"39"

“There’s luck in odd numbers.” --Maurice Leblanc, THE CONFESSIONS OF ARSENE LUPIN 

Hurrah! It’s my Birthday, Tuesday, May 26th...and with more cards and love, too! 

Alan gave me a cool Biscotti Card with Espresso beans with an actual recipe on how to make the biscotti on the back of the card. When and if I will ever follow that recipe is unknown (highly unlikely—ha-ha). Alan wrote: 

5/26/98 

Dear Michael, 

Happy Birthday "39". As you know, you look 25-30 and you’re very HOT. I Love You so much. I want you to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy this weekend celebration in Palms Springs and Laguna Beach, starting tonight in Santa Monica. 

I’m very lucky to have met you and spend the last 8 ½ years with you. As the next years unfold, we will enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. I look forward to more fun and challenges and loving moments. You are My Guy. I Love You. Remember: I Love You. That’s it. 

Alan 

Alan’s mom wrote a cool postcard using a beautiful Henri Matisse oil painting depiction of INTERIOR AT NICE, painted in 1921: 

May 26, 1998 

Dearest Michael, 

“Happy Birthday” - You are a complete joy n my life and we thank the Gods that put you there. It’s so nice knowing you are there, to be able to talk with you, drink with you and laugh and gossip with you. You are a constant. Remain.  

Love Always,

Gloria Cohen 

Niece, Lauren Armijo, send a cool POWER OF STYLE postcard. She wrote: 

Mike, 

Happy Birthday!

You are the best Uncle I could have.

I love you. 

Love,

Lauren Armijo 

And of course, Alan had to surprise me with a humorous card: 

Michael, 

Is yours Available, Sport? Happy Birthday. U are a True Hunk!  

Love, Alan 

Cousin Edward M Espinosa in Albuquerque, NM sent a cute card of what appeared to be a young boy all dressed-up and running away, waiting for a train to take him away. 

Hello Michael, 

It’s been a real zoo/circus around our store. We’re short 3 key people, including a trained delivery driver. Trying to work with temps is at best tiring but we’ve made it through the last big holiday. I’m hoping things can get back to some semblance of normal. 

Or European plans are on hold. Clif Snyder has received a 2-month grant to retreat at the Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, and I’ve been elected Vice President of the NM State Florists Association which means summer long travel all over the state. Clif’s 2-months are in July and August, and I’ll be coming to California with him at the end of Augst for a short vacation. Maybe you and I can get together then.  

Family News: Diedra, Mabels’ granddaughter, finally graduated High School with honors. I guess she finally got motivated. Now her younger sister is pregnant. Maybe the same thing will happen to her. Rosalie, their mother, just hangs in there. 

My niece, Denise has been on a circuit traveling to Alaska and Atlanta after Korea. She’s really into her work. Although I think her husband, Victor, would like a little more home life. Hope all’s well with you. My best to your mother. When you see her or talk to her and of course, to Alan. 

Look for cards from all over New Mexico. 

Edward 

Cousin MaryAnn Gehling sent me an actual leaf from a fallen Colorado tree, a compact and cute message in her card of a young gal underneath the giant trunk of a huge tree.  

Michael, 

Wishing you a slower pace, some private time, a dreaming place and all the things that make a happy heart. Happy Birthday, Mary Ann.  

I love this card. It says it all: a little girl rests on the trunk of a tree. She’s nice to look at but she’s telling us to notice her trunk and not her leaves. Her trunk carries her inner beauty, her heart, her LIGHT. M.A. 

Michael, 

I couldn't resist sending you your own special leaf to make a wish, relieve stress or use it for good luck. Just remember, Leaves are beautiful, but tree trunks give them life. M.A. 

Michael, 

I bought this compact a couple of months ago at the antique show. I wanted something local, and I got it. If you notice the bottom says Buerger's-Denver. The dealer assured me you wouldn't have one of these. In all the 30 years she’s been a dealer she’s never seen a matching set of compacts. She’s only read about them in books. It dates from the 1940s and was never used. Thak makes it unusual. What makes it UNIQUE is the tiny compact that matches it. It’s a set. The tiny compacts were used for evenings out. A lady would fill her miniature compact with powder, and it would fit into a small evening bag very easily. She said, “The enamel on the compacts makes them more valuable, more collectible.” M.A. 

Gloria had her Bat Mitzvah and I have more pictures from the unforgettable event on Friday, May 29th, 1998:  

More correspondence this week as well... 

WILDLIFE OF THE DESERT postcard 

May 30, 1998 

Hey Michael, 

Just a note to let you know we’ve moved to Arizona (Jobs). So far, so good but not that hot yet. We’ll be in Phoenix, right next to Scottsdale. Weill get back to you with a permanent address when we’re settled. Keep sending family reunion info, please!  

Thanks, and Take Care, 

Patrick and Fae Markus 

Gloria loved the card I wrote for her Bat Mitzvah: 

5/20/98 

Dearest Michael,  

Your lovely card brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for feeling as you do. My heart beats for you the same way. Thanks for the gift. I shall put it to good use in Pris. We'll miss you much while sailing the Seven Seas. 

