Most People don’t remember the singer and actress, Ronnee Blakely - but for a while, she was a bright, shining star. She made some fine records and starred in the Robert Altman film, “Nashville.” She married the film director, Wim Winders, and settled into a quiet life outside of show business. Ronnee and I lived in the same apartment building in Hollywood. I lived on the third floor, and she lived on the seventh floor. Although she was quiet about it, it was common knowledge that she and Bob Dylan were close friends, and he came to visit her often. Every time I ran into Ronnee, I would drop little hints that I wanted her to introduce me to Dylan. When the hints produced no result, I resorted to begging and pleading. But that didn’t work any better. One afternoon, I had just finished doing my laundry in the basement-level of the building. I picked up my old, pink laundry basket and I got in the elevator. But before I could push the button for the third floor, the elevator started upward. That meant that someone at the lobby level had pushed the button before I could. The elevator arrived at the lobby, the doors opened, and Bob Dylan stepped into the elevator. He was dressed in a cool outfit much like the one he is wearing on the album cover for “Desire.” There I was, holding my laundry basket, standing in an elevator with Bob Dylan. Dylan just stood there as the doors closed. After an eternal twenty or thirty seconds, he just kept standing there. I don’t know what he was waiting for, but I assumed he was headed for the seventh floor to visit Ronnee. Finally, I broke the silence, reached for the button-panel and said, “Seven?” Dylan nodded, and I pushed the button for the seventh floor. We rode up to the seventh floor, not saying a word, both of us just staring into space. There we were. Dylan looking about as cool as one could look - and me- holding my pathetic little pink laundry basket.

- Joel Timothy