Smith: Santa Rosa 9-year-old brings Santa, Tooth Fairy together

That bottom tooth was doing its best to fall out.

“It was wiggly for about a month,” recalls Brooklyn Stein, who’s 9 and lives in Santa Rosa. Behold, the baby tooth let go on Christmas Eve.

The rare convergence of two major events involving night-time visits by unseen pixies bearing gifts had occurred to Brooklyn as she nestled the tooth beneath her pillow.

Come morning, the kid eagerly plucked up the pillow, and looked.

Where the tooth had been were several quarters, Bicentennial ones, and a note.

“Brooklyn: WOW! Another tooth, and I just met Santa! Thank you for bringing us together.

“Love, Tooth Fairy”

In a separate hand is a signature that reads, “Santa.”

Brooklyn said the historic note will go up onto her wall. One imagines it may remain on exhibit there pretty much forever.

GUY FIERI is everywhere, even in the film certain to win the Oscar in the category “Unlikeliest Potty-Mouthed Comedy to Have Caused an International Furor.”

The TV celebrity and Sonoma County restaurateur is among a bevy of luminaries who scored cameo appearances in “The Interview.”

Guy’s scene has him doing his food thing on the tabloid show hosted by the film’s James Franco character. There was also a second scene, in which Guy brings accord to one of the longest-running conflicts on Earth, but it was cut.

In the axed scene, the prime minister of Israel and the president of Palestine appear together on TV but they can’t agree on anything - until Guy whips up falafel sandwiches that they both savor.

Had there been more of that sort of satire in “The Interview” and less assassinating of Kim Jong Un, it might well be showing merrily in quarter-filled theaters with no need for security guards.

HOT GRAPES: The current issue of Scientific American boasts a scholarly and relevant piece titled, “Climate Change Will Alter the Taste of Wine.”

It’s of special interest to Sonoma Valley’s Janet Nicholas, the former county supervisor, and her husband, Bob. The author is their daughter, Kimberly Nicholas.

The Stanford alum is an associate professor of Sustainability Science at Sweden’s esteemed Lund University. She’s all about factoring climate change into her resolve to perform research that will “contribute to a more sustainable, fair, healthy and delicious food system - and good wine to go with it.”

A toast to Dr. Nicholas.

THE SONG has always been primary to Greg Anton.

By day he’s a criminal defense attorney in Santa Rosa. After hours, he’s the veteran drummer for his Marin-based band Zero, co-created by guitarist Steve Kimock.

The band has played more than 1,300 gigs around the country and produced eight albums.

“To me, music is the most pure expression of someone’s world,” said Anton, who has now expanded his own world with the release of his novel, “Face the Music.”

The lyrical page-turner is set in San Francisco and the North Bay in 1975. It follows the saga that consumes a street musician, Woody, after he writes a song - The Song! - to his Stephanie and has it stolen from him.

And here’s the real-life prologue:

As folks have read the book, it’s only natural for them to wonder if there really is a song, “Stephanie.” Robert Hunter, the Grateful Dead lyricist, read it and decided there had to be.

He wrote the lyrics, Anton came up with music. “Stephanie,” featuring Anton, Kimock, Tim Hockenberry, Melvin Seals and Robin Sylvester, is available on iTunes.

It’s a real song, a love song: “Stephanie, come stand here by me. I fell in love with you, as I was born to do.”

You can hear it on Anton’s Website, gregantonmusic.com. There’s info there, too, on the drum-beating lawyer’s book.

Chris Smith is at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.