Apropos of nothing but not nuttin’

Apropos of nothing but not nuttin’

A lone carriage on 59th and Fifth. 3:15 PM. Photo: JH.

November 2, 2009. It was a rainy and damp weekend in New York. Unseasonably warm (and rainy) Saturday. As the world knows it was Halloween. It actually started on Thursday all over town in parties private and charity-wise. Saturday afternoon shopping on the West Side, kids were going into stores “trick-or-treating.” In my neighborhood and in my building the kids were out in costume. By nightfall the older kids (18-78) were out and at it.

Apropos of nothing but rainy weekend reading: “... Paris society was a galaxy comprising many little planetary constellations, all revolving in their own orbits, sometimes crossing the path of others and sometimes colliding.” From Simon Schama’s “Citizens; a Chronicle of the French Revolution” (in a reference to the life of Talleyrand at the time) which I’m reading in tandem with Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities.”


Princess Firyal of Jordan and Lionel Pincus.

Also apropos of nothing but not nuttin’, the legal tangling that was beginning to stoke up the tabloids between Princess Firyal of Jordan and the sons of her recently departed significant companion, Wall Street tycoon Lionel Pincus, has been settled, dissolved, evaporated and all is well once again.

The princess was an heiress also to a share of Lionel’s approximately billion dollar fortune (a figure said to range between $60 and $100 million when all is said and done).

The settlement, whatever it is, exonerates Princess Firyal’s relationship with the late investment banker. Lionel Pincus was an especially kind and gentle man, especially with his loved ones, which included his sons as well as with Princess Firyal, who had been his close companion for more than a decade. It was a generosity of spirit as well as financial assets.

I also read Russell Baker’s review of Ted Kennedy’s autobiography in the New York Review of Books. Many of us grew up under the Kennedys’ lights. They dominated the political and celebrity scene for a generation of Americans, and then some. I also grew up in Massachusetts where they were well known before Jack went to the White House, although not in the same bright light. At that time the Kennedys were still regarded plainly as Irish-Catholics, which meant Not Quite Our Class by ruling WASP social establishment.

Old Joe circumvented any possible disappointment for his children who grew up in a world populated by New York socialites, movie stars and European aristocrats.
Jack and Jackie single/double-handedly ended that society. Killed it daid. The marketing of the Kennedy political ascension provided new definition of Who Was Who and Why. Their entry in our lives also coincided with all the great “liberation” movements of the 1960s. So they therefore were a part of it too. Furthermore their father had inculcated the idea of being useful in the world.

I was never a Teddy enthusiast which is not to say I wouldn’t have voted for him. Nor did I hate or loathe him. Like thousands of others, I heard the Teddy stories having to do with drinking, having to do with drugs, having to do with sex, separately and all together. Back on the Cape, in his college days and not long after, he had a terrible reputation for losing it after having too much to drink. He was boisterous, rambuctuous, an idiot, and destructive.


	Teddy Kennedy, 1978. (Photograph by Jill Krementz)

I never heard those stories in the context of gossip but just matter-of-factness the way you hear about a neighbor’s behavior at a party last Saturday night. I got the impression Teddy was one of those guys who had a lot of pent up energy, maybe you could even call it anger. We know those people, don’t we? Especially after a few drinks. There’s always a residue of something pathetic.

It was also true that almost everyone I know who actually knew the man, including those who knew him for decades, or even met the man, had a lot of respect and often great affection for the way he’d carried on the family name, as its patriarch and in public service. And there were others who also experienced him and were not kind about him. Women, that is.

Baker says Teddy showed no signs in his book of being introspective, which is never surprising for people with so much physical energy. The last time I saw him was about ten years ago. It was on a Saturday afternoon in the summertime at the Bathing Corporation where he’d come with his sister to lunch. He was massively overweight, sweating and bilious, yet wearing shorts which were almost not big enough for all that excess. He looked very uncomfortable in his stride although he moved along quickly like a man on a mission.

Reading Baker’s excellent review of the book, I realized that the Kennedys as we have known them – that astonishingly glamorous and vigorous (Jack’s word) American family, have now all left us with the exception of the youngest sister – although older than Teddy -- Jean Kennedy Smith. For those of us who witnessed their entire lives lived before our eyes, it casts a far different light on this remarkable family. And, in the final analysis, as it is with the rest of us, it began and ended with the Mother and the Father. Rose and Joe. For them, Teddy turned out to be the son they would have expected him to be. And as it is with many of us, the tone and the lines were theirs.

Back to Business. A black-tie gala was held Thursday night to commemorate Mystic Seaport's "America and the Sea Award" honoree, William "Bill" Koch. A renowned businessman, art collector, philanthropist, and winner of the famous America's Cup, Mr. Koch was recognized on this night not only for his prowess as a sailor, but also for his love of art and wine.

Ballroom on the seventh floor, decorated extravagantly with candles and flowers.

