Michael Jackson, The Sporting, Karl Lagerfeld and Stein Mart......

Timeline.....1:26AM Monaco.  three 26, Reno.  Status.....

    Pumped from the MJ, Man in the Mirror Concert @ The Sporting.  Since my second visit here, I have observed The Sporting from above, 23 stories above to be precise.  I have watched the Prince (both of them) come and go with all the pomp and circumstance which accompanies them.  I more than admire and respect who they are and what they have created, known as The House of Grimaldi.  I borrow the following...

In 1299, the Grimaldis and their allies launched a few galleys to attack the port of Genoa before taking refuge on the Western Riviera. During the following years, the Grimaldis were going to enter into different alliances that would allow them to come back in force. This time, it was the turn of their rivals, the Spinola family, to be banned from the City. During all that period, both Guelfs and Ghibellines took and abandoned the castle of Monaco, which was ideally located to launch political and military operations against Genoa. Therefore, the story of Francis Grimaldi and his faction—who conquered the castle of Monaco under the disguise of friars in 1297—is largely anecdotal.

In the early 14th century, the Catalans from Spain raided the shores of Provence and Liguria, challenging Genoa and King Robert of Provence. In 1353, the combined fleet of eighty Venetian and Catalonian galleys gathered in Sardinia to meet the fleet of sixty galleys under the command of Anthony Grimaldi. Only nineteen Genoese vessels survived the battle. Fearing an invasion, Genoa rushed to request the protection of the lord of Milan.

Several of the oldest feudal branches of the House of Grimaldi appeared during those unrests, such as the branches of Antibes, Beuil, Nice, Puget, and Sicily. In 1395, the Grimaldis took advantage of the discords in Genoa to take possession of Monaco, which they then ruled as a condominium. It is the origin of today's principality.

As it was customary in Genoa, the Grimaldis organized their family ties within a corporation called Albergo. In the political reform of 1528, this ancient family became one of the 28 alberghi of the Republic of Genoa, to which other families were formally invited to join. Other Alberghi included the Doria and Pallavicini families. The House of Grimaldi provided many illustrious personalities such as doges, cardinals, cabinet ministers, and countless officers.

Until 2002, a treaty between Monaco and France stated that if the Grimaldi family ever failed to produce a male heir then the sovereignty over the territory would revert to France. The 2002 agreement modified this to make provisions for a regency and continued Monegasque sovereignty if such an event were to occur.

The coat of arms of the House of Grimaldi are simply described as fusily argent and gules, i.e., a pattern of red diamonds on a white background.

     With that, I am getting historically centuries behind and way ahead of my story.   Since my first visit to Bud and Ann's dream home I have read about the events that happen, effectively in their garden.  Twenty three floors above what ever is happening below.  Elton John, Steely Dan, The Annual WORLD MUSIC AWARDS (which I actually had an opportunity to attend in May of this year)  An annual event which featured Lady Gaga, U2, Black Eyed Peas etc.  .   You CAN NOT buy tickets to this..period, but I have a friend next door, George that offered me a seat at his table, the day of the event.  While I was originally tempted (VERY) tables went for 30,000 Euro!  When I mentioned this was WAY above my pay grade....He suggested I could pay whatever I was comfortable with.....  I explained that I considered this an abuse of our friendship and would not demean our friendship in this manner.  LEGIT from my point of view and moral compas.   He responded... Rip, pay what you can and be my guest....  An honor I thanked him for but declined...  If my bank balance was "in the neighbor hood" and I felt I had earned the seat, I would have gone,  

     When one says, "to make a long story short"...... it's generally too late to do so, With that in mind,  I get to tonight.  After years of being on the outside, looking in, I bought a ticket to the MJ Musical..   .Party of one.  Apprehension, Ya.

   I took the walk to The Sporting, maybe 300 yards.  I have watched the parade of Rolls, Ferari's, McClaren Mercedes, Bugatti's etc that drive up to the red carpet reception many times  Thru the binoculars I have observed the gowns, the suits, the red carpet reception.....

    Here is where the reality check arrived like a bolt of lightening!  I am comfortable in Monaco, very.  I am able to dress appropriately during the days.   I entered the lobby in my aesthetically appropriate and somewhat stylish choice of colors.....only to be followed by Karl Lagerfeld and his entourage.  I cannot express how aware I became of the fact that my Haggar  slacks were on sale at Stein Mart, my sport coat a treat when I lost weight on mega  sale for....yes, $56.00. in Indian Wells.  Memorable moment...

