I Set Out To Write One Post, And End Up Writing Another!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                  "Melanie Hamilton, that goody goody; who wants
                                                     to hear a secret about her?"
                                                   --Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, in "Gone With
                                                     The Wind" (1939).



                             We all have our "Answered Prayers," buried somewhere in our heads, darlings!!!!!! Truman Capote wrote his, and I intend to write mine.  In fact, I intended this post to be an "Answered Prayers" of sorts, with me bitching out Melanie Benjamin for writing the book.  Not that it is lacking in quality; far from it.  It was that how dare a straight woman, with no connection to New York, or this society, and who, foolishly chose, in my none too humble opinion, to remain in the Midwest--why would anyone do that?????--write this book?????????????????

                                Until I read her Afterword.

                                What I discovered was that Melanie and I turn out to be kindred souls, not unlike Truman Capote, and Babe Paley, as in her novel. Which would , of course, make me Truman and Melanie Babe.

                                   Seriously, both of us felt displaced by our small town milieu, and both cut our teeth on Capote's work, as well as "The Sisters:Babe Mortimer Paley, Betsy Roosevelt Whitney, Minnie Astor Fosburgh: The Lives And Times Of The Fabulous Cushing Sisters," by David Grafton; not to mention "Party Of The Century: The Fabulous Story Of Truman Capote And His Black And White Ball," by Deborah Davis, and Slim Keith's memoir, "Slim--Memories Of A Rich And Perfect Life."  For me, there was also "Haywire,"by Brooke Hayward, "The Power Of Style," by Annette Tapert, and of course, the autobiography of Diana Vreeland, "D.V."  Not to mention "Valley Of The Dolls," by Jacqueline Susann, which turns 50 this year!!!!!!!!  Unlike Melanie, I came to New York, dined at all the famous places mentioned therein; certainly La Cote Basque, darlings, and have become a doyenne of sorts, the gay community's answer to Truman Capote, whether they want it or not. The fact is, they need it, and they need me.

                                   So, I can't bitch a kindred spirit. And what Melanie gets is right; the loneliness of Babe Paley is stunning beyond belief, and the account of her death so moving I found myself in tears.  And, like my mother, both she and Slim died of lung cancer.  I never took up smoking; I failed to see the glamour in it they did, or were able to pull it off. What mess, and I do not like mess.

                                     My only caveat with the book is the homophobic slang, which I could not decide was being true to the times, or, more disturbingly something else, something ingrained in Melanie Benjamin and her staunch Midwestern-ess. But how could anyone homophobic have enough understanding to write a book like this?

                                         Hey, Melanie, what about Babe's accident, surgery, and false teeth?????  Was that actually true, darling, or were you just cribbing Grace Coddington??????????

                                          You do know Anna Wintour runs this town, now, don't you , Mel????
Anyway, loved your book, darling; it pressed all MY buttons. Do give me a call when in town, so we can have lunch at La Grenouille.

                                            You won't believe the stories I have to  tell!

                                              Ta-ta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!