“Strange as this story already sounds, we must go still father, very much farther, in the direction of the improbable and the astounding...” --Maurice Leblanc in his book, THE CONFESSIONS OF ARSENE LUPIN 

Gloria sent me a great postcard that I sent her from the GOLDEN DOOR while we were there. It was a postcard of their beautiful garden.  I love a beautiful garden with vegetables. I wish I had one with a built-in gardener to plant the seeds and take active care of it.  Ha-ha 

Gloria wrote: 

8/6/1999 - Hi Sweets, 

Among my treasures I found this postcard that I am returning to remind you of your wonderful week there with Alan.  I lunched at FIG TREE in Venice yesterday with Susan and Mady.  We met Sarah Herschkowitz and Stephanie Kleinman, walking on the boardwalk. 

Much Love, 

Gloria 

8-17 

I did my run & scheduled an appointment with Helen Settle for 8/25 who ended up cancelling—but we finally saw her, and we prepared a $250 one-hour proposal/consult for her. 

I had lunch with my cousin, Jose Mercado & gave him complimentary finance instructions on opening a $2000 account with Waterhouse Securities.  He doesn’t have much money to speak of. 

We had a delightful dinner with Alan, Lauren, Carrie at RJ's Rib Joint in Beverly Hills—Lauren was craving it. 

8-18 
Alan and I went to JONI’s COFFEE SHOP in the Marina—for coffee.  It’s a Marina Del Rey Cronie hangout that we had not visited in some time. 

We did the gym workout & took to a wonderful drive to Malibu for lunch at Geoffrey’s where we met The Tenor & the Real Estate guy from NYC. 

Went to some “dive” on Melrose with Herb Braha to watch Herb’s old chum sing some corny folk-like songs. He was a total reject from the 60’s… “Oh What a Night…” 

8-19-99 
I arranged for Sheri to pick me up at the Oakland Airport & I did my run that morning. 

I met with the Dolgin’s for my $250/hour fee, presenting them with a worthwhile proposal. 
I Introduced them to the QQQ (Nasdaq 100) & the DIA & gave them a few other tips. 

At 7:30pm Alan and I joined Jack & Gloria to see a gay men's drag spoof sequel of Sunset Blvd called Miss Desmond Behind Bars, which really made for a lot of chuckles.  Miss Norma Desmond is one who seemed as though she was going to have 'a snap' at any moment. Anyone could have 'a snap', so always beware.

I received a letter from my cousin and read it before bedtime. The card looked very October with a harvest sort of feel.  

Dearest Cousin Michael, 

Sorry it took me a bit to write, but Bernadette enrolled Desireé into a special school in Colorado Springs.  Can you guess who has to take her 3x a week? She’s such a wonder, my Precious!  She learned her alphabet at 1½ yrs and now I’ve taught her the Lord’s Prayer & she’s learning the Hail Mary. She’s so bright. 

I was so happy to hear from you and all the wonderful events you’re attending. I’m so, so, incredibly proud, Michael—it’s wonderful & I’m so proud to know a cousin like you! 

I’m sending you a souvenir of the Broncos—wear it if you wish or do whatever. Hope you enjoy it! 

I love reading your letters & things. I hope you don’t mind I start work on the 27th & I won’t ignore you, promise. 

Love, 

Marie Antoinette 

8-20-99 
Alan e-mailed me a Happy Anniversary note as did I from my mom’s home in Alameda 
I arrived at mom’s house and I was still able to do my run along Harbor Bay Parkway. Mom was still in Las Vegas but was returning today.  

I discussed Tony & Helen’s divorce with my brother, John, and his wife Sherri via a round table discussion in their dining room.  We concurred with, “You just never know.” 

I picked up mom at the OAKLAND airport after her Vegas trip. She seemed burnt out on being there a whole week.  She was happy to be home and to see me, too.  

8/21 

I managed to do my run today.  Later, I took my niece, Holly, her pal Sabrina & Ashley with two of her own pals to the NSYNC concert in Mountain View! It was exhausting but fun.  I didn’t have 'a snap' incident with them either. They were all such good girls, wanting of a great time.  There was no pressure whatsoever.  I even found a parking space easily. It made me think of that Cyndi Lauper song, GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN.   

8/22 
Once again, I did my run for the day.  I lounged in Alameda with mom for pure Rest & Relaxation. 

August 23, 1999  

I sold my IPO stock, MP3.  I wasn’t in love with it, and I only had 100 shares.  

I wrote a long letter to Paloma.  I was in the mood to reply and write. 

Dear Paloma, 

I was so pleased to get your long letter, plus the cool Club Med book! 

 Now, John F. Kennedy Jr. is just a distant memory. It really made me recall how precious life is — how we must enjoy every day. (Last week’s topic was the disastrous earthquake in Turkey. The horror to be burned alive & not be able to get out. Thank God the U.S. has such strict building codes!) 

You made me laugh about my life — working and running! I work, you know, when I went to the Golden Door in June — that was work because we were networking for new clients. We knew anyone that would pay $5000+ for a week at the Golden Door would/could be a good client for us. We're in touch with several of the people we met, so we may be getting one or two as a client soon. 

I’m glad to hear that you are working (your abdominals!) I still see you with that gorgeous body. I’m sure it hasn’t changed much! I know you will age gracefully. I still eat Brie & Roquefort on dinner menus — but it’s usually expensive.  As for Roquefort — I hadn’t heard that it was going to be in short supply. Thanks for the heads up! 