     I will finish this post later, as I WILL go swimming at 6AM and I did make two good friends at the musical, a French teacher and the CFO of  Anchois (sp) Monaco.  I will see them again on Sept, 24th @ Fellini in Menton, where they reside.  

   To this point, I have not even made it to the point of my story, but sunrise is in 4 hours and I WILL be in the Sea to greet it!  If you have read this far, return since I will continue to wander, and eventually make my point!

My first Grand Prix of Monaco, 1978

In June of 1978, Gary and Evelyn Corbitt, Joe and Terri Gage and Suzanne and I came to Monte Carlo for the Grand Prix.  We had a very long connection in London's Heathrow (Officially my LEAST favorite airport on the planet) and arrived very tired.  Uncle John (owner of INTRANSIT Travel, SF) had made all the arrangements and reservations.

     Upon arrival, Joe, Terri, Gary and Evelyn were given room keys and off they went.  I was informed that no reservation had been made in my name!  Would I please have a seat and wait while they attempted to find ANY ROOM for me since they were totally full for the GP>    Great, I am somewhere between still drunk and the place I call "leftover," which is the stage before a hangover officially occurs....I am in a French speaking town, late at night without a place to sleep and EVERY ROOM is booked for miles and miles since the Grand Prix begins in 2 days...  WOW Thanks Uncle John!

     The desk clerk came over to apologize for the delay and informed me that the ONLY ROOM available was under repair and would take some time to get ready for me.  Time for another drink...or four!  Fortunately The Loews Hotel has several bars that remain open until 6AM.

     After resigning myself to the fact that I will reside in a leaky room in the basement and having a cocktail or two,( for medicinal purposes only) the clerk appeared and told us he would show us to our room.  Feeling a bit better now we followed him to a hotel door.  When he opened the door, I was in AWE.  The lights were on, the drapes pulled back to show our balcony, which was 3rd floor, right above the letters "es" on the Firestone banner pictured below!   SCORE A BIG ONE for UNCLE JOHN.  I have no idea how he accomplished this, since the entire third floor was reserved for Race Vendors, Michellan, Gitanes etc.  We had THE PREMIER Room for viewing the race....

The next morning, as we walked down the street, a BMW startled us as it screeched to a halt right beside us!  The driver jumped out and shouted "RIP"  It was Mario Padilla, a friend from college that lives in Mexico City!   PARTY ON............

   The races started the next day. At what felt like 6AM, with my balcony door wide open, after a late night in the clubs, the Formula 1's began practice!  Loud, oh yea!  Mario showed up with Champagne and proceeded to pop the cork...onto the track!    Yes we were that close.  He also brought a bottle of Zabrowka Polish Vodka.  This is the Vodka with the Buffalo grass in it.  I drink this brand to this day.  I don't know if it's the Zabrowka or the fact that it was 8AM, but he insisted that we each have 1 shot.  WOW  The effect of that shot proved to be like an "E Ticket" ride at Disneyland. The races were incredible and the nightlife beyond description...

After the Grand Prix was over (5 days) we all went to a ledgendary restaurant on the Gran Corniche called Le Ferm or the farm.  The first time we went there, the waiters asked to take our jackets and when they returned to begin service, THEY WERE WEARING THEM!  Just the kinda place it was.  

On the way home, with Gary driving, as we approached Monaco and the race course, I suggested  that we "race it."  When we passed a motorcycle cop on the side of the road, Gary became concerned but I assured him that these police didn't have radios or a way to catch us.  ( To this day Gary swears that I flipped off the cop) Off we sped and it's valid to note here that Gary has always driven VERY FAST!  As we passed the casino where we had slowed due to traffic, a policeman was waving cars to move on.....until he saw us and simply motioned us to pull over... Hmmmm?   About 5 MINUTES LATER THE MOTORCYCLE COP "We Passed" earlier WALKED UP TO GARY'S WINDOW (with a large Motorola Radio on his hip) and said simply, "Monsieur, ze gran prix, she is fini"   At this point, Suzanne, Joe, Terri, Evelyn and I bailed out of the car since we were close to home.  This of course pleased Gary to no end!  He talked his way out of the ticket somehow and I have still not heard the last of this incident.