As he was quoted in his video tribute, "Art is meant to be enjoyed and I'm thrilled to share it." Mr. Koch is also known as the founder and president of The Oxbow Group, a business based in West Palm Beach, Florida which has been listed in Forbes as one of the 400 largest privately owned businesses in America.

Those who spoke on behalf of the honoree included Donna De Verona, an Olympic Gold Medalist who set eighteen different swimming records, Alan Granby, a specialist in marine antiquities, Tom Whidden, another sailor recently inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame for his three America's Cup Victories, and Sam White, the president and CEO of Mystic Seaport.

Donna De Verona and Bill Koch.

"An Evening with Bill and Bridget Koch" sold for $35,000.

Dinner is served while the band plays "Hello, Dolly" and "Puttin' On the Ritz.

While Donna De Verona sat at the Koch table alongside Koch’s wife, Bridget, and Dawn Riley, another America's Cup racer and former president of the Women's Sports Foundation, Whidden, White, and Granby sat at a table nearby.

Perhaps more impressive than the accolade bestowed upon the honoree was the venue. The evening's revelers were greeted by bouquets of white flowers, flutes of champagne, and the music of Cole Porter and George Gershwin which echoed throughout the ornate, wood-paneled ballroom. The tables were decorated with luminescent glass centerpieces made to look like crashing waves.

Tom Whidden, Linda Hart, and David Ober.

Sarah Clement and Wyatt Koch (son of the honoree).

Everything, from the cheetah print Manolo Blahniks of Mr. Koch’s mother-in-law, Palm Beach’s June Rooney ("Aren't they fabulous? They were too small, but I had to have them," she said of her shoes), to the Gibson martinis sipped by those gazing down upon the bustle of Fifth Avenue below, marked the evening as exceptional.

Ambassador Craig Stapleton, who has served as the ambassador to the Czech Republic and France, and who once co-owned the Texas Rangers with former president George W. Bush, assisted me in my pronunciation of several Czech phrases. Ms. Linda Hart, famous for originating the role of Velma Von Tussle in the Broadway production of “Hairspray,” sauntered across the dance floor with her husband while the band played Marvin Hamlisch’s “One ... Singular Sensation” from “Chorus Line.”

Clockwise from top: Bridget Koch and Ambassador Craig Stapleton; Tim and June Rooney; Chuck Townsend and Mercedes Tech (an erstwhile teammate of Dawn Riley's); Dawn Riley and Hannah Swett.

The evening closed with a live auction to benefit Mystic Seaport. A boat cruise for ten was purchased for $25,000 by Mr. J. Barclay Collins, Executive Vice President of the Hess Corporation, while a private dinner hosted by Bill Koch was sold for around $35,000. Also in attendance were Chuck Townsend, CEO of Conde Nast, Sam Sifton, the cultural news editor of the New York Times, Bob Forrester, former Chairman of the Board of Mystic Seaport, and Timothea Larr, a naval architect and a trustee of Mystic Seaport. Also: David Ober, George and Betsy White, Daniella Lazarevic, John Lassiter, Linda Buckley, Charles Hamm, Sarah Whitman-Ogden, and fellow sailors of Dawn Riley's (Patricia Lizarraga, Hannah Swett, and Mercedes Tech) also attended.

— TS for NYSD

Linda Hart and Husband dancing to "The Charleston."

And on Friday night. The Kristen Ann Carr Fund hosted its annual Halloween benefit party at Sutra Lounge in the East Village. KACF, as the charity is known, provides grants for cancer research and seeks to improve the lives of cancer patients, with a specific emphasis on adolescents and young children.

Kristen Ann Carr died of Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, in 1993 at the age of 20. Her parents David Marsh and Barbara Carr, who manages Bruce Springsteen (a loyal supporter), established the charity in her memory and at her request. Kristen's cousins James and David Dunning host the party every year. For more information, visit www.sarcoma.com.

— SD for NYSD

David Dunning

Kate Stuhlemmer and Emily Moore

Alexander Wheat and Andrew Scharf

Laura Holder and Ross Giglio

Andrew Holt, Brooks Baskin, and Andrew Jamieson

Charlie Denihan and Reed Edmiston

Jackie Rohrbach, Jordan Sanders, and Allie Michler

While Southampton Goes to the Dogs. More than 100 pampered pooches showed up and marched through the streets of” Southampton starting out on the oldest shopping street in America, Jobs Lane. It was all to benefit the local SPCA and it is an annual Halloween Pet Parade hosted and sponsored by Little Lucy’s Canine Couture Boutique.

At the end of the parade we found Suzette (Russian poodle) and Jett (North Carolina Poodle) on the steps of the Parrish Art Museum in wedding attire but the wedding won’t take place yet since the pre-nup has not yet been ratified. You know, who gets the bigger box of biscuits and treats if their paths should separate; that kind of stuff. Ah, the Hamptons!