GREASE IS THE WORD - BLECH~
May 17, 2008Well, what an interesting 24 hours! The boards are alive again - Boogie that is. They are even deleting their own threads already. Why is it I make a joke about Taylor getting married and the whole SP starts coming undone? I brought that up as a total sarcastic joke - I mean, come on! A few people in the meltdown thread on BB thought maybe this was an indication (the NY Grease thing) that he would be settling down and getting married. Where they come up with that I don’t know, but they do have so much “inside” information, one of them even asked if it was with CL, another if they were still together, (FUCKING SERIOUSLY)!! So much for Morph’s little tongue ‘n cheek humor. Hey, maybe he will fall in love with Frenchy and they will settle down in the Beauty Parlor from hell!
Ok, now let’s get to the real reason I’m up in the middle of the night with no sleep in sight and a long day ahead of me. TAYLOR IS GOING BROADWAY!
Hmmmm! Now when I heard the news, I was not in a place to hear that kind of news. I dropped my phone and went WTF. Bewilderment overtook me as well as sheer terror. Why on earth would he take a pit-stop on Broadway when he was supposedly in the middle of recording a CD, producing a DVD, and let’s not forget the “dreaded” international tour that was supposed to start in August? Couple that together with the assorted shows and charity events that conflict with his Broadway debut, and I had to wonder *shakes head*. Now nothing wrong with doing a Broadway show, but the timing I found to be curious. He has obviously known about this for quite some time, and been pondering whether to take the role or not. I doubt they called him up last week and said: “Tay, we got a great role for you, be ready to start in 2 weeks”. It doesn’t work that way. I worked Spamalot for almost a year and have worked other shows. Auditions, negotiations, rehearsals take time, people, lots of time. When we recast 4 majors for Spam we started auditioning 4 months before they left. It isn’t an overnight thing. Although it is just one song and he’s certainly not a “central” character, he is still part of a cast that has to rehearse with him and block with him and choreograph with him and sing with him. So the coordination of even one song is time consuming and lengthy. Well being Morph, and knowing Tay loves his head games and he loves to bs the SP and his fans, I just chalked it up to Taylor being Taylor. Keep ‘em guessing, feed them the best bullshit you can come up with and say the same shit over and over and they will just accept it. “If you build it, they will come”. Build what Tay? As GG so eloquently put it, the Svengali influence Taylor has had over many has been broken. The “real” fans who were under his spell have lost the perv and have woken from their trance. I know I have, Sexy, V and many others. That disintegration started with the Sham. Oh by the way, Happy Sham Anniversary Taylor! Hard to believe it’s been a year we’ve been listening to your bullshit and lies. Well the good part is we or most of us knew we were being bs’d, didn’t make it right, but makes it easier to take. GG, I will be addressing the Jonestown that was Taylorland in another blog and how we avoided the kool-aid and left our “hero” in the dust. The Captain IS supposed to go down with the ship.
Ok, back to Grease, I hate the play, hated the movie so that’s just me. My opinion, so his choice of shows made it even worse for me knowing now that his big news wasn’t gonna include any shows in the west now or probably not for a very very long time, so it did leave a bitter taste in my mouth. We were all expecting the revelation: he had been signed, there would be a CD, DVD(not), a tour, fall tour we hoped, some acoustic shows this summer, lots more charity events, whatever. But what do we get, Broadway, fucking a one song gig for 12 weeks in NY in Grease. Now I checked, Grease has been falling fast and is in major danger of being closed. A “big” name like Taylor’s would surely draw the reality crowd in. The leads (who are very good btw) are reality show winners too. It would draw the soul patrol (who I lovingly call the soup patrol now) in and the producers figure the loons will by tickets (well those on the east coast) and see the show over and over again. Others will just be curious and go see it. A win win for all. Taylor gets to wear angel wings (with Bill standing dutifully by waiting to hold them and hand him his sharpie). Bill, go see the movie “The Dresser” with Albert Finney, it’s old but still around, you will understand. Great movie, it might give you a hint what you’re in store for, and the producers get a boost in sales and get to deal with the loons in the theater.
Taylor in this role worries me for 2 reasons:
1. He can’t remember words to his songs. Even songs he has written himself.
2. In theater you can’t just change the song around to suit your mood. You throw the entire cast off and really cause some bad bad feelings with the cast and producers. It’s not a time to make a song your own. This isn’t Idol baby.