A cocktail party with nice people is basically “what you make of it.” I could choose to be a snob or be friendly & try to have a good time. That’s pretty much what I do — eat & practice small talk! A cocktail party is usually brief — they get together anyway, so it’s no pressure. Don’t forget rich people are regular people — they take a sh*t — just like the rest of us! And like anyone — you must screen out the ones you like! 

Have you ever been to Israel? Do you & Alex think you may go to Chef De Village or Club Med in Arziv (Achziv) to see Laurent?  That would be fun. I’ve never been to Israel.  I’d love to go one day.  It would be great to go wherever Laurent may be cooking.  It sounds like Bora Bora would be expensive! 

I can’t believe we’ve been writing to each other for 14 years — WOW! Time sure flies, huh? 

The latest news is that my brother Tony may be getting a divorce. He moved to Reno, Nevada — he met a gal named Linda (she’s from New Mexico) that he fell in love with while working in his new office. Do you believe it?! I think she’s about 38 — he's 47. I feel sorry for my niece Lauren & Leigh. They moved to Reno, NV. They bought a new home. Tony & Helen transferred to new jobs there & now this.  Oh well — again. We’ll see what happens. 
 

Absolutely NOT! You cannot read my journal, Paloma. I don’t want you to read all my intimate thoughts & fantasies about you! Just keep looking through all my old + new letters, ha-ha. You have such a good memory (yes, I was very serious about that girl named Kelly — back in 1989). She read my journal & about me + George Jones. I think I was 25 or so — George was 20. We had an affair. Of course, that blend of our relationship (me + Kelly) — who knows what could’ve been? I was seriously thinking of getting married to her. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. 

I think Alan glances at my journal now + again. I’d prefer that he not read it — but I let him get away with it. Sometimes it helps our relationship because I can communicate in writing the things that irritate me about him.  

Alfred Hitchcock is great. Did you know they came out with a U.S. postage stamp of him? Have I sent it to you? If not, let me know. I’ll send it to you. 

My grandma Matilde Vigil Armijo de Garcia would have been 100 in 1998. I never realized she & Alfred Hitchcock were peers (the same age) until you told me. 

If I find a way to get that Peruvian film, No Se Lo Digas a Nadie (Don't Tell Anyone) for you — I will.

The movie is about this good-looking guy who is gay & yet, he’s madly in love with this girl at the same time! In the end, he’s going to get married to the girl — but you can see he’s still got an attraction for this one guy.

There’s a lot more to the story, but I can’t give it all away. It starts when the good-looking guy is only 6 or 7 years old at a summer camp. He grows up to his late 20s.

The entire film is just an excerpt of his life. I really loved it. I could so relate to it.

Oh — in answer to your question — Alan does NOT read your letters, but sometimes I read excerpts of your letters to him. 

The old Polanski movie, What? has caught my interest now. Have you checked under www.reel.com or amazon.com to see if they have the video? Sitcom was terrible. The Dinner Game was “OK” — you’re right. Now that I think back, it wasn’t that great. I’ve never seen or heard of Gazon Maudit or Pédale Douce here in the U.S. — They sound good. 

If you’re serious about a job at the French Consulate — I can give you her name + address. Do you think you + Alexandre + Jonathan would move? Maybe you can even send an email of interest + salary requirements. You should go to www.jobs.com or www.futurestep.com. I’m sure there are plenty of jobs in the U.S. looking for people that are tri-lingual in French, Spanish & English. You still do a great job writing me in English. You are excellent!! 

There were no non-stop flights from L.A. to Rome — so we must do one stop in Paris — then on to Rome on 10-10-99. Virgin Air is great & cheap for flying between European countries. On 10-19 we will reach Milan by car & take a Virgin flight to Madrid because it’s so cheap to fly on Virgin from Milan to MADRID. I’ll let you know where we stay in Italy. Thanks for the info on The Palace in Madrid. It’s nice to know it’s one of the best. Maybe you should go visit your dad between 10/20–10/24 — in Colmenarejo, Spain & then come to Madrid to have dinner with us — ha-ha — I know it’s easier said than done, right? Alan took his mom to Madrid for her 70th birthday just because she hadn’t been there since the 1950s or 60s — This was 3 years ago. So that’s the scoop. Alan is not Spanish. He is Jewish with family heritage from Russia as I understand it. 

My other brother John lives about a block away from my mom in Alameda (30 min from San Francisco). You remember Alameda, right? 

One of my clients named Monica Webb subtitles films in various languages including French.  I remember the time you got out of the car to save that parking space... What a bitch that lady was — trying to run you down. You were one tough cookie then, huh? What happened? Just kidding. 

I didn’t know the main actors in MASH* — the man + woman — were a real couple in real life. That’s good gossip. There were parts of the movie that I thought were very good. It was different, that’s for sure. 

I have never heard of Emma De Caunes — I’ll keep my eye out for her.  I bet she’s HOT. I must say — I agree with your heartthrob Jeff Bridges — Arlington Road and The Muse — You’re right — Against All Odds + Red Wine & UB40 will always be our movie + song.  On my 40th Birthday we danced to RED RED WINE in the pool— we had a trio Jamaican band playing live by our pool after dinner. They played it unexpectedly.   

We leave for N.Y. this Thursday, 8/26 — We’ll be sure to enjoy it as much as possible. 

Regards to Alexandre, Jonathan & ALL those close to you — 
Love, 
Michael J. Armijo 

A “snap” is certainly not a medical term.  It can happen in a split-second, the result of a terribly traumatic event.  Or it can be the final straw, the sad culmination of pressure that builds and builds until the mind and body must find a release. --John Grisham, THE LITIGATORS