Love Always, Forever, 

Gloria  

And I round out the end of May 1998 with an in-depth, dramatic typewritten letter from Cousin MaryAnn Gehling. Yikes! 

May 31, 1998 

MY DREAM 

My kitchen was a flurry of excitement. I carefully measured flour, sugar, and shortening and dumped them into a bowl of ingredients and mixed it to perfection. I rolled out the batch of cookie dough, cut it into rectangular shapes, and placed the pan in the oven. The smell of vanilla and sugar drifted through the kitchen. I could hardly wait for them to finish baking. These cookies were special. They were for Michael.  

I smiled proudly when I took them out of the oven and laid them on a rack to cool. They were perfect. The cookies tasted delicious, the texture was perfect, the color was exact, but it was the way I arranged them on a platter that was beautiful. They were placed in a circle, like spokes on a wagon wheel. I took such care to arrange them perfectly in position. I refused to speak to anyone while I created the design for the platter. I spent weeks working on it. For a while it was my purpose in life. It was worth it. When I finished it was a work of Art. 

I chose eleven cookies to send. A master number. 

It took a while before I mailed them. I wrote a letter to Michael explaining how I labored over them, how much they meant to me, how it was a special gift for him. Then one day I stuck the sookies in an envelope and mailed them. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized how I sent them. In an envelope. My heart sank. They would be broken to pieces by the time he got them. He would never see the design I made on the platter. He would only see crumbs when he opened the envelope.  

There was nothing I could do. They were already mailed. I sat in a chair, covered my head with my hands, and cried.  

Michael, 

This was MY DREAM I had last night. I’ve written exactly what I dreamt. It explains what I have been feeling and thinking. 

Here is an interpretation of the dream: The cookies are the SBTS (Story Behind the Story). The design I arranged them in was the shape of the light in my bedroom. The light in my bedroom represents God. In my dream the cookies were excellent but the design I arranged them in was the most important. That’s what made them unique. That’s what I spent my time on. I wanted you to see the design they made. I wanted you to see they were in the shape of The Light of God. But after I sent them, I knew you wouldn’t see that. You would only see the cookie crumbs, the SBTS (Story Behind the Story). You would miss the whole point of the cookies. THE DESIGN, the fact that they were sent to you from THE LIGHT. M.A. 

Michael, 

I told you we had something to discuss. The Story Behind the Story (STBS) is one of them. It took weeks of work. I dreamed it and put it off as long as I could. It was the most personal thing I’ve ever shared with anyone. Conversations with God are extremely private. I didn’t want to tell you about them, but I had to. The Light asked me to. It’s the only reason I gave in and did it. I not only told you about my spiritual journey. I told you about my brother, Dave. I don’t share him with anyone, but I trusted you. I trusted you to treat my story with respect and reverence. 

When you read the last of the SBTS you sent an instant message telling me you liked it. That was it! After weeks of working on it, after months of worrying about it. After exposing my inners elf to you I NEVER RECIEVED ON ANSWER TO THE ELEVEN SBTS LETTERS. NOT ONE!  

I asked you to respond to the MEMORIES LETTER I send you last September 1997. I even sent a copy of it. It was important to me, and I explained why. You never answered or responded. 

After you read the SBTS, the Light told me to send you another letter telling you there was a message for you. You were to read the SBTS several times, then write me what the message was. I warned you the message was NOT that I love you. You didn't read it several times. In fact, you didn’t read it at all. You LIED to me and said you did. Then you said the message was that I love you even after I specifically told you that was not the message. 

Do you want to know how I feel? IT HURTS. IT HURST LIKE HELL. LIKE HELL. I HAVE CRIED AND CRIED ABOUT THIS AND I’VE KEPT IT TO MYSELF UNTIL NOW. NOW YOU HAVE TO KNOW BECAUSE I CAN’T CORRESPOND WITH YOU WHEN THIS PAIN IS INSIDE ME. 

Do you know what the pain says to me? It says, “Michael doesn’t care about the SBTS, or you. If he did, he would have taken the time to respond to the letters. He would have answered THE MEMORIES letter. He Doesn’t take the SBTS seriously. It’s a big joke to him. If he took it seriously, he wouldn’t have lied to you and told you he read it several times when he didn’t. You can’t trust him.” 

This hurts me, Michael, the real M.A., not Little Gril, but me. And the pain won’t go away. I can't overlook it. If I could, I wouldn’t write to you about it. I know you well. You will turn into “Mike” when you read this. You will tell me I need to see Dottie and that I am overreacting. THAT’S WHY I HAVEN’T TOLD YOU HOW I FEEL. I KNOW IT WON’T DO ANY GOOD. BUT I HAVE TO FIVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE. 

I know it isn’t easy to read this. I’m not being complimentary to you at all. But I’m being honest. I’m hurt because of what you did and didn’t do. 