For those reasons, I am concerned, but of course it is his choice, his career and he will probably do very well with it. I hope he enjoys it, but I do believe the monotony of being on Broadway will get to him. IDK, it is tedious, boring and you wait a lot. You have to show up, can’t call in sick and you can’t be drunk or high on stage. You have to play well with others and work off of other actors. The cast becomes a family.
Cruise ships, wedding shows, charity events and now “Teen Angel” on Broadway, what a difference a year makes. What does the future hold? Who knows. I wish him well in whatever endeavours he undertakes. I don’t get it, most of us don’t. But second guessing Taylor is like putting a noose around your neck. If you pull too tight, you got problems.
Now for my grand finale, Taylor, if you were trying to shed the SP by doing a Broadway show and announcing it, I hate to disappoint. See the “real” fans won’t be traipsing to NY. Those who live there might, but those who live in the east and south always get to see you. You must know all their faces by now. You wouldn’t know us if we bit you on the ass. Hmmm, sexy? The loons have tickets to your opening night already. They will be lined up outside the theater to see you night after night. Once again, those smiling faces will be waiting for you after every show. I think they will tire of it as well in time, but get ready for a grand opening, put please Taylor, don’t do the Wooo and don’t shout out Soul patrol. If you want to be treated like a serious musician, then you gotta be the real Taylor, not the fake AI dorky Taylor. Get lots of security and make sure you move around a lot. I know how expensive NY is, 3k for roach infested one room hole. But get a system, maybe use the subway tunnels to map your routes. They won’t find you there, well, idk, some of em live there I think. Good Luck to you, and when you get back to the music, that is unless you find your Broadway star shining, think about us. We won’t be waiting, but we will check in from time to time to see what’s new in Taylorland.
Grease is the Word, not.
A Pissy Day in Bham
May 15, 2008Well all the news I’m gonna get has finally filtered in. The SP convention was a disaster. We knew that one didn’t we? Only about 35 showed up and even less stayed for LMBO. A shame, LMBO truly are fabulous. Looks like Taylor stole the show. The last minute announcement of the BBQ sent the SP scrambling. It totally upset the apple cart and the fact the new “audioblog” (which as usual was boring as shit) stating he wouldn’t be going (ya think??) was posted after the convention, didn’t help. I don’t know, never having been an SP member - thank God! I never planned on going, well I toyed with it for a bit but I would have had to wear a MFOYA shirt and I really didn’t wanna get knifed. So I reneged. Plus it wasn’t worth the money or time to go to Birmingham in the hopes of getting to maybe bump into or see Taylor. He’s good but he’s not that good. So going by the number of guests I’ve had lurking in chat lately, I can assume you are all waiting for “news” or “dirt” on the weekend in Bham. Sorry to disappoint, but there really isn’t any. Tapp showed up with her Bert doll, (i’m gonna stop right here on that one cause it sickens me to say more), the loons were out in force - the few of them who made the effort to go. Birmingham took a nice chunk of money out of their hands this weekend. Idk, but don’t think the charities got squat. People were disappointed, pissed and really not happy with the whole convention. If they plan another one, someone else better take the helm and don’t count on Taylor showing up either, from the look on his face, he wasn’t happy the SP showed up at all. He actually looked like he wanted to puke. Yeah, I talked to some peeps who attended. Actually I had an aquaintance who isn’t SP drop in at Ona’s Saturday night. She was tipped he might show up but she stayed in the back, quiet, unnoticed, but she lives there so she knows the ropes. Her account of what happened is much different than the boards account and the cute recaps. Those were all hearts and roses as usual. She told me when Taylor showed up, (she was there already), it caused quite a stir and I’m sure everyone was thrilled to see he made an appearance. She noticed no mingling with the fans, no interaction at all, maybe a brief comment or two. She said he grabbed a drink and kept his distance. He was pissy and abrupt. He sang well and made them laugh with some of his comments. Other than that, nada. I got nothing, she slipped out after he finished his last song, so if anything else happened, she doesn’t know. But he didn’t show up at Marty’s like someone posted cause another person I know was at Marty’s and Taylor was not there. Oh damn, I skipped the BBQ part, sorry. Taylor was escorted to the stage by 2 police officers and I was told the cops were crawling all over the place. Wonder if someone threatened our soul man, hmmmm. I mean he is a celeb of sorts but come on. Maybe for the Gov and his wife, yeah that had to be it and Taylor just jumped on the bandwagon. He wouldn’t be afraid of the SP would he? Nah, he can take those ladies can’t he? Well, we will never know, will we? See he doesn’t really communicate so we all have to play guessing games. What does Taylor mean? Why did Taylor sing that song? Why did Taylor look that direction? Why doesn’t Taylor really ever say anything but the same ole shit over and over? We heard ya dude, get a vocabulary.
