We're still waiting for the phone to ring and hear that Fortune magazine is on line 1. Or GQ. Or Esquire. At this point we'd be thrilled with the Clara Street Times Press Recorder.

Lo and behold, a request for an interview came from an old friend. "El Greco", as he calls himself on his own blog, is a "regular"* at Sherlock's Haven, San Francisco's premier tobacconist and former employer of a few current On The Fly miscreants.

In light of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, El Greco outlined his essentials for surviving "The Big One" - known to non-California outsiders as an earthquake - with the Art of Living and Vice Preparedness Kit. It ignores things like food and water in favor of "necessities" like booze, tobacco, playing cards & dice, coffee, and a weapon.

With those requirements as the starting point, it was natural for El Greco to search for a place where he could buy all those essentials in one place. On The Fly was there for him on everything but the weapon (we argued a necktie could be used as a weapon by a skilled hand-to-hand combat artist). El Greco wanted to find about the man behind the man, and secured an exclusive first interview with the Founder of On The Fly, Ami Arad.

* While not strictly defined by anyone, a Sherlock's Haven "regular" is someone that shows up at the shop at least 4 times a week. El Greco can usually be found there 8 times a week.