Thank You, Willow!

This is me at the end of the night...Do I look plastered? I think not, despite what Count Ruprecht's been blabbing about! Crikies! Can't a girl have some fun? Party girl that I am, I'm still raring to go!
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A MILLION THANKS AND AIR KISSES TO WILLOW FOR THE PARTY OF THE YEAR..So much PIZZAZZ , so much glamour, music, yummo food,
champagne..endless imagination..WOW...wouldn't have missed it for anything...and here are a few photos of the exceptional event.

A sip of the hair of the dog? Don't believe the fuddy duddy rumors you've heard ..remember, Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder! Just doing my bit to keep the planet green!

There was a line for the powder room, but everyone was so gracious and polite, waiting their turn. An opportunity to make new friends!

The Count snapped this picture of me as I rouged my lips. We were off to announce our engagement! I know that many hearts will be broken now that the Count is out of circulation!! And a couple of fellas may still have eyes for me! But carousing days are over...

Count Ruprecht finishing the sumptuous 10 course meal that was served on gold embossed china in the Versailles Suite. Here he is inviting Willow to join us on a cruise to the Bahamas aboard the royal yacht, the Triton. Say yes, Willow, oh please say yes!! After all, it's not every day that one gets the opportunity to travel with such an entourage! And don't be upset by the eyepatch Rupy is wearing..somehow he walked into his Mother.

Willow's Ball !

AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M HAVING A HECK OF A TIME TEARING MYSELF AWAY FROM MY DASHING BEAU, COUNT RUPRECHT von BRAUNSHWEIGER. AS A MATTER OF FACT WE INTEND TO ANNOUNCE OUR ENGAGEMENT AT YOUR SPLENDID BALL, WILLOW! You can catch a glimpse of the beautiful gown that Hubert ran up for me just this morning. A little off -the- shoulder number, pale blue to match Ruprecht's eyes. And heaps of flowers as our usual backdrop. But trust me..we'll be at the party in a New York minute!
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We are so pleased to announce that the Count's mother will be among the guests we will be bringing to the ball. As you know, we(am I jumping the gun?) royals always travel with an entourage. I so adore Lady Danvers, she has a wicked sense of humor which I'm sure will tickle your fancy!
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CHAMPAGNE FOR ALL! I've got armloads of the bubbly stacked up in the limo... Silly Ruprecht just loves to sip champagne from my Jimmy Choo's..sometimes he can't tell that I'm wearing sandals!

Another fun guest coming along will be Ruprecht's twin brother, Count Valmont von Braunshweiger, seen here relaxing. Sometimes they try to fool me, but I can tell the difference..Count Val always wears silk stockings! He is a bit of a roue', might just sweep you off your feet..don't say I didn't warn you!!

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My side of the family. We are so close, with great affection for each other! Whenever I turn around, there they are! They are the traveling Ballet Russe de Smirnoff and will joyfully entertain you and your guests with a condensed version of Swan Lake. What a treat! Donations accepted.

WILLOW! TO A GREAT HOSTESS!! I toast you and thank you for the splendid Ball you are giving.. you are indeed to the Manor born! What a swell party it is!!

In Love...

IN LOVE WITH BEAUTY
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Beauty makes a fool of us all
it halts the breath's flow
in a seizure of desire
and that fatal allure
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It halts the breath's flow
I swoon from so much splendor
and that fatal allure
love and longing find me again....
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From "Two Ghosts", poems
c copyright/ all rights reserved
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ASLEEP
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Don't wake.
Let me stare at you as you dream...
the bedroom
dark blue at dawn,
the sun still hiding
below the polestar.....

Another Epiphany.

BEST OF ALL
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How many epiphanies
do I have to stumble through,
proclaim with certainty that this is it?
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I knew each one to be the truth,
bearing such radiance,
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being, after all
the absolute revelation
that sparkles with blinding points of light,
passed along from God to perfect soul.
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I always keep the faith
from daybreak
till end of day
when folly tiptoes in and shakes my serenity
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and I tend to let drift
downstream
the perfect wisdom
that brought a contented beam to my lips
for at least seventeen hours.
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Today is such a day...
I really walked a glowing path,
uncertainties are finally shed,
I hold a rose whose heart is known,
and best of all,
twenty-two hours have past.
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Milo and St.Francis..

EACH OCTOBER, INCLUDING THIS YEAR ON OCT. 4, 2009, thousands of people flock to the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in NYC, with a huge array of animals. Pets of all descriptions, birds, rabbits, lizards, cats, dogs, this year even a camel, parade through the Church to be blessed during a celebration of St. Francis of Assisi. Four thousand lined up to enter this spectacle, which has become the largest animal blessing in the world.

Wanting to make things easier for myself, I decided to take advantage of this Episcopal tradition at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, which is so much more convenient to me, being across from the park, just a couple of blocks away from where I live. So I thought how special it would be to pack Milo into his snug carrier, and tote him off for some blessings. I sort of forgot that I would have to battle all nine of his lives to convince him that being zipped up in a claustrophobic chamber was a good idea.

There are docile pets who sweetly cuddle in the arms of loved ones. Under the best of conditions Milo isn't one of them. Not only did this scaredy cat not make it to the church on time, he reminded me what having claws is all about! What was I thinking? Maybe camels can make it to church, but an independent cat? Let it be known that St. Francis, gentle soul and hovering spirit, when summoned by a trembling supplicant (me, not Milo), laid calming hands on both of us. I am grateful to be rid of unreasonable desires, and Milo, happy enough to cough up a hair ball in peace.

Another Danish Movie...