So that’s it. The big news for a big weekend in Taylorland. Nothing exciting, nothing to dish about. I have some more info, but not gonna share, that ok with you? But hey, I did watch some of the vids posted, thank you to whoever did that - those damn ass sendspace files are ridiculous. He looked good, hate the hair short, but whatever, that’s just me. His voice sounded fantastic except for my biggest pet peeve. The man can’t remember lyrics to save his life. I don’t know if he does it on purpose or if he actually just can’t remember them. It drives me insane, actually I have stopped watching many of his vids half way through cause it drives me to drinking. Again, I know that part of Taylor endears him to some, but not me, jmo. I keep waiting and waiting for the “favorite verse” and it never comes, damn. I was a bit puzzled by his choice to do Runaround, sitting down. But I’m sure he had his reasons. We all know Tay sends messages in his lyrics and his songs, or lack of lyrics in this case. Wonder what subliminal BS he was sending Sat night? I have my guesses on that subject.
So to sum things up, it was a pretty lackluster weekend. I truly am glad those who went got to see Taylor. I’m sure they had a blast despite the disaster that was the convention. Getting to see “bar” Taylor was a treat as well. Now that I would have liked to see. But everything else aside, the only thing that really came out of it was the 2 sec audioblog with the “Big News” coming. What big news? Come on Taylor, spill. The dvd? The cd? A tour? You’re getting married? Well option 4 isn’t likely. I’m waiting for tour postings, was gonna try to coordinate my trip to Nashville to see Sexy with a show. So come on, let us know what’s up? The suspense is killing everyone. You get signed to a label finally? You going indie? Well whatever the news is, book a damn show in or near Nashville would you? I do wanna see you perform just once. We can hook you up in Sexy’s backyard, private concert? Waiting for you to come west ain’t gonna happen. BTW, what’s your schedule like in July? Mine is pretty open so a show towards the end of July would be totally appreciated. Or do you have another slew of charity performances to do that no one can go see?
Breaking news!!!!!! Taylor cancelled golf tourney due to family illness and a scheduling conflict. Now which one is it Tay, if you are in New York and your family is in Bham, idk. Golf tourney maybe got inconvenient due to poor weather (he has to sing in Italy you know) or maybe fear of his dreaded SP. Sorry for those who stayed and won’t get to see him for the 100th time.
Ah Taylor, what will we ever do with you? You survived Soul Patrol weekend no worse for the wear and it was totally cool of you to risk it all and show up at Ona’s. Heard the Marriott’s not too far.
Much ado about nothing. It’s eerily quiet in Taylorland. Again.
FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA 1915-1998
May 13, 2008I wasn’t gonna write this, but felt inspired by the day I had today. Those of you who read my blog know that I had the honor and pleasure of not only meeting and talking with Mr. Sinatra on many occasions, but also had the blessing of seeing him perform numerous times. On this 10th anniversary of his death, it has caused me some great reflection. I still remember where I was and what I was doing, when my dad called me from his home in Palm Desert to tell me the news. I remember saying, no daddy, no! I remember feeling like I had been kicked in the gut and the faint fleeting feeling of heartbreak. A legend, a true legend was gone. Would his music die with him? Never. But for me, this was the day the music died. He is the only performer/entertainer of any kind I have ever cried over and mourned so deeply. Sure sadness for others but nothing like Sinatra. The skinny kid from Hobogen New Jersey who took the world by storm and held us as his puppets on a string. He lives on forever in his music, his movies, all he did for others. He had a raunchy reputation, he was an intense man for sure, but he also cared, he cared about other people. He would pay hospital bills for those who couldn’t afford it, and many other kind gestures that truly came from his heart. I’m sure he was a difficult, complicated man but one who garnered respect from his peers and his fans alike. No one could sing it like Sinatra, no one. He was simply brilliant, he was simply the best.
