After days and days of heat and relentless humidity, it was actually almost chilly on Saturday morning. And overcast. I loved it. I made my weekly trek across town to Zabar’s. I took the Digital along because I’ve become Digital crazy, like A LOT of other people. JH (who was up in Fort Tryon Park on Friday) inspired me. He’s so unassuming about his beautiful pictures, I’m always thinking “maybe I can do that.”

It was about eleven in the morning. In the cooler months these sidewalks and streets are teeming. Today they were all out in the Hamptons, or up in Connecticut or down at the Jersey Shore or in PA. Or wherever. I like it better this way although it’s always interesting to see the humanity on this side of town because it looks just a little bit different from the East Side of town. Very Noo Yawk neighborhood-y. I can’t explain it otherwise but someday I’ll show you pictures.

I always hit that place where they have the flowers (Sirius Vegetables) and buy a few stems to liven up the place for the week. I also buy their fruits and berries; the price is right. Sometimes I buy a book or two, from the book peddlers who set up there tables across from the bagel shop. Those guys have that New York irreverence and often have read the book you’re looking at.

Saturday sunset behind the Manhattan Towers

Just before there, by the iron church fence is often an old guy who sits on a crate, and as you walk by he casually asks in an old rusty voice, clearly but barely above a whisper: “speh-renny-chayg?” like it’s on tape. He looks right at you: “speh-renny-chayg?” saying it only once to each passerby. Sometimes it makes me laugh because it seems like he’s parodying himself, and having a laugh too. On purpose. As well as panhandling.

On some days, a few paces from him might be an old French woman who looks worse for the wear but sings French songs acappella with gusto and an upturned hat she holds out before her. There’s also one more, at times. A very disheveled very heavy-set red haired woman, probably in her late-thirties; a double amputee, holding a worn out looking paper cup, and usually smoking a cigarette. On a Saturday morning (not in the hot weather), there must be thousands who pass by them, and surely some who spare a little something.

From there it’s onto Zabar’s which is usually a mob scene but on this Saturday morning, it was only busy. And no waiting.

Later in the afternoon, just as the sun was beginning to set there was that heavy cloudcover — grey-ish, purple-ish blue — to the east, and the golden sun to the west. I know the painters have a word for this light. It’s very beautiful, and New York’s architecture takes on a poetic magic under these skies.

Meanwhile, out Hamptons way, the highways and by-ways were jammed with all those New Yorkers who’d deserted the city streets for the sandy roadsides.

On Friday night over at Hollis Reh, jewelers on Job Lane, the fancy girls turned out for a glimpse and a try-on of the million-dollar pearl and diamond necklace that was the last great piece of jewelry Princess Diana wore in public. It was a gift to the princess from Dodi Fayed and contains 240 diamonds and nine South Sea pearls. If sold for its $1.8 million price tag, $100,000 will be donated to ARF.

The reception which was hosted by Katharina Otto Bernstein, Debbie Bancroft, Beth DeWoody and Bettina Zilkha. The Animal Rescue Fund (ARF) takes in the abandoned creatures and keeps them (without euthanizing) until a home is found. No matter how long it takes. And for all those little doggie princes and princesses living in the lap of bow-wow luxury, Hollis Reh was also selling a special gold and precious-stones dog collar, a percentage of the proceeds (like the Diana necklace) going to ARF.

Afterwards a number of the guests moved on to Sagaponack to the home of Richard and Marcia Mishaan who were having a summer sit-down dinner, outside by the pool for about 200 of their best buddies. The Mishaans beautiful house was recently featured in House & Garden. Richard Mishaan, who is an interior designer, also owns a furniture design shop called Homer, just two or three doors down from the Whitney Museum on Madison Avenue between 74th and 75th Streets.

On Friday night, just as everyone finally had taken their places at table, it started to drizzle. Which meant everybody had to get up and get inside pronto. With plates and flatware and glasses. Instead of the butlers for the evening (the dinner of Guinea hen, Asian rice with pineapple, spring rolls and roasted veggies was prepared by Taste Caterers), people had to serve themselves and then find someplace to sit. The Mishaans’ place is not exactly tiny but two hundred? For dinner? A bit of a squeeze, here there and everywhere, on the floors, on the stairs, in the corners, everywhere. And so ... it was better. So cozy everyone had a great time.

In the crowd: Tory and Chris Burch, Elizabeth Lindemann, Billy and Debbie Bancroft, Beth DeWoody, Elizabeth Fekkai, Ann Barish, Robert Wilson, Ross Bleckner, David Salle, Katharina Otto and Nathan Bernstein, Ross Bleckner, Brian Hunt, Peggy Siegal, Pamela Fiori and Colt Givener, Douglas Hannant and Fred Anderson, Patricia Duff, Gigi and Avi Mortimer, Marty and Patty Raynes, Sherry Donghia, Stan Herman, Brooke and Dan Neidich, John and Laurie Sykes, Kelley and Gilles Bensimon, Jane Buffett, Julie and Ed Minskoff, Jonathan Becker, Claude and Bruce Wasserstein, John and Debbie Loeffler, Felippo and Perina Brignioni, Blanca and Atillio Brillembourge, Leila and Henry Heller.

After dinner with music provided by Tony the DJ, the whole crowd got up to dance and the Mishaan villa rocked till two. See what a little rain can do for a party?

Saturday night in Southampton, Tiffany had a little cocktail party at the store to benefit Jonathan Sheffer’s EOS Orchestra. Very chic crowd, as always. And then, the big one: The Southampton Hospital Benefit in the big white tents set up in the fields over on Wickapogue Road. This is probably the biggest gala benefit of the summer season, numbers-wise. There were 1400 attending this year and the town, both summer and year-round, turn out. This year the tents were decorated by Alex Papachristidis and Lisa Jackson and everyone was giving them raves.

While, meanwhile, over in East Hampton at the Alan Patricofs, there was a big cocktail party (hundreds) for Senator Hillary Clinton and her best-selling writer husband, former President Bill Clinton. This get together was a fund-raiser for the Senator, “Friends of Hillary.”

Afterwards Liz Robbins and Doug Johnson had a dinner, another fundraiser, at their spread on Two Mile Hollow, off Further Lane, this time for Hillpac, which is Senator Clinton’s fundraising arm to help other candidates. There were about fifty at the Robbins/Johnson dinner, including the Senator and her husband, as well as their cocktail hosts, the Patricofs, as well as Alec Baldwin, Christy Brinkley and Peter Cook, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld, Bill and Ophelia Rudin, Arthur Becker and Vera Wang, Gail and Carl Icahn, Sydney and Stan Shuman, Sir Deryck and Lady Maugham, Betsy and Allen Cohen, Beth Rudin DeWoody, and the likes thereof.

Let ‘em Eat Cupcakes. And while we’re on the subject of eating in the Hamptons, I’m reminded of the story about the personal trainer who was hired this summer by a family of six – ma, pa, four kids – for the sum of $8000 a week (not a typo!) to help them get their weight down. Said the trainer also does the cooking. And if perchance someone should lose a pound or two or three by a certain date, there’s an added bonus of $500 per. Pound. A long way from Darfur, we are, they is.

Email
A
Friend