anything!

Back in 1990, he came to the States for a visit, bought some camera equipment in New York which he had in the trunk of my car. We were down in South Philly and my car was stolen, along with all his hard earned money. He took it in stride and has always seemed to exude a nonchalant non-attachment Buddhist approach to life, although Jewish by tradition.

I think he still hangs out with me because we go so far back, otherwise, I am sure my life is much too dull for him. Anyway, I don’t get many opportunities to see him, and when I do, it’s usually late in the evening somewhere in Moscow, either eating or playing the black jack or pool tables in a casino or bar. He stopped drinking, except herbal tea, but still chain smokes. I will look forward to our next encounter. Perhaps he’ll drive me past his latest megamall project.