May 24, 2011

Best paragraph in the obituary of the 104-year-old heiress Huguette Clark.

"For the quarter-century that followed [her mother's death], Mrs. Clark lived in the apartment in near solitude, amid a profusion of dollhouses and their occupants. She ate austere lunches of crackers and sardines and watched television, most avidly 'The Flintstones.' A housekeeper kept the dolls’ dresses impeccably ironed."

23 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Too bad she did not get herself an internet connection. She could have told some great stories on blogs.

Mutaman said...

Hey Meade, about time the Reds won a game.

Anonymous said...

Unleash the shrinks!

A. Shmendrik said...

Her father, a copper baron who once bought himself a United States Senate seat as casually as another man might buy a pair of shoes...

Eveyone who didn't think of Herb Kohl when they read that - raise your hand.

edutcher said...

What tg said. She would have been a wealth of stories about Gotham in her day.

I don't doubt the Astors, who made their fortune in the West, too, regarded her family as gauche, vulgar nouveau riche.

Also, what Shmendrik said. The Gray Lady acts so scandalized about her father's buying a Senate seat, but drools over the Lefties who use the welfare state for the same purpose.

KCFleming said...

Huguette: Donald Trump's description of a rotund female.

KCFleming said...

Apparently, The Glass Menagerie was fact-based.

Heather said...

Pogo,

The thought that she was Autistic came first to my mind too.

Fred4Pres said...

sad and strange.

Nice comment traditionalguy!

Freeman Hunt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Freeman Hunt said...

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest! who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mix'd; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please,
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.


(Ode on Solitude by Alexander Pope)

Fred4Pres said...

The Flintstones?

What, no Gilligan's Island?

Wince said...

Fuck interesting stories about turn of the Century New York society, I'd be interested to know whether she thought the introduction of the Great Gazoo was the moment when The Flintstones jumped the shark.

Triangle Man said...

Too bad she did not get herself an internet connection. She could have told some great stories on blogs.

If she had done this, perhaps she would have been wooed by a commenter.

YoungHegelian said...

I guess she's yabba-dabba done now.

RIP.

Triangle Man said...

I'd be interested to know whether she thought the introduction of the Great Gazoo was the moment when The Flintstones jumped the shark

Is there any question about this?

Roux said...

Sounds like a life and fortune totally wasted.

KCFleming said...

"Great Gazoo was the moment when The Flintstones jumped the shark

Is there any question about this?
"

Bamm bamm and Pebbles led to the fall. Gazoo just made it obvious.

Triangle Man said...

Bamm bamm and Pebbles led to the fall. Gazoo just made it obvious.

You make a strong case.

KCFleming said...

It was my college thesis.

Ricardo said...

What I got out of it was that you can live a long time on a diet of sardines. They must be right about the Omega-3s, calcium, protein, good fats, etc. I've read that one of the top problems in the normal geriatric diet is a lack of adequate and quality protein.

Titus said...

I fucking love this obit and wish I she would of been my fag hag.

There can be big bucks in being the fag friend of a rich old woman.

William said...

Who knew that doll clothes can lose their crease? I wonder if the maid had a little tiny doll iron to properly iron those little tiny doll creases. The pleats must have been especially challenging.....We all like to think that we serve some useful purpose in the world. The maid must have occasionally had bouts of existential angst while ironing. It's one thing to be trapped in a pointless life, but it must be even more poignant to lead your life facilitating the futility of another's life.