hello mary loo

His business was called “Music 2 Live By,” and he’d divined the idea from a TV sitcom years ago that had a tag line about a good life made better by living it to music. His idea: put together musical selections for individuals based on their likes and dislikes, lifestyles and personalities, with different playlists for different moods and times. His friends thought the idea was crazy. He thought it was crazy, too, but crazy like bottled water. His main goal was not to make money, but to meet women, whom he assumed would be his main clients. He was right – and on all accounts. In the first year he’d netted $75,000, been featured in Rolling Stone, the New York Times and on the Today show and had dated 29 of his 75 female clients. Life was good. Then, one day, into his tiny shop on 66th Street walked Mary Loo Tortella.