Today, they unveiled his commemorative stamp. Camped right outside my door at work, was the unveiling. Tina Sinatra and other family members were there to sign autographs and promote the stamp. Seeing Tina again after so many years, certainly stirred up memories, and she looks so much like her dad, it made me feel something I had forgotten -just how much we all miss him. Tonight at midnight, Vegas will darken the strip. Now if you’ve never witnessed this, it truly is something to behold, a dark no neon-lit vegas. They will dim the lights and the marquees will run Sinatra up and down the strip. The Sands is no more (home of the Rat Pack) but his memory lives on. Vegas and Sinatra go hand in hand. Cause like he said, if you can make it there you can make it anywhere. (not NY this time). Then while the lights dim and the marquees run his likeness, there will be a moment of silence. Vegas will be still. Vegas will be quiet for one brief moment to remember. I remember. R.I.P. Ole Blue Eyes.
Happy Mother’s Day/Tay in Bham
May 11, 2008Happy Mother’s Day to everyone!
For those of you blessed enough to have your moms still around, I hope you have a great day and show her how much you love and appreciate her. And for all of us moms we deserve a day off right? Yeah, right, not happening here. Mother’s Day is a double-edged sword. It used to be I so looked forward to it, now it’s just another day. I’m tired. Just too tired to care I guess. Mothers are very special women. They birth us, they guide us, don’t always make the best decisions but their love is unstoppable. I remember when my daughter was born, I thought looking at her that I could never love this hard again. But I did, much later on. The love you feel as a mother for your child or children is unlike no other. It is endless, timeless and no matter their age, mine are still young, you never stop worrying about them. As they age and you feel them slipping away, they change, you change, young adult, pre-teen and toddler hell is where I’m at, your feelings change, but the love never ends. Like a circle that is on continuum. There is no beginning, there is no end. No matter what trouble they get into. No matter how great they are. The circle of love can never be broken. The bonds between mothers and children is so special. It is a roller-coaster ride for sure, but what a pleasure. They are so worth it. Precious gifts.
For those of you who got to see Taylor at the BBQ and or Ona’s, I’m so glad it worked out. I’m so happy for all of you who spent the time and expense to go to Bham. I heard he was awesome and you got to see some raw, bar Taylor. Sounds like he saved the debacle that was the SP convention. THB was nice enough to call me and let me listen to him sing during the BBQ portion. I was shopping and I got some very strange looks. He sounded wonderful and you can tell he’s been back living in the south from that heavy accent. Thanks for the call baybeee. I do appreciate it. It’s as close to hearing him live as I’ll ever get.
Safe travels everyone and again Happy Mother’s Day. Peace!
Oh, this song: love you mom, miss you!
Some thoughts on Perving
May 8, 2008I just don’t get it. I write a blog about perving and the loons come out to attack. I asked them not too, said no nasty comments, but they insisted. The delete button, like the ban button in chat, comes in very handy. I have never deleted anyone’s comments from here as I do believe we all have a right to our opinions. But when asked nicely, to not do so, well.
Perving is just human nature. Very simply, the laws of attraction. As human beings, we are all attracted to different people. How did you fall for your boyfriend/husband? How did you fall for your girlfriend/wife? We are human, animal magnetism is what drives us and keeps the population going. We weren’t meant to not procreate, we weren’t meant to not fall in love. Relationships take work, they take time. When you first meet someone, you are either attracted or not. It might be the eyes, the smile, the body type. It could be anything. We are all unique in what attracts us to the opposite sex. No one is the same. We all have different views on attraction. I like men tall, but I’ve dated many that were not (my first husband being one). Eyes hit me first as does body language. Sure, an attractive person is going to catch your eye. Doesn’t mean you will like that person or end up with them. I’ve gone out with many men who were relatively “unattractive” but they had a great sense of humor, were fun, and very nice. Just because someone is attractive or “hot” doesn’t make them a “nice” person.
In human nature, the initial contact is pure physical. How can it not be? You don’t know that person yet. You see someone and think hmmmmm. We all do it, married or not. It is just who we are. Humans are animals in our own right and sexual magnetism is alive and kicking. Life wouldn’t be much fun without it. I ”perv” over others as well. I meet many gorgeous, hot men daily, entertainers or not. My husband “pervs” over Jessica Alba, so what. It’s the nature of the beast. My dad once told me that “when I stop looking, I’ll be dead”. It’s just who we are. Some people have long-lasting beautiful marriages or relationships. Others find that their initial attraction just didn’t pan out. We search, we all search and when you find your “soul mate” you know it. Believe me, you just do. So I take great insult that I write a “perving” blog about Taylor, and I come under attack. Making people “nauseous”? Come on, get real. All the loons are so obsessed and “attracted” to him, they are like gnats circling a vat of honey. What’s so wrong with that? Nothing, he is an attractive man. He has tremendous charisma. The obsession part is a bit scary, but that goes with the celebrity territory. I’m not obsessed. Not at all. I do find Taylor very attractive, o.k. so what. Who the fuck cares? So do a thousand other women. I know men who appreciate his music, they don’t find him hot. They don’t see the attraction, and rightfully they wouldn’t.
