Well, dear readers, it is Tuesday before the Wednesday before Thursday, which is, of course, a brand-new New Year. Mind bogglingly mind boggling. And yet, here we are, en route. But before we get there, we must keep current, mustn’t we? So, let us talk about Monday aka yesterday, which, of course, is no longer current. I did get eight hours of sleep, had interesting dreams, got up, answered e-mails, shaved and showered and dressed and then moseyed on over to the Capital Grill for lunch with Marshall Harvey. I’d raved about it to him and he was salivating to try it. I had my lovely gift card, courtesy of our own Amy and Mark. When I made the reservation, I requested the server from my previous visit – the delightful Zoey – and happily we were seated at her station, which was right off the kitchen. I was delighted when she came to the table and said she was so glad I was wearing my curmudgeon hat and called me Mr. Kimmel. Now THAT is a good memory. I asked her if it would be possible to get something from the dinner menu that’s not available at lunch. She said she could probably make it happen. At dinner, they serve a lump crab cocktail with a mustard sauce, and I really wanted to try it and so did Marshall. Well, the delightful Zoey made it happen and it was absolutely fantastic. Marshall and I both said we could eat two of those and be very happy. We both also got cocktail sauce. The mustard sauce was very good, but the cocktail sauce was even better. It was the perfect way to start a perfect meal. Then we ordered our main food – we both had the 8-ounce filet mignon with Bearnaise sauce on the side. I had creamed spinach with it and Marshall had sauteed spinach. It arrived perfectly cooked with a hint of pink – A Hint of Pink – that’s the title of my next novel. Even without the Bearnaise, the flavor was great – they do some kind of butter thing on the top. But their Bearnaise is fantastic and we both ate every bite and the creamed spinach was the best I’ve ever had. And with all that food, the calorie count was so reasonable – for my meal it was under 1,000 calories, and Marshall’s was less than mine because of the sauteed spinach. The delightful Zoey was very attentive, and it was just a wonderful way to fine dine. I’m afraid it will be right up there with the Smoke House, when I need to have a meeting or whatever.
After the perfect meal, I went to the mail place and picked up the most important of the important envelopes and a lot of junk for awards consideration. Then I came right home, caught up on e-mails, then wrote another couple of pages for the new book – I did that so that when I begin in earnest on Thursday I know where I am and just pick right up from there. I also wrote about six pages for this other idea I have – and that was fun because it is the polar opposite, style-wise. I watched some YouTube videos, dozed off for about forty-five minutes, then I watched the documentary The Queen of Versailles. I must say, it actually made me sick to my stomach, the entitlement of these people and trying to build a 100-million-dollar house. When asked why, David Siegel simply says, “Because I can.” The house they live in is already huge – so huge they have a large number of help, which is good since they allow their dogs to poop and pee wherever they feel like it. The kids all seem hugely spoiled. Mr. Siegel made his fortune selling time shares through high pressure salespeople, mostly from people who really couldn’t afford to do it. He built the biggest time share business in the world. And the biggest time share building in Las Vegas. And what do you get when you buy into the time share? One week every two years. I mean, it’s just disgusting. Jackie Siegal was a model and there are photos of her with her small boobs that suddenly blossom into huge boobs. And when, in 2008, everything goes south, to be expected to feel anything because they can’t finish their Versailles and they have to put it on the market (no one wants it), and he has to let go thousands of employees, and also staff at their house, and to see that house turn into a pig sty because the help isn’t there to clean it up, or to listen to the complaining and then watch Jackie pick up McDonald’s in a stretch limo, or see her renting a car at the airport and being surprised it doesn’t come with a driver. And watching David Siegel become surly and nasty because he was no longer going to be a billionaire.
And to think that the perpetrators of the recently closed flop musical version of the documentary thought that this material would make a good musical at this particular point in time is laughable and to hear the creators, especially, I’m sad to say, Stephen Schwartz pontificate why they all thought it was an important story to tell, is anyone’s guess. The documentary ends with uncertainty but somehow David Siegel still had enough money to sue the filmmakers for defamation, a completely frivolous lawsuit that went nowhere and cost him $750,000 in the filmmaker’s legal fees, not to mention probably a like amount in his own. Eventually, he still owned a piece of the time share business – he had to sell off a controlling interest in it – that he was able to keep Versailles, and it still isn’t complete, all these years later and David Siegel passed away last April. Jackie Siegel was one of the producers of the musical. As I said, it made me sick to my stomach and she reminded me of someone I used to be in business with, frankly.
After that, I had some cheese and took the final pill. And here we are.
Today, I’ll be up by ten – AGAIN – and I have a lunch meeting at noon o’clock. That should last much more than an hour or so, then I’ll go to Gelson’s and get what I need for the faux chicken stroganoff – I have some of the ingredients already – and I have all the ingredients for the tuna pasta salad. Then I’ll come home and rest and wait for the finalized tracks to get to me – that didn’t happen last night as I was told it would. When they arrive, I’ll put them in album order to see how the sequence works and then listen. After that, I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I’ll just relax and maybe go to the mail place to see if the second important envelope is there, and then we have our Annual Rockin’ New Year’s Eve Bash and balls will drop and we’ll ring in the New Year on both coasts at the appropriate times. I’ll have my ubiquitous sip of champagne at midnight. Thursday is the New Year, 2026, and I’ll begin the new book and try to write ten pages or so, maybe even a bit more. Then at four, guests will arrive, we’ll eat, we’ll have merriment and mirth and laughter and legs, that will wrap up around seven or so, I’m sure, then maybe back to writing. Then Friday, we are back to rehearsing and getting everyone used to working on our actual set.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by ten – AGAIN – have a lunch meeting, do a Gelson’s run, hopefully get tracks, listen to them, then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite sauces, like Hollandaise or Bearnaise or Bechamel or cocktail sauce or remoulade. And sauces you cannot stand. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall dream of my perfect filet mignon with a hint of pink.