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 First snow of the season
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| The first snow of the season from a terrace on East End Avenue. Sunday morning, 9 a.m. Photo: DPC. |
New Yorkers woke up to a snow-covered city on Sunday morning. Just a little more than a dusting, but nonetheless astonishing to us wide-eyed ones. I can’t remember the last time we had snow in early December. Maybe ten years ago?
Last Thursday night was the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Gold Medal Gala which was held at 583 Park Avenue, the popular new venue for those galas that heavily involve the social denizens of Park and Fifth Avenues. For one thing, it’s convenient. The Queen Sofia Spanish Institute itself is just five blocks up the avenue in a house that was built by McKim, Mead and White for Oliver and Mary Pyne Filley in 1925. The Institute was founded in 1954 (which coincidentally was the year that the Greek royal Princess Sofia met the Crown Prince Juan Carlos whom she married eight years later). The Institute’s objective is to promote Spanish arts and culture in the United States.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 2007 Gold Medals by Her Majesty the Queen to the evening’s guests of honor: former President Bill Clinton and actress Penelope Cruz. This was quite a coup for the Spanish Institute, to get our much sought after former President to take time from his hyper-schedule and sit for an evening. Yes it was the Queen of Spain, but it was also Mr. de la Renta who with his wife has often played host to the Clintons at their house in the Dominican Republic. Evidently the Clintons have a wonderful time relaxing and enjoying themselves at the designer’s enclave.
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| Penelope Cruz (courtesy of InStyle) |
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Mr. Clinton was seated next to the Queen of Spain, on her right; and Mr. de la Renta was on her left. To the left of Mr. de la Renta was Ms. Cruz, and to right of Mr. Clinton was Anna Wintour, the winsome-when-she-wants-to-be editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine.
The real highlight of the evening, however, was the people watching, and most specifically the people who were seated near the Queen. And the real real highlight for many of the guests was watching the former President. for eventually he forsook the editor of Vogue as a dinner partner, and switched his seat with Mr. de la R so that he could be seated next to the movie star. Well, what would you do in his shoes?. Musical chairs with the best seats in town (to some people anyway).
Whether or not Mr. Clinton was just so bedazzled with Ms. Cruz (who was dazzling in an Oscar of course) or he’d run out of things to say with the editor of Vogue, we will never know. It didn’t matter because all Mr. Clinton has to do is flash his famous smile at some pretty girl and everyone in the room is all eyes and practically ga-ga.
Someone quipped “maybe that’s gonna be the October Surprise” referring to the frequently talked about Republican playbook in the Presidential campaign.
This is a topic often remarked on by those who claim to be, or like to think of themselves as being, in the know: Mr. Clinton’s extra-marital interests. That is not to say that there are any. I personally don’t know of any. Nor does it interest me. But this is what many see (and for many, even hope) will emerge in the campaign for the Presidency. Because, the reasoning being it could HURT Mrs. Clinton’s chances of winning the Presidency.
In view of the world financial markets, the environment and the wars and the genocide at this time in our history, this seems rather frivolous , but there you have it. The fear is that he will become the elephant in Hillary’s living room. It is an irony because he is even more popular than when he was president. However, what could be a greater tribute to these two people than to have both, man and wife, sit in the Oval Office. What an astounding historical comment about the United States of America. It is a mark of the America I was born into and, I daresay, the America we were all born into. |
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| The trees lighting at holiday time on Park Avenue is a tradition that was begun in 1945 following the end of World War II by Mrs. Stephen C. Clark as a memorial to their children as well as everyone throughout the city who died in all of our country’s wars. On the first Sunday in December many New Yorkers meet up at Park Avenue and 91st Street to see performances by the Children’s Choir of the Brick Church and the U.S. Army Band. The program closes with ”Taps” played by a single trumpet. The audience is hushed and then the trees, extending two and a half miles down the avenue, are lighted. |
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The only time I’ve been in the presence of them together was at a fundraiser earlier this year at the Sheraton Hotel. He was there to “introduce” her. He likes to talk, as we know. And so while he was speaking to the crowd about Hillary she was standing off to the side, looking bright and warm and attentive, hands clasped before her in a sunny yellow (Oscar de la Renta pantsuit), watching, listening, smiling appreciatively; the little woman.
Waiting patiently, ahem! I don’t know what was going on in her head but I do know what was going on in the heads of lots of us: when you gonna let her have the floor?? And he was going on and on (he loves campaigning as we know). It was funny. It was A Marriage. An old marriage, not a new one. It was interesting to see this very strong, very smart, maybe very tough woman, defer. She did it in a way that explains the longevity of their marriage, of many marriages.
People love watching him for clues. The froth of the prurient. He’s fun to watch, so full of life around him and then when he stops to talk about the world, so full of information and insight. Any woman he talks to, any woman whose cheek he kisses, he lays it on with the big smile and the dancing eyes; the baby blues. He lays it on with men too, somewhat differently of course – the hand on the shoulder, the light half-embrace around the back. That’s part of his power, that’s his gift; one of them anyway. His wife doesn’t have that. She’s just smart, and a hard worker.
But this is discounted when Bill Clinton is in the room. As he was on Thursday night at 583 Park at table with the Queen of Spain, Mr. de la Renta and the editor of Vogue. And Penelope Cruz and the local as well as the international glitterati. Taking it all in, Latin style. |
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