This blog and “Keepin it Real” is about just that. I write what I want to write about. I’m not here for your pleasure. If I want to have fun and play and poke fun at sexy and Thb and others because we all secretly “perv” none of your damn business. Don’t read it. The loons obsession with anything Taylor drives them to insanity. That part is real skeeeerrry. If you want to follow him around the country on tour, go ahead. If you want a million meet and greets and autographs, go for it. Take a thousand pictures, videos, whatever. No one is stopping you. But don’t attack me for finding the guy “hot”. He is. O.k. get the fuck over it. I have a right to my opinion as do you. I’ve never seen him perform, never seen him in person. Don’t really know a damn thing about the guy, but I do enjoy his music and yes I think he is HOT, HOT, HOT (well most of the time). So from now on, do me a favor, if you don’t like what I say, please don’t read what I write. I write about a lot of things, This is not a Taylor fan site. It’s just a blog. My blog. Like it or not, I honestly, could care less. And stop bringing Mfoya into this. He knows I perv, he doesn’t care.
It’s just human nature:
Inventory Hell and a Shout Out to the Soul Patrol
May 6, 2008Sorry guys, I was soooo tired when I got home today, I accidentally deleted the perv blog. It was silly anyway and I’m so over it. A momentary lapse of judgement on my part. But silently, I shall carry on. Those of you going to Bham this weekend, have a great time. Scary shit, that SP convention, but the BBQ should be fun. Do me a favor, don’t take any pics. I’ve had enough for right now. I’ll be with you THB in spirit, working my ass off, while you are galavanting around town. I know you will have a great time baybeeeeeeeee. Muah!
Now on to bigger and better things. I was thinking, not always a good thing for me to do. Sometimes it’s better when I don’t function at all. Like right now, work was fun last night or should I say this morning. 3 a.m. Hell yeah! Went to bed at 11:30 up at 1:00 a.m, to be at work at 3. Now Vegas in the wee hours is beautiful. Quiet, no sirens blazing, traffic jams, drunks stumbling, hookers carousing. Yes Vegas, the lovely place I call home. Driving into work this morning felt surreal actually. I am usually heading the other direction around that time and my car was very insistent on going home, it actually tried to turn itself around. I almost hit a parked car, drove into a road barrier and ran myself off the road. That was in the first 10 minutes of the drive so I knew it was going to be a challenging night. Now I can go with very little sleep. 4 hours and I’m good, 5 I’ve nice, 6 I’m there and anymore than that, I can’t think. My body clock was very unhappy with me, it was screaming while I was pounding the java trying to wake up from my “nap”. Somehow the lot of us all arrived safely at work. As I was walking up the esplanade, I wondered why I got volunteered for inventory hell (well being Richey’s right arm had something to do with it). Counting on 1 hours sleep just didn’t seem right, but for better or worse I wasn’t gonna let Richelle count alone and the other idiots hired to do it aren’t all that bright. Try counting 1234 condoms at 5 a.m on 1 hours sleep. Not fun I assure you, the inventory people spent more time playing with vibrators and admiring thongs than they did count. Loss Prevention (the cop wannabes) stood around talking while we are trying to fucking count. You know how that goes you get to like 501 and someone starts laughing and you have to damn it start all over again. We got smart finally, we counted and wrote on our hand where that pile stopped, so we didn’t have to repeat over and over. Nice trick it works well as long as some idiot doesn’t step on your pile and ruin your count yet once again. Of course when all is counted and we think we are done, the recount begins. Discrepancy on aisle 1, ugh. We were still finishing up while people were trying to get in the door. The store was a mess, visual came to fix us up and finally an hour 1/2 late we open up. Now as fate would have it, Jennifer’s flight from Chicago had come in late and she was running late. So of course, I had to change clothes and get out on the floor and work some more. Driving home, I realized that daytime is no time for me. I’m a creature of the night. All the way.
