Infidelity Among the Rich!

In the December post entitled New Year's Greetings I reported that all the framed photos of my employer's new girlfriend had been removed from the house - and we were obviously speculating she was on the way out.

I'm not sure if I ever explained, but during this three-year relationship she only came out to the Hampton's on the weekends, Friday through Sunday. The affair seemed solid and enduring to all of us and we were growing accustomed to her. But then after a while, during week days when she wasn't here, there were other women (plural!) starting to show up. This gave us all a shock at first! We just weren't quite sure how to react or relate to any of them.

I try to mind my own business around here and never go over to the house in the evenings unless specifically requested for an event or cocktail party. So I really don't know what goes on around here in the evenings. But frequently during the week Ester the upstairs maid would report finding lipstick on a wine glass from the evening before, and we could easily trace our employer and his mysterious new guest's movements throughout the house from the tell-tale evidence left behind.

But then one day Ester reported that for the last few weeks the lipstick on the wine glasses was always the same shade, and the lingering perfume throughout the house was always the same as well. So we naturally assumed the old man was settling in on one new competitor to the weekend lady. Then when the pictures disappeared we thought we had a conclusive answer as to what might be coming next.

We couldn't have been more wrong. This morning Ester called me early and said the pictures were back up. It seems the new girlfriend has spent the last month with her family in Europe during all the holidays, but now she's back. Where this leaves the new weekday lady, we haven't a clue. But once again, as before the last divorce, our job now is to play musical sheets and try to neutralize perfume odors in the house and cars, in between visits.

As unseemly as this all may sound, my experience has been that rich people make up their own rules and do whatever they wish is this life. Fidelity is one of those clumsy things that seemingly and easily gets tossed aside in their world, as long as the money keeps flowing to everyone involved. Who am I to judge that with my middle class values?

Not all rich behave this way, of course. I'm just reporting my own observations over the years, and we're all familiar with the salacious stories coming out of Hollywood and Washington DC. By comparison, I suppose what goes on in this house doesn't seem all that irregular - as things go in their world.

So the new girlfriend's back. I guess we need to adjust our thinking and start calling her the Weekend Girlfriend - to allow room for others. Who knows?

Thanks for dropping in this evening. Hope your winter is moving right along, with the happy prospect of spring just ahead.

Andrew
 

A Plea to Twitter!

There's some disturbing news right now that Twitter is considering expanding Tweets from 140 characters to 10,000!

WHAT? Please God don't let this happen! The whole FUN of Twitter is quick tweets and rapid response, to which millions of active users have all become accustomed!

And the thing is, this limitation of 140 characters has forced Twitter fans to increase our focus, sharper thinking, and precise usage of the English language to get a simple and quick message across. No other forum on the internet does this!

In my own situation this wonderfully-reduced verbiage has been a blessing; the economy of words has carried over into responding to comments on my blog, responses to rambling crap on Facebook, even to personal emails to family and friends so I don't bore them to death!

Twitter, surely you understand there are OTHER FORUMS to let people rant and rave! Like Reddit! Facebook! And personal blogs! Why would you destroy the pristine simplicity of 140 character that we've all grown to love?

If this is reaching you at all Twitter, let me say thanks tonight for allowing me to rant and rave right here on my own personal blog - not blasting out the brains of Twitter friends and followers! Please do rethink this! If someone throws 10,000 characters at me during a busy day I think I'd croak - and most surely NOT respond!

Short and sweet has gained you millions of fans and participants. Are you really willing to jeopardize all this by turning yourself into another Reddit or Facebook? If you think I'm the only one alarmed, here's a link to The Huffington Post that describes the emotional and financial chaos at hand!

As always, thanks for stopping by this evening. If you're a Twitter fan, then you know precisely what I'm talking about. (Otherwise, please forgive me for boring you to tears!)

Andrew A. Williams
On Twitter: @TheButlersTale

Epiphany 2016! Christmas is finally over!

During this festive time of year many of us leave our Christmas decorations up throughout the New Year celebrations, and of course rich people with all their nonstop parties and carrying on most certainly do the same.

So then, when everybody here on the estate got back to work on Monday January 4, our Italian grounds keepers Maurizio and Dario immediately set to work taking down all the door wreathes and thousands of tree lights around the house and grounds.

Then yesterday they came inside to dismantle the gigantic twelve-foot Christmas tree in the entrance hall. When we were half way done taking down the ornaments, the Mister came downstairs and growled "No, no! Lets not do that until Epiphany."

We were dumbfounded! This is not a Catholic house. We do not celebrate the full twelve days of Christmas like they do. So what's this all about?

Most of the staff here including myself are Catholic, so we didn't mind this one bit. But in the entire history of this house the Twelve Days have never been celebrated all the way to the end.

As I mentioned before, the new girlfriend hasn't been around for awhile, but I'm remembering now that she was Catholic. She hung a small cross in her dressing room upstairs when she first started coming here, and she has the most exquisite string of heirloom genuine pearl Rosary beads I think I've every seen. So perhaps her influence lingers on, and the old man has responded in kind. Who knows?

In any case, today is finally the last day of Christmas 2015!  The Epiphany, Three Kings Day, whatever you want to call it. The Magi have arrived, and we're done.

It's time now to move on, right? In fact the supermarkets and drug stores are already putting out Valentine's candy. I guess tomorrow we'll take down the tree, and that's that.

Thanks for dropping by tonight. Again, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and let me be the first to say Happy Valentine's Day!

Andrew