View Detailed 9 Day Weather Forecasts for Monaco, webcams, weather maps & more at Weather-Forecast.com

On the first day, God created

On the first day, God created the dog and said: 'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.' The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?' So God agreed. On the second day, God created the monkey and said: 'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.' The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?' And God agreed. On the third day, God created the cow and said: 'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.' The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years.. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?' And God agreed again. On the fourth day, God created humans and said: 'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.' But the human said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?' 'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.' So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family.. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. Life has now been explained to you.  There is no need to thank me for this valuable information.. I'm doing it as a public service.

WALMART VS THE MORONS!!!!!!!!!!

WALMART VS THE MORONS!!!!!!!!!!


  1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart every hour of every day.
  2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!
  3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.
  4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined.
  5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private Employer, and most speak English.
  6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World.
  7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger and Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only 15 years.
  8. During this same period, 31 supermarket chains sought bankruptcy.
  9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.
10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had 5       years ago.
11. This year 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur At a Wal-Mart store. (Earth's population is approximately 6.5 Billion.)
12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart.
You may think that I am complaining, but I am really laying the ground work for suggesting that MAYBE we should hire the guys who run Wal-Mart to Fix The Economy!
To all 535 voting members of the Congress, it is now official: you are ALL morons:

a.. The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775. You have had 234 years to get it right and it is broke.
b.. Social Security was established in 1935. You have had 74 years to get it right and it is broke.
c.. Fannie Mae was established in 1938. You have had 71 years to get it right and it is broke.
d.. War on Poverty started in 1964. You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the 
     poor" and they only want more.
e.. Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. You have had 44 years to get it right and they are broke.
f.. Freddie Mac was established in 1970.  You have had 39 years to get it right and it is broke.
g..The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of
    $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before. You had 32 years to get it right and it is an abysmal failure.

You have FAILED in every "government service" you have shoved down our throats while overspending our tax dollars

AND YOU WANT AMERICANS TO BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED WITH A GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM??

Kelly's Engaged!

WOW !!!

     Kelly met Chad during her Georgetown days.  They were friends and didn't begin dating until later...after they lived 3000 miles apart.!!! Kelly in Seattle and Chad in DC!  Their Bi Costal relationship has had them meeting all over the country, indeed the planet for long weekends, New Orleans, Ixtapa, Mexico, NYC, St Louis, Ontario for the Olympics, etc....

     Their friends call them Biscuits and Gravy, hence the T shirts.  (nice touch Chad!)

     Chad is a wonderful man and will be a welcome addition to the family.

They tell me Chad designed this engagement ring himself. 

       While they will always be  my little girls, both my lovely daughters have found wonderful men to bring into the family! 

Balcony Gardening etc

     A few years ago, when I started coming to Monaco more regularly I noticed that the plants and flowers on the balcony were very unhappy! Dad was on an extended cruise on The Crystal Serenity at the time .  I took Ann to Italy and we began to buy plants.  We also had a fountain that long ago ceased to be a fountain and became a statue.  Well, no secret I get a bit carried away when it comes to plants and my "personal environment."

     I repaired the fountain and began planting. Since then, I have found a nursery I LOVE on the road to Carros (where the fameous French strawberries come from) and Dinge, France.

    Well, given my proclivity to maybe get a bit carried away, we now have vegetables and greenery on our balconies with a working fountain.  (I wanted to either fill the fountain with wine, (after making it a closed system) or wine colored water.  Another of my great (ya right) IDEAS SHOT DOWN!

The Fountain....

    For over three years, I have been trying everything to create the sound of a brook with the fountain.  I have been able to duplicate the sound of;  filling a  kitchen sink, water overflowing from a commode onto a tile floor, a broken fire hydrant, etc....never quite what I was looking for.  I have finally created the correct audio...  The means, how ever are not the aesthetics I was hoping for...

Tupperware and broken clay pots!  THE MEANS JUSTIFY THE END?  Perhaps.... in this case. Stay tuned, I have an idea that may "save" the aura of CORNICOPIA!

When I bought this plant in Ventimiglia, it fir in the back seat!

NOW WE SIT ON THE BALCONY AND WATCH SIGHTS LIKE THIS....

TO BE CONTINUED....