Now that I’m fully awake again, (I wake up as the sun starts going down), I’m thinking again, this time about that scary SP convention this weekend. Now originally I was asked to post pics of the loons who would be attending this weekend so the “normals” would know who to avoid or do battle with. But as it comes to be, none of the “normals” are going (except THB) . Several of us had planned on going with MFOYA shirts on. We thought that might get ugly. Very ugly. We would have to be armed I think and far be it for me to rain on anyone’s parade. I’ve heard rumor and innuendo that the convention isn’t actually going to happen. Idk, that might be a blessing. But I do feel for the overlapping schedules that are occurring on Sat. With the announcement that Tay would be performing yet another charity function, people were scrambling for tickets. Should I stay or should I go? I even toyed with popping into Bham for the weekend, me and sexy, meet up with THB and have a blast. But neither sexy or I could get away, so that little plan fell through. I’ll wait for Nashville. Soon my little puppet soon. THB, be careful. Make sure your purse is filled with rocks just in case things get out of hand. Better for swinging that way. Have mace close at hand and keep your damn keys poised between your fingers, better for poking eyes that way. And make sure that flask of yours is full at all times, you will need it. You inspire courage in me, going to the convention. Although I’m sure it will be quite amusing. It would almost be worth the price just to watch the loons collide, almost. Be safe all, have a great time. I need some damn sleep and tell Tay, we’re still waiting.
Commando white suit, bastard.
The Run for the Roses
May 4, 2008I’m crying right now so this blog is probably filled with typos and run-on sentences. Sorry, no time.
I’m grateful. Grateful as hell, I was working yesterday and missed the Run For The Roses at the Kentucky Derby. Watching Eight Bells go lame and having to be put down, would have destroyed me. I’m hyper-sensitive right now as it is and the memory of watching a horse go lame and having to die right in front of you is just too much. Eight Bells was the only filly and she was running with the big boys. She proved she was good, she proved she could do it and she did. I watched her at post from the Sports Book, however brief it was. I thought what a magnificent animal. I did not have any way of knowing that several hours later, her beautiful life would come to an end.
When I was in my early twenties, my dad, after too many shoulder and hernia surgeries from playing too much golf, ventured into the world of horse racing. Along with the golf courses, I grew up going to the track as well. The Turf Club (a private club at Del Mar race track) being the most common, Hollywood Park and Santa Anita close seconds. I would pick my horses based on their names, hind quarters and jockeys. Dad read the race stats, did all the stuff good gamblers do, and I usually won and he didn’t. I frustrated the hell out of him and after many years of this he finally started getting a clue. Like any gambling, it’s a crapshoot. The Turf Club is where all the celebs hang out and it was never a day if Lee, George and the others weren’t in town betting their exactas and screaming and yelling. (Maybe I’ll get brave and post a pic of us at the races). That aside, I loved racing, but being an animal advocate, I always worried about the horses.
Dad decided it was time. Time to enter the world of thoroughbred ownership. He bought Donnie’s Dream, a beautiful black filly with an oustanding lineage. His trainer groomed her, worked her, ran her. We would go visit her at the farm and feed her carrots, pet her and she was like any other horse except of course much more high-charged. Finally it was time to race her. Hollywood Park was her first outing. With nerves of steel. we went to the track, betting heavily (although she wasn’t expected to win) we showed our pride. When race time finally came, we went to the paddock and prayed. I pet her, I loved her, I prayed. She came in 4th. Not too bad for your first outing and dad and the horse racing world got a big once over, with all looking at his pretty girl. Race 2 Santa Anita, she was not in a good place that day, the jockey was uneasy with her. She had been skittish all morning. He had trouble getting her into post. She ran, she flew, she finished 3rd. We were getting better and daddy was ecstatic. I understood the excitement. I understood the desire to win, but I worried about her. I worried a lot about everything andstill do. Race 3, Del Mar. My stomping grounds. No better place to strut like a peacock with a horse going off at 5-1. Dad’s friends were all there, everyone was there. We took our seats, the binoculars twisted around dad’s neck as I’m pulling them from him. My stomach was flip-flopping, our hearts racing. George and Lee were there, betting furiously. She ran, she ran for her life, she was 8 lengths behind the leader and my heart started to sink, then she pulled out, on the side, she came flying from behind and she ran, damn it our baby girl ran! She won by a nose. Photo finish. Now during a photo finish and it’s your horse, your fucking heart has stopped. We held our breath and waited, we knew she won it. She had this one in the bag. And she did. Screams so loud you would think someone was being murdered. Dad and I hugged and proudly went to the winner’s circle. Let me tell you, there is no greater feeling than that. Bursting with pride we went to our girl’s side and smiled. The party that night went on forever.
