This new world that has been chiseled out of chaos, epidemics and nefarious characters is a grim society of people who do not mean each other well. Most of my life I have prided myself on living privately while marching to the beat of my own drum.
However, since my return from Florida folks have been coming for me mercilessly and they have left me no choice but to set the record straight. My entire life I have been extremely selective who I consorted with as friends, acquaintances, and paramours.
Yet, judging from the loose lips that are trying to sink ships you would think I am just a nonchalant, don’t care, reckless, type of woman who only consorts with thugs. The truth is if the men I dated were thugs I knew nothing of their thuggery.
When my first relationship ended I was devastated. Although it was a relationship riddled with domestic violence, my partner did not have the decency to let me know he was leaving. I returned home to find the place completely empty.
I was barely 21 years old and had never lived on my own before. The girlfriends I had at the time felt my pain and did their best to rally around me. My girlfriend Denise, whose sister and brother in law, were famous body builders and action stars showed up for me in unimaginable ways.
She contacted all her Hollywood connections that had single friends to get me back into the dating pool. I was in bad shape. Although I managed to participate in my daily career tasks, after hours I was like Dawn of The dead. I moped all the time and walked around like a zombie.
I experienced night terrors since I was still traumatized from the abuse of the relationship. I could not sleep. I would drink a shot glass of vodka every night just to be able to rest. I did not want to get used to sleeping pills and felt it was the safer alternative. After all vodka is made from potatoes.
My friend and soul sister Denise Portugues Harding who recently passed away was one of my saving graces. She decided that she was committed to setting me up in a relationship that would bring me joy instead of heartache and misery.
The first guy she set me up with was a notable Jewish lawyer. I had met him one or two times before when “Denny” and I hung out. His name was David Goldwyn. I think at the time he was practicing entertainment law. He was a gentleman, very nice and thoughtful. Yet despite all he had going for him there were no sparks.
We dated a few times. I felt he was too old for me and so I basically dropped back in the relationship. I began avoiding him until the relationship died a natural death. My self esteem was at such an all time low. I could not believe he would be seriously interested in me and so I dished out before he figured out there were greener pastures.
Most people thought I as muy loca since he had a lot going on. Yet that was typical me in those days. I had too much trauma and drama to focus on good vibes. Denise was frustrated with me because she felt David was as safe as you could get as far as dating was concerned. I had other ideas. The truth is I did not know what I wanted. I was still young, naive and thoroughly misguided.
Then, another girlfriend of mine, Shirley who was betrothed to one of the heirs of Cohen Fashion Optical felt that she had the answer to pairing me with a good date. She obviously had done well for herself, so who would not follow her directives? Her husband was an attorney. Shirley and I spent a lot of time together after work.
She was always meeting interesting people, especially good looking men. She was quite a looker and so it was understandable that men flocked to her like a moth to a flame. Initially, she set me up with a Latvian guy who went by the name of Steven Berzins. He was quite stunning. The issue with him was that he was not a good conversationalist.
We had a beach date where he brought marijuana with him and that was a huge turn off for me. I bid him adieu right then and there and returned home. My ambivalence to follow through on this date did not stop her from trying. She then delved into her future husband’s friends and picked me a gay divorcee.
He was Jewish and a partner of a law firm. Howard Kronberg was very hip and trendy. He was funny, and quick witted. My apprehension with him was the fact that he was always in a hurry and would act flaky from time to time.
He would cancel dates often and I would not hear from him for days. It was clear that he still had issues going on concerning his divorce. I also found out midway in the friendship that he dabbled with recreational drugs. I previously wrote about him in my blog.
Once I was sure about these findings, I bid him farewell and moved on. He was kind of sweet since he used to give me greeting cards every time we went out on a date. But to say he had a few issues was an understatement.
Shirley Sienna then fixed me up with Dr. Albert Marchetti. He claimed he was about to inherit a substantial amount of money and the terms of the will indicated that he should marry at once. This gentleman was well into his forties and I was barely 21 years old.
He used to call me Hawaiian Princess Kahluani. He was an affable sort. He would give me foot massages every time he made me hoof it all over Manhattan. I hated walking and taking the subways back then. The reflexology treatments were his way of compromising. He was filled with jokes and a good sense of humor. He loved fashion, but the age difference was a problem. The first time he invited me to his home, he lit up a sensemelia ciggie and that was enough to send me running out the door never looking back.
Shirley is also the girl I wrote about who tried to set me up with her ex boyfriend. She claimed they never did the horizontal mambo and so she felt it was okay for he and I to date.
She did not bank on the fact that he would take a shining to me and that ticked her off tremendously. Later on when the relationship took on a serious tone, she told me that she only set me up with the guys to get me laid. She was never trying to find me a soul mate. The impression I got from her was that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too. Ed Garrett was a handsome Greek. He was a dead ringer for JFK Jr. He was a General Manager of a food consortium on Long Island. As a result of the crass developments our friendship dissolved. You can read more about the debacle in my prior blog posts.
The thing is I was always clear that I was a relationship girl. I dated my first beau for 8 years. Therefore I do not know why she would have tried to offer me less than a solid relationship unless she was trying to win accolades with her husband’s peers.
Ed expressed to me that he liked me just fine and wanted to explore a relationship with me. However, after the showdown I encountered with Shirley, (she was ticked I kept her out of the loop regarding the progression of the relationship), I decided the whole affair was too much drama and histrionics for me.
I bid Ed adieu and moved on with my life. Since that time I have been privy to several reports that he was looking for me. Who knows?
Over the years so many nasty things have been said about me and after thirty odd years of me keeping a low profile people are still talking calumnious things about me. They really ought to give it a rest because some of the people I have dated are the ones who are running the world right now.
At no time at all have I ever been a thug connoisseur. If the fellows I dated acted thug like at some point in their lives, you can rest assure they did it on their time. I have standards to maintain and the only time I accept behavior that is out of character is if they are defending me and my honor.
Fighting For My Life Memoir 