Make no mistake, Michael, the way you respond to what I have told you will determine our future. No, that isn’t a threat. I do care about you, but I can’t be your friend when I feel like this. 

Michael, if you decide to respond, please understand that I need more than a few short lines in a note, or an email. M.A. 

Ok, after reading this I thought, “OK, she’s too much, too religious. I feel like walking away. Am I turning into MIKE right now? It’s too much. And how did she know I’d suggest she talk to Dottie, her psychoanalyst sister? It’s time to write a letter to someone who feels more normal. And so, I think I’ll write to Paloma right now.” 

Dear Paloma, 

Enclosed you will find the two postcards I would have sent you had I been in the mood to use my own handwriting (Jennifer Lopez and a guy at the NY Health & Racquet Club—will she realize those cards are subliminal message images of her and me?) So, you can either treasure the 2 cards or frame them or send them off to someone else if you like (ha-ha). I decided to spend this afternoon on the computer catching up on letter writing. 

The latest thing with me is that I spent the Memorial Day weekend in Palm Springs and Laguna Beach and had a splendid sunny time there. It was my birthday weekend (May 26th) as you know. I decided to subtract 10 years from the year I was born, so now my new Birthday is 5/26/69 (ha-ha0. I appreciate you remembering my Birthday! 

As for work...it’s there. It keeps me busy, but I am in the mood for a change. Sometime after 12/31/98 I think I will leave Charles Schwab & CO. And my become an Independent Investment Manager. Alan sold his interest in his restaurant/bagel business and one of his real estate properties, so he will have more time on his hands, and we will probably do the Money Management Business together. Time will tell.  

When you have access to the internet, please email me at my newest email address that I check frequently. So, if you’re near a computer you can drop me a line that way, too. Do you have an email address? I have emailed a couple of my clients in LONDON, so I wonder if I can communicate with you that way as well. Let me know, Paloma! 

I love the letters you send me. It’s funny the older we ALL get the closer in age we really are. 

Alan’s daughter, Lauren, got into NYU, New York University, so we may go to New York more often. My mom is traveling to Provence with Alan’s mother, Gloria, in October on a two-week sort of deal. I wonder if they’ll be near you. Are you in SETE for a while or will you be changing around again? While we were in NY we stayed at the New York HILTON on 6th and West 54th. It’s very conveniently located in Midtown near all the shops and Central Park. 

That Holiday letter you got from the Saperstein's was a little obnoxious, wasn’t it? All the names and place dropping. Are they out to “impress” or what? Hmm...whatever...I’d rather have lunch with you and Alexandre than Bill and Hillary any day. Seriously, I would.  

I saw a bit of clips on TV at the Cannes Film Festival. It always looks so exciting there. I recently saw Helena Bonham Carter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills and Jamie Lee Curtis and her dad, Tony Curtis, at the SPAGO Beverly Hills Restaurant. I ate there for my Birthday, puff-puff, ha-ha. Jeez, now I sound like the Sapersteins (name and place dropping), don’t I? Well, you know I just know you like to hear these things.  

I like actor Jean Reno. He was in THE PROFESSIONAL and in GODZILLA. He’s a famous actor in France, right? He’s great. Well, here’s my latest film critique. I loved SLIDING DOORS with Gwyneth Paltrow. It was a great “WHAT IF” film. I loved it and would love to see that again. The two films I saw most recently were excellent and you must see them if you haven't already: THE OPPOSITE OF SEX with Christina Ricci and THE HORSE WHISPERER with Robert Redford. I didn’t have any desire to really see THE HORSE WHISPERER but when I did, I was glad that I did. It’s a must see. That new Spielberg one, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, with Tom Hanks looks to be a good one, too—when it’s released. I want to see THE PERFECT MURDER starring Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow also. I know the film editor for THE PERFECT MURDER (Dov Hoenig). He’s one of my clients at work. 

I’m flying to Alameda on June 11th for the weekend to see mom and especially my niece, Ashley Marie Armijo, who is graduating from 8th grade. Do you believe it? She was just born, right? And I’m attending the graduation. I plan to take mom to a belated Mothers’ Day dinner in San Francisco at Morton’s of Chicago on Post Street (a great steakhouse restaurant) on that Saturday night that I’m there. It should be nice.  

I’m glad Jonathan likes the USA. You'll have to bring him out here again. In December, Las Vegas will have the new PARIS HOTEL ready. Hilton is doing it. Then, a few months later, the new BELLAGIO HOTEL (Italian themed) will be ready. You should come to Vegas again since you liked it so much. If you do, let me know! Then I can see if I can get there that weekend to meet for dinner or something. 

Till the next news update. 

Always,  

MICHAEL 

Regards from Alan! Regards to Alex and Jonathan! 

“LIFE isn’t half so serious, and we’ll probably arrive—so why worry too much over details along the way?” --Dr. Douglas M Kelley, in a love note from the 1930s, THE NAZI AND THE PSYCHIATRIST