After DD’s big win, dad bought another horse, Exhalted Bubble, a fugly colt who was bred from some of the best. Same scenario, we trained, we waited, we watched we raced. EB, first outing, 8th, second outing 4th, 3rd outing we nailed it, he won, and back to the Winner’s circle we went. This time at Hollywood Park. Horse racing and its ups and downs in ownership and breeding is complicated, way too much for my little blog to get into. DD, meanwhile won one more. EB, won again too this time in Del Mar and that would be my last horse race I ever went too. He was at post, he was ready, he wasn’t the favorite but had great odds. Out of the gate, they ran, we screamed, we yelled, there was a filly, whose name I don’t remember, (it’s been awhile) who was running neck and neck with him, she got bumped, she went down and as EB finished the race in 2nd place, the fear I had for DD and EB came to be, she was down, the ambulance came, the vets came, the jockey was freaking out, the owner came, they all came, she was lame, she was so hurt, they put her down. I wasn’t far, I could see it. Daddy told me to look away, I couldn’t, I couldn’t not look, she was going to die. A beautiful creature who just ran her heart out, she would have won too, if she hadn’t been bumped. Tears spilled out of my eyes and finally having to avert my eyes, I ran inside. Granted everyone was upset, it was a tragedy, but I couldn’t understand how everyone waited for the next race to begin. They waited for her lifeless body to be carted off the field so they could bet some more and watch more horses run. I was done, that was it. Daddy saw the look on my face and knew. I never went to the track again.
DD and EB continued a fair amount of success. Daddy sold them later on, when he just didn’t have the time anymore to properly work them. They went to great trainers and owners and as far as I know had successful careers. The malady that befell that filly that day eluded them. Thank God, but I never forgot. The filly that day, Barbaro, and now Eight Bells.
Eight Bells ran for her life, she proved she could make it with the big guys, but instead of winning the big race, she ran straight into the arms of God.
In memory of Eight Bells and all horses who have fallen before her:
Early Memories - Part 3 - Rockin with the Eagles
May 1, 2008You guys keep asking for these lol. So here’s another one. Thought this one might be appropriate.
Teenage years in L.A. especially in the land of the rich and famous are tempestuous at best. I wasn’t one of the super spoiled kids. Most of my friends were. My parents were pretty grounded in that area, especially my mom. That aside, as teens and students at Pali High, we got in our fair share of trouble. Now Pali High is a well known school in the richdom world. Pacific Palisades is home then and now to numerous celebs. When I was growing up there, neighbors included Lee Marvin, Bradford Dillman, Norman Lear, Martin Ritt, Martin Landau, Walter Matthau, Jack Albertson, Eddie Albert, Barbara Streisand, on and on and of course Don of the Eagles. (God, I pray he doesn’t read this).
We ran in packs, the surfers (that would be us) and the valley freaks (that would be any teen who lived over the hill). Living right at the beach all my life, I definitely had an affinity for surfing, ocean, beach, sand, grunion hunting, whatever, as long as it had to do with water. I lived walking distance to Will Rogers State Beach. We use to play volleyball with Wilt Chamberlain on the weekends. That was some shit, the man is huge. No one could spike it better, lol. All the guys we hung with were surfers, we all smoked pot, drank, smoked cigs and had our definite foray into drugs. Speed back then being the drug of choice. (Hey this was L.A. and the girls had to stay thin). I’m not condoning our lifestyle, just stating how it was. We were privileged and we were bored.