"RECONSTRUCTION", is a Danish film that came out in 2004, and that I recently rented. I've yet to meet a Danish film that I don't love. This is a movie that plays with "reality", but certainly, an exploration of love. Before the action starts the music played is, "Night and Day", Fred Astaire's version. I'm hooked already. Also there is lots of atmosphere created by people intensely smoking. It's possible that the world got hooked on smoking because of sexy movies. The photography throughout is compelling, a real feast for the eyes, as they say.
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A man, Alex, a photographer, (Nikolaj Lie Kaas, quickly becoming my favorite actor), sees a woman on a subway. He decides to change his life, by leaving his present girlfriend, Simone, and pursuing under extremely cinematic conditions, the woman, Aimee. The same actress, Maria Bonnevie, ravishing and true, plays both roles. Aha. Aimee's husband, a writer who narrates the film, is seen to be actually writing the story of the other characters. Do the characters exist? Are we seeing his imagination at work? I'm reminded of John Fowles' , " The French Lieutenant's Woman", in which there is a movie being filmed within the movie, and the actors playing the roles just keep overlapping. He dares us to care, keeps telling us he's creating fiction. And we wind up caring. The actors in front of my eyes are so real..I'm falling in love. How come?
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This is the first film by the Danish director, Christoffer Boe, who brings a startling control over this very enigmatic story set in Copenhagen. The story keeps shifting, and one tries to dig into a reality, to find the heart of the movie.
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"Reconstruction", is most definitely a love story that keeps pulling the rug out from under us, and the characters. And having Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", as a theme, worked very well to take me along into this wonderfully elusive film. This movie definitely is a shape shifter, not to be missed.

Fine Art

FINE ART

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Why do I look skyward

as if an accumulation of deities

await my prayers?

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A cherub here, an archangel there,

when I catch sight of them

they are tucked into a Sistine heaven.

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It's the art of the Renaissance

that forms my point of view.

God pointing his finger at a burly Adam

catches my breath.

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Useless to me are tattered bibles

tucked away in drawers,

or progressions of thou shalt not,

etched in stone.

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Parade before me sumptuous seraphs,

garments edged in gold,

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saints pierced by poetry,

to hold my hand

as I walk through paradise.

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copyright/ all rights reserved

Autumn...

THIS MORNING THE LEAVES IN CENTRAL PARK DECIDED TO LET LOOSE. THE GLUE THAT HOLDS THEM TO SUMMERTIME has finally dissolved. A signal, shouted by a barely visible wood nymph, rang through the park. Let 'er rip!! And before my eyes, trees gave up the ghost, boughs began to shake. A tremble gained in power, as colorful leaves took part in an airlift, refusing to hit the ground. Further down the path that stretched before me, a bushel of leaves finally landed, not content to just rest in peace. A whirlwind swept through them. Dust devils swirled in a manic dance. And before my eyes, every trace of green was swept away, to live in dreams of tomorrow.

Sparrows

RESPECT
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City sparrows don't care.
There I sit
in the early autumn park,
on a bench,
shaking a handful of keys
at the birds walking round my ankles.
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As if they'll really hop on my hand.
Trust me, I have good intentions!
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Two, almost touching my shoe,
look through me,
not knowing that I'm channeling
St. Francis of Assisi,
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"My brothers, Birds, you should praise your Creator".
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I'm ignored.
Feathers not even twitching,
they fly,
carried on the wind.
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They know a saint when they see one.
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Strike!

CRYSTAL LEE SUTTON, DECEMBER 31, 1940- SEPTEMBER 11, 2009, was a union organizer who's real life was the inspiration for the 1979 movie, "Norma Rae", starring Sally Field, for which she won an Academy Award.
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Ms. Sutton worked at a textile factory in North Carolina. Poor conditions and low wages led her to take a leading role in organizing the plant. She was eventually fired, and upon leaving she defied the authorities by writing the word,"Union", on a piece of cardboard. She got up on her worktable and turned around to show her sign to her co-workers, who cut their machines off. The factory just stopped working. Within the year, the union won the right to represent the employees.
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A court ordered Ms Sutton to be rehired and receive her back wages. She quit and went to work as a union organizer. She has been recognized as a woman who led a struggle of thousands, and inspired a whole generation. Including me.
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It was a very hot August in 1979, and I was working in the recently renovated cosmetics department of Bloomingdale's. Lights bounced off surrounding mirrors, marble floors also seemed too reflective. This was the million dollar remake, the B'way, that put Bloomies on the map, that attracted shoppers and tourists and gawkers alike. I was the makeup artist for Revlon, and as the days wore on, the temperature in this particular department rose to the unbearable. I found that I was applying makeup to customers who's sweat needed to be mopped up as I rouged here, mascaraed there. It was cruel and disrespectful to the women who'd scheduled this treat, and it was awful for us to keep trying to do a professional job. And where was the air conditioning, we were asking? None to be found in our department. Some lame-brained excuse was given to us, day after day.. "the air conditioning is being fixed".
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There was a trick. Air conditioning was turned on high at all the entrances to the store. Once you entered and were enticed into spending a cool hour or so, heading to cosmetics perhaps, a rude surprise was in store. A feverish heat clutched at the customer, who immediately became as delirious as we were. Instead of running out screaming for a respite, they swarmed over us as if hypnotized to enter an early hell. But not really buying, who would buy makeup that was flowing off their face?
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I made a sign. I held it up. I turned around. The sign said..you know what...I went from counter to counter. I got signatures. It was a petition. I said that I was taking one rep from each counter with me to the president's office at 1:00. That he would see us. That we would demand that the air conditioning be turned on immediately. OR..we would all leave the store and go on strike, that we would picket. That we would call the media, ( I had friends). That this million dollar showcase could indeed become the jewel in the crown of Bloomingdale's.
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Thank you, Norma Rae. Thank you, Crystal Lee Sutton. It worked. Of course...Union, union!!