Darlings, If You Want To Read Proust, Then READ PROUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             "When, in sweet silent thought, I summon up remembrance of things past....," Girls this post is less about the Proust masterwork than Truman Capote's "Answered Prayers," which I just finished.  But one cannot be discussed without including the other.  So, sticking with Proust for a bit, let me say, having read the entire masterwork, which is the richest reading experience I have ever had, I have always preferred the title "Remembrance Of Things Past," than "In Search Of Lost Time."  Though, when it is said in French, "Le Recherche Du Temps Perdu," it does sound better.  Things usually do, in French, don't they?

                                Now, for some words about "Answered Prayers," which is at least my second reading of this work.  When the article "La Cote Basque," first appeared in Esquire Magazine, back in 1975, I, already a literary disciple of Capote, read it.  I loved the writing, but, being young and tender, never having been to La Cote Basque, and not knowing who all the major players were--at that time, I did not know ANY of them!!!!!!!--I did not quite get what all the fuss was about.

                                But Time, as it does, took its toll.  I made my entry into the forays of New York night life, and, by the time of my second reading, I knew a little more.  However, this reading, which is probably my third was my most satisfying, as, having lived in New York for over 30 years, having read both Proust's work, "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles," by Dominick Dunne, and "The Power Of Style," by Annette Tapert and Diana Edkins, I fully appreciated the work.  I can now understand why those such as Slim Keith and Babe Paley were so upset.  I say to myself I would not have been, that if Capote had written about me, I would have been thrilled, but, then, I am not coming from the fame Keith and Paley already had, and that I so desperately wanted.  Ans still do!

                               The point of this is--if one is going to read "Answered Prayers," and fully appreciate it, one has to know all the major players. Otherwise, except for that gorgeous Capote prose, there is not much of a point. And  the best way to know these folk is to read some of the books mentioned above, or "Haywire," by Brooke Hayward, "D.V.," which is the autobiography of Diana Vreeland, or Slim Keith's autobiography.

                               The title is attributed to a quote supposedly from St. Teresa of Avila, which goes, "More tears are shed over answered prayers, than unanswered ones."  I disagree, darlings; I think more  tears are shed over Truman Capote!!!!!!!!!

                                I can see, by the almost stream of consciousness style, how he was going for something Proustian.  Does that mean Kate McCloud was his Odette?  However, even if the allegedly complete work had been published it would have paled beside Proust in terms of scope, breadth, and lyricism.  Not that Capote was not gifted at the latter, and shows it here.  His vision was just not panoramic enough.

                                 But , once you understand what and whom he is writing about, I am telling you, girls, what a bitch fest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It gives me pause for reflection and inspiration!

                                    It is not too far fetched to say that Truman Capote, and "Answered Prayers," consciously or not, may just have inspired this blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      In that case, watch out, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      Heh! Heh!!!!!!!!!!  Heh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, This Song Is Practically A Catalog Of My Youth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          Oh, darlings, I am telling you!  The thoughts I have had, in a taxi cab!  Not to mention the ones I had outside the cab!  The times I have been dropped off, at East 83rd.  No, dears, I never lived there, but, it seemed, at one point, I was doing a lot of visiting, in that area.

                            Which brings me to the 1977 Odyssey song, "Native New Yorker," which I just recently heard,  for the fist time in ages!!!!!!! How it took me back to my youth.

                               The song would seem to be paean of praise to those who were born and raised in New York.  I prefer to also think of it as an ode to those of us who were reborn here. After over three decades of living on this side of the Hudson, dears, I have done all the song suggests--up in Harlem, down on Broadway.  And I am certainly no tramp, but I am no lady, either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                I always clung to the belief that love could really be like a Broadway show!   And, with my beloved Monsieur, that has come true!  But I am the star, and never going to close!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   All this talk, I am sure, has made you anxious to hear the song again!  So, here it is!!!!!!!!

                                    You should know the score by now, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aphrodite Jones Must Be Royally Pissed, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I Don't Blame Her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             Girls, let me tell you, the other day I was perusing the pages of a publication--it was the Times, I think-- when I saw, on back, an ad for Investigation Discovery, with a group of its most famous regulars clustered about.  I recognized Lieutenant Joe Kenda, and two of  my favorites, Candice DeLong, and Darren Kavinoky, were there. Darren looked so fine in his tight fitting suit, accentuating his tight, taut chest!!!!!!