To set the stage, my bff were: Karen (still my sidekick), Susan (she lives in New Zealand now), Lori, Sally (who were 2 years younger than us), Lindsey, Kim (still close with her), Cindy (she’s from a famous family of singers), Diane (she lived down the street from Tom Selleck gawwd he’s gorgeous) and Netta. I was 16 and Lori and Sally were 14. We went to school by day, surfed after school or hung at the beach. Now for any of you that know the area, there is a restaurant called Gladstones. Fish place, very laid back, casual and hopping with celebs. This one particular afternoon, we came up off the beach and went and sat on the patio. We ordered some food and I looked a whole lot older than I was so I would always order us pitchers of beer. I know, I know, back then they didn’t give a shit believe me. We were known and if you are known, they turn a blind eye. Now picture us blonde, tanned, hot teeny bopper starlet wannabes (I say that tongue ‘n cheek) except Lori. Lori was the only one with dark hair and Lori looked older than her 14 years. She was tall, thin, gorgeous (hmmmmm) - she would later become a famous model. Anyway, we’re sittin’ and drinking and flirting with every cute guy we could find. Looking older has its benefits as we would soon find out. We noticed a group of guys (obviously older, at least to us) come in and sit down at the next table. They looked at us, we checked them out heavily. We were out of money and wanted more beer. Time to strike. The one man leaned over and said to me: “you girls need another pitcher?” Of course we did, (like a hole in the head). Soon our tables were pushed together and let the flirting and fun begin. There were 4 of them and 5 of us. We were having a blast. The one guy, the blonde and I hit it off right away, Lori and the dark-haired guy same thing. The others were just having fun talking. Now of course we knew who the Eagles were, but didn’t recognize them by sight. We didn’t know for some time that day who we were partying with. Lori and the dark-haired guy and me and the blonde snuck off and smoked a joint. Lori and (dark-haired now referred to as dh) were already getting hot and heavy. Making out on the beach. She told him she was 20. I used the same lie. We could pass for it, at least I could, but I don’t think they cared. We ended up staying on the beach with them for about 2 hours. Kim and Sally needed to get home and we didn’t feel like walking so dh kindly offered us his car. He gave the keys to Lori, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. She was 14, she didn’t drive. She begged off quickly stating she had drunk too much (which she had) and passed the keys to me. I was the only one with a license that day and mine was barely off the press. I took the keys went to the valet and we got Don’s car. He drove a new BMW then and it was a stick shift. Shit, I was in trouble. I knew a little bit about how to drive one, but this car was cherry and I thought, damn! But because we were little liars, I knew I had to play it off. I reluctantly got behind the wheel, put the top down and in true, L.A. surfer style, peeled out of the parking lot. Lori stayed behind with dh. Now I was on PCH in traffic, driving a fucking stick shift in someone else’s brand new car. I was stalling at every light, a bit tipsy to boot. I was sweating, fortunately I didn’t have to go real far, but it was far enough. Kim and Sally are laughing their asses off and I’m praying I don’t get pulled over. I should have been home myself by now. I managed to drop them off and make it back to Gladstones without killing myself or anyone else. Now I make it back and Lori and dh are in full swing. Me and blonde start making out and dh invites us to his house. My parents were out of town so it was just me and my sister, hmmmm dangerous times. We gladly went. Dh lived in Marquez (which is just an insiders’ view to the Palisades), not far from Lori, I lived in the Canyon. I rode back with blonde, and Lori with dh, the others all went separate ways. In the car, I come to find out who we are with. Needless to say they are much, much older than us, but we didn’t care. It was intimidating. When we arrived, I asked Lori if she knew, she was freaking out and said yes, dh had just told her. We go into the house and party away, we used the old teenage trick, I’m spending the night at her house and vice versa. We stayed the night. I’m not going into any more detail than that.
We left the next morning and went home. I told Lori that we had to tell them the truth - how old we were. She said no. We didn’t. We were able to keep the charade up for quite some time, we got to watch them rehearse, record, went to a show (backstage) it was totally cool waiting for them to come off the stage and into our arms. When dh was out of town, we had his car to drive and house to hang at. I always believed and still do that dh and blonde knew we were lying to them. We actually lied to them about everything. Anything to cover up our age. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times to come. We were living the life. Loving it, this would only last a couple months though and just like it began at Gladstones, it ended there as well.
A warm summer night, we were all there, about 12 of us. On the patio, I was in blonde’s lap, Lori and dh had their lips entwined as usual. In walks my father. WTF, Yep, with a few of his friends. One look is all it took. My dad, yells what the fuck are you doing? Dh and blond,startled, look at him, like he was crazy, dad yells, do you assholes know how old they are? Now Lori starts crying and I’m tossed off the lap. She’s fucking 14 and my daughter is 16! OMG, the look of horror on everyone’s faces. Needless to say dh and blonde were furious. We were called lying little bitches. And our rocking eagle days had just come to a close. We were sent home, grounded, and never saw them again, well, years later, we went to some shows, we seemed to be forgiven, but not entirely. Dh was really into Lori and I know he was hurt and pissed. Blonde and I not as much, but I was hurting big time. Time would go by and we would lie about our age over and over. It was just done. But we never got involved again based on a lie. I learned the hard way. Liars never win.
I always wondered about this song:
