How I
regret having introduced family and
friends to the GTR in 1999. I had intended
merely to share my good fortune with them.
Instead, the Crash of 2000 made me the
donor of a gift from Hell.
They were all very understanding afterward,
but the damage had been done and could not
be undone. My hubris still sticks in my craw.
For a while I was the butt of local banter.
One time a friend drove by me on my daily
run, and his six-year-old son leaned out the
car window and shouted, "Hey, Dick, got
any hot tips?" What an ingrate, after I'd let
him in on Global Crossing and Globalstar
when they were priced to perfection.
In recent years, the fuss has died down, or
so I had thought. But first, some background
for what follows:
My wife
Debbie and I live in a house called
Cliffside. It's on Lawrence Lane in the
Hudson River hamlet of Snedens Landing.
In August we gave a party for our neighbors.
They all brought picnics and sat on the lawn
in front of the veranda, with the river behind
them. We provided a stage show and
adult beverages.
The party had a French theme in honor of
its star attraction,
René Risqué.
Both the
invitation and the program sported a copy
of Edouard Manet's famous painting of a
French picnic,
Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe.
To open the show, a friend and neighbor,
the Oscar-winning songwriter David Shire,
wrote and performed the song below.
Maurice Chevalier couldn't have done it
any better.
But apparently my Gilder notoriety lives on.
♫
Dejeuner
♫
I've been asked to introduce
This august, August occasion
This dejeuner sur l'herbe
For those of picnicking persuasion
And since the keynote seems to be
A Parisienne esprit
I've prepared a petite confection
To reinforce the French connection
Dejeuner
Dejeuner
Lawrence Lane
On the Seine
For a day
Dejeuner
I dare say
Me and you
We'll outdo
Ed Manet
Dejeuner
How outré
Deb and Dick
Do their shtick
We obey
So as we sip our wines and cold beers
Let's toast those fabulous Sears
Dick is done
With his run
We can play
Start the fun!
Hip hooray
Oui, allez
Dejeuner!
Dejeuner
Come and stay
Gourmet fête
Plus we get
René Risqué
Beaujolais
S’il vous plait
Let's all drink
Til we stink
It's okay
Mes amis
If I may
Though I sing
There's one thing
I must say:
Although Dick's a helluva mensch
He's really not all that French
And though Debbie bleeds savoir-faire
She rarely reads Baudelaire
But in the Landing
We're not demanding
We drop our stiff side
And come to Cliffside
So cut your cheeses
Enjoy the breezes
As Venus rises
There'll be surprises
For as we get our stomachs filled here
Dick may share the latest forecast from
George Gilder!
What a day! (Let it pour!)
Toujour gai! (I'm singing in the rain!)
Dejeuner!
Returns for Week Ended
September 24
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