Fame and Fortune. There is trouble in paradise, if you wanna call it paradise, for one of the town’s more highly publicized socialites and her husband. Suspicions provoked by the obvious – the couple are rarely seen together – have now fueled rumors, and rumors are focusing on one individual outside the marriage, and an affair (for want of a better word) that has been going on for more than ... a couple of months.

Now “why?”, some kind person will ask, would you (meaning me) start that ball rolling when all it’s going to do is cause some people great unhappiness? “Why?”

Well. In today’s world, at least the world of New York (which includes all of its sisters around the world), the world of sought-after high profile and privilege, those of us who seek public attention, when we are successful in our pursuits, will get public attention. Remember, it’s still very easy to remain anonymous. And once you get enough public attention, especially if it’s based on simple human pulchritude, well then, the next step is: who’re they doing it with?  Or are they?  Or aren’t they? And then when and where? You don’t think so?

The object of this inquiry, inquisition, ballyhoo and the boldfaced entreprenurial flights is the pained one, especially when he or she takes the more outrageous rumors seriously. Because there are always outrageous rumors that have nothing to do with reality. Especially when it comes to sex. Or even better, extra-marital sex. It’s fun to think everyone (except yourself) is mightily and secretly engaged. Fun to think but far from true. For almost all of us, Page Six or no Page Six.

The good news for those who are the objects of this decorative derision is that it’s just a big “who cares?”; a lot of folderol, as far as the public is really concerned. Stories about boldfaced names are always wonderful distractions for those few minutes when you’re killing time for whatever reason, or you’ve run out of things to talk about over dinner, coffee, cell or email. Really good stories about boldfaced names,  the juicy ones,  are more serious when there is a lesson in it for all (or at least a good number) of us. Parables, allegories and a word to the wise; everyone knows when it applies. This of course is ultimately the stuff of novels. Or was the stuff of novels until people (readers) became addicted to non-fiction along around about the time of Truman Capote.

In the New York social scene these days, the golden horde who move from party to party, club to club, fashion show to fashion show, resort to resort including Hamptons and Palm Beach, are a privileged and coddled bunch (if they don’t watch out). There are a lot of exceptions to those that I’m talking about.  And many of them don’t think they’re coddled. But ...

This is a world where the boys and the girls though married often socialize separately, or at least without each other.  Why? Do I know? The financials make a lot of it possible. Maybe ADD is another reason. Bored stiff or bored silly? Looking to take a bite out of the golden apple? Find the golden goose? Too much of not enough? Or just maybe a damned good time away from the day-to-day of married-life?  Whatever it is, it’s rampant right now in these times.