                            But two people were conspicuously missing from the picture.  The first was that nice looking man, Mark Safrik, and, even more disappointingly, the best female on ID--Aphrodite Jones!!!!!!!!!!

                             Now, let me tell you why Aphrodite was missing!  You know who was occupying the spot she should have been, center stage, on the ottoman??????????

                               That is right!  That blonde haired, slattern Miss, Paula Zahn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                Miss Zahn, who can barely read the copy that is placed before her, as opposed to Miss Jones, who knows the scene, and writes her own copy, with a flawless delivery, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  The cheek of that Paula!!!!!!!!! Who the hell does she think she is?????????  No wonder Aphrodite was not there!  I bet when she found out Paula would take that spot, she stormed off!!!!!!!!!!!  Good for her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I just hope we viewers do not lose Aphrodite, because she is one of the best, and most informed, along with Candice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     You need to be put in your place, Miss Paula Zahn!!!!!!!!!  You screwed your husband's friend, and yourself, out of a marriage!  Who did you screw at Investigation Discovery??????????

                                       Take another photo. Put Aphrodite, front and center, and Paula, off to the side, where she belongs!

                                         Oh, and can you get in the CUTE Lieutenant Kenda, too??????????????????????

Can You Believe I Only Scored 89%???????????????????????????????????

                                       You may recall me, back in October, darlings, writing about Rachael Sacks, that Little Miss Nobody who goes to the New School, lamenting that she was victimized by others, just because she happens to be so rich!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I had a field day with her darlings, and what has happened to Miss Sacks, since?  Absolutely nothing!  In fact, she is most likely picking spuds out of ash cans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          The Internet, as you know, is full of all kinds of fun quizzes--Are You A Serial Killer?  Are You A Sociopath?  Are You Bi-Polar?-- to name a few. However, if one is a serial killer, does that not make one a sociopath?  I have no answer to give here, darlings; I am not a mental health professional, and these are not my issues.

                                             With Miss Sacks in mind, I decided to take a Fun Quiz, entitled, "Are You A Spoiled Brat?"  I expected to ace it!  I scored quite high, in fact, answering as honestly as I could, but would you believe I only scored 89%?????????  The spoiled brat in me is upset because I did not score 100!!!!!!!!!

                                                  What can I do?  How can I raise my score?  Bitch at waiters in eateries?
I can only do that, when there is something to actually bitch about!   And I love my beloved Monsieur with all my heart, so I am not about to misbehave, there!

                                                       There are some people--whom I will not name--to whom I would like to give a good smack across the face!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have to admit doing so would be SO satisfying--but it would also land me in more trouble than I care to--even if others I know would applaud me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                         I guess I will just have to settle for being a B+ Spoiled Brat!  I guess
Rachael outdoes me, not because of money, but because I have at least 11% Nice, and she has NONE!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                         Oh, and to answer your question, with regard to the picture I used--
the one I always wanted to be was Veronica!!!!!!!!!!!  Because she was spoiled and rich!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                           Of course!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It Just Proves There Are Reasons To Be Pretty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  I admit, darlings, when I first saw this, I laughed. I mean, I got the joke, a spoof the famous movie poster for the 1958 classic "Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman," featuring, this time, not Alison Hayes, but Neil Patrick Harris, and the transgender riff showcasing Harris' forthcoming appearance here in town in "Hedwig And The Angry Inch."

                                   Let's leave the show alone, for a moment. Once I got the joke, and took a closer look, I thought--what is the point?  I may be gay, but Alison in the original poster, looks more fetching than Harris, here.  I have always had mixed feelings about him; like Paula Zahn, he is earnest, and he tries, but sometimes too hard. To get an idea of what I mean, look on YouTube for the 2011 "Company," done at Lincoln Center, and watch the difference between Harris and Martha Plimpton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    Added to which, even in my most fevered states, I have never had the hots for Neil Patrick Harris!  Has anyone?  I mean, OK, he is tolerable enough, but would you want that under your roof 24/7?    I don't think so.  So comparing Harris to Hayes, is, I feel, rather insulting to Alison!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      Besides, the look on his face is so confused, as if he can't be sure he is  impersonating Hayes, or Charlton Heston, in "Ben-Hur."

