As readers may know, I am a bit daft. Its polite synonyms are daft, preposterous, ridiculous, ludicrous, farcical, laughable, risible; idiotic, stupid, foolish, foolhardy, unwise, imprudent, ill-conceived, silly, inane, puerile, infantile, fatuous, imbecilic, hare-brained, half-baked; unreasonable, irrational, illogical, nonsensical, pointless, senseless, impracticable, unworkable, unrealistic; peculiar, odd, strange, queer, weird, eccentric, bizarre, fantastic, incongruous, grotesque; informal crazy, barmy, potty, cock-eyed. ANTONYMS sensible.
I do admit to most of the above, not al,l but most. I was suddenly thinking of a song and do know why. It is a Billy Joel song, She’s Always A Woman.
She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child but she’s always a woman to me
She can lead you to love, she can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth but she’ll never believe you
And she’ll take what you give her as long as it’s free
Yeah she steals like a thief but she’s always a woman to me
Oh, she takes care of herself, she can wait if she wants
She’s ahead of her time
Oh, she never gives out and she never gives in
She just changes her mind
And she’ll promise you more than the garden of Eden
Then she’ll carelessly cut you and laugh while you’re bleeding
But she brings out the best and the worst you can be
Blame it…
So why was I thinking constantly about this song? It is because I laughingly say to any (and al) l
Me: He’s Always A Sultan to Me.
If I was endlessly creative I would make up words so the songs would be suited to the Sultan. Not hard for the first sentence. He can kill with a smile, he can would with his eyes. But then it takes work and I just want to play, not work hard in an unfamiliar medium. I retain this quality of being playful, endlessly so.Suppose it is because there was not an opportunity to be playful when a youngster or even later as an adolescent. Goodness knows, I am making up for it now! Playful: jolly, fun-loving, lively, full of fun, high-spirited, spirited, in high spirits, exuberant, perky, skittish, coltish, kittenish; mischievous, impish, devilish, puckish, roguish, rascally, tricksy, prankish; informal full of beans, frolicky; dated gay; archaic frolicsome, gamesome, sportive; rare ludic.
What makes me more playful at this particular moment is being here in London rewarding myself for a recovery well done. Everything has been put aside for the time being whilst I reward myself. My hotel is an incredibly safe haven and, by and large, there is a large group of supportive, caring people It is my moment to shine and in the midst of it all – who should I meet – but a Sultan. It makes me giggle out loud- he is other things but he is Always a Sultan to Me. The Sultan With the Primark Bag. It is so unlikely! Why was a man with SO much money staying at my hotel. It is a wonderful hotel but he could stay ANYWHERE! It was fun to giggle with him not knowing who he really was – by the time I figured out his true identity – he was gone. He had run off, rather literally because then he led a run with 70,000 citizens following him in his Primark shirt. (joke).
But I am a practical soul as well and ask for consolation and sensibility. As usual, my high school friend)CPI) came through with her wisdom (and, parenthetically, her knowledge of me). She was so sweet and also so realistic, and discouraging.
She: You speak to everyone and I’m sure CPD was charmed by your openness, honesty and complete lack of cloying behaviour towards royalty (after you found out who he was!). And an American (wish I could say a Canadian) in the heart of his hotel in London….
But, perhaps just let that chance encounter bring you peace.
There is a back story to the part that I found most touching in the paragraph. . (wish I could say a Canadian). I tried being a Canadian again and CPI lives very near Vancouver. But it did not work and I resumed my American identity, one could say thoroughly. What do I mean by thoroughly? Rigorously, in depth, exhaustively, from top to bottom, minutely, closely, in detail, meticulously, scrupulously, assiduously, conscientiously, painstakingly, methodically, carefully, sedulously, completely, comprehensively, fully, to the fullest extent, intensively, extensively.
I shed my Canadianess in a a painstakingly, completely, intensively manner. I was scruplous- my speech had taken on certain Canadian inflections – trust me – they are gone. I open my mouth in these parts and people say:
They: Where in the United States do you live?
Me: I actually was born in Canada but, you are most correct, as I lived in the United States for most of my life.
But the next most touching thing she said was:
She: But perhaps just let that chance encounter bring you peace.
I think she is correct – she knows of a prior relationship and with sensitivity compared the two men.
She: Mmmmm. There are certain similarities between JKT and CPD aren’t there? You met both in a hotel, they are both rich (CPD rich beyond measure), they both live in exotic lands, they are almost the same age and they both have soft brown eyes. Especially the soft brown eyes.
But then, like her friend Alexis she gets funny.
She: Watched two very short videos of CPD’s sister’s wedding of last summer – my God, it was as though the wedding from Crazy Rich Asians met opening ceremonies of the Olympic,
It was CPI who told me about the book Rich and Crazy Asians – the book was powerful, the movie insipid. The words uninspired, uninspiring, characterless, flat, bland, vapid, uninteresting, unexciting, lacklustre, lustreless, dull, prosaic, boring, monotonous, tedious, wearisome, dry, dry as dust, jejune, humdrum, run-of-the-mill, commonplace, pedestrian, trite, banal, tired, hackneyed, stale, lame, tame, poor, inadequate, half-hearted, bloodless, sterile, anaemic, barren; informal hacky describe that bit of fluff. It turned powerful satire and criticism of an insidious life style into romantic comedy. I can only surmise that the multibillionaires who probably financed the movie had a say in its content.
But last evening I had a very interesting and strange encounter which was relayed to CPI in an email this morning. The subject line was You Are The First To Hear This
Me: Last night at this hotel I met a woman who knows the Sultan. We talked of him and our chance encounter; She said and I quote” “I can imagine the two of you together”
Well, to say the very least I was rather taken aback and down right shocked. But I came to my room, went to bed ((very early) and had the best sleep of my entire life – did not wake up in the night, did not dream and did not suffer any knee pain. I seem to have turned a plateau with the knee and conveyed same to CPI.
She: When you speak of a plateau for your knee, do you mean you can walk without pain, general pain or flexibility? Or all three? I can’t really remember how long it took my knees to recover after car accidents (stretched ligaments) but I certainly remember waking up, whimpering and putting frozen rhubarb on my knee.
Me: All three!!! My goodness, frozen rhubarb, I used frozen peas. Hahahaha
The progress is due to Brian’s diligent knowledge and therapy. He was my personal trainer when I lived in London, we kept in touch and when I needed physical therapy while here I called upon him. He is excellent and I shall miss him when I go back to San Francisco.
The photograph is one I put on Instagram with the following caption: Me: The third finger of my left hand. NO I am not engaged to the Sultan. I do not think there is turquoise in his land. Besides it cost 3.50 pounds at the Tate Britian Gift Shop. Who said diamonds are a girl’s best friend? Been there and done that. Xoxoxoxo or in Brit Xxxxx,