                                        At least, he is not impersonating John Cameron Mitchell, whom I saw do 'Hedwig' originally, (and he was the only reason I saw it!!!!!!!!!) and who, as far as I am concerned, owns the role!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         Who knows?  You may take New York by storm, Neil, but, for God's sake--
cover yourself up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Think, Truman Capote Meets Pat Conroy, Meets John Grisham!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        Of the writers mentioned, I would say Conroy is the closest Hart comes to, in style, and that is no small feat.  Having enjoyed his earlier work, "The King Of Lies," I was intrigued by the title of  "The Last Child," and its central narrative thrust of the unsolved case of a missing child.

                                          It takes place in rural North Carolina, somewhere outside of Raleigh, which community residents consider "the Big City."  Thus, though its populace is divided among blue collar and middle class folk, they are all one step from being good ole Southern White Trash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            Johnny Merrimon, and his precarious situation, forms the novel's crux. His sister, Alyssa, vanished a year ago, and has never been found.  His father, Spencer, overwhelmed grief, abandoned his family, while his mother, Katherine, one of these women who, apparently, is nothing without a man, falls prey to local business magnate Ken Holloway, and through him supplying her with drugs, descends into a submissive, narcotized haze, delighting Holloway, by behaving like a White Trash slut, while he abuses both she and Johnny.

                                             But Johnny is not one to let things go, and he sets out on a series of adventures that eventually lead to the novel's outcome, where everyone who is bad gets what they deserve.  I questioned two things from Hart--Johnny, who  is only 13, driving so freely through town in a car or pick up truck--and not being noticed by townspeople, who might object?  And Holloway--he was bad as they come, but it seemed as if he were connected somehow to the whole schematic mess, but Hart never makes that clear.

                                                That is as much as I will reveal, because I don't want to ruin this compelling story for potential readers.  Hart has another novel out--Down River"--and I look forward to reading it eventually.

                                                  But nothing is as it seems in this town, and young or old, you just cannot trust those so-called good ole Southern boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darlings, This Week's Bitch Is Too Sick, To Be Actually Shown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            No, girls, while Aqueduct Race Track, in Ozone Park, Queens, may be looking like a dilapidated carnival relic these days, it is not the Bitch Of The Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                              The winner of this week's Raving Queen Bitch Of The Week Award is 37-year-old Frank Wood, from Pennyslvania. You know what he did???????????????????????

                              On Super Bowl Sunday, while at the track, he lured a woman into the ladies room, and raped her.

                               What makes this even more interesting is that the victim was chronologically not a child, but is one, technically.

                                  His victim, who wisely has not been identified, was a 40-year-old woman, who was at the park with her elderly mother, and who has (the daughter, I mean!) the  emotional and intellectual capacity of a two year old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    This story tells me a couple of things about the perp.  He is so sick and ugly that he can't get women, not even paid prostitutes, so this is what he has to resort to!  You can bet he lives at home, with HIS mother!!!!!!!!!!!!  And what's wrong with Pennsylvania???????????  Why did he have to go all the way to Queens to do this????? Not that he should have done it anywhere!  But perps have a way of finding their victims anywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     As for the daughter, it raises several questions.  Why was she unchaperoned to the bathroom?   Was she?  Or had the mother, who has to have been elderly, just been worn down after caring forty years for this child?  In any case, there should have been some intervention!  I am not sure if the mother should be charged, as some have maintained, but I would seriously question her behavior.

                                      What about the female witness, who did not come forward, till after the attack was completed??????????/  Why didn't she intervene to stop it????????????????//

                                          There are many people to question here, but the Bitch Of The Week, without question is sicko Frank Wood.  Chop off his woody, girls!  Or better yet, when he is convicted, throw him into jail, among the general population, and tell the inmates what he has done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            Take the key, and lock him up, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1