Tuesday, August 15, 2000

A Midsummer Night's Dream



I am writing this newsletter from Frye Island Maine where it is a cool 72 degrees, overcast and slightly humid. Yesterday it rained all day. I loved it. I was getting so sick of the sunshine in LA a few weeks ago that I went to see The Perfect Storm just to watch the rain. Earlier today, I went swmming in the crystal clear waters of Lake Sebago. Later, we will go for a three-mile walk down to the new Frye Island Post Office and back. This is the life for me.

Last weekend I was feeling kind of lonely, so I called up my friend Ivana whose husband, Jon Sperry, has been in the Dominican Republic working on a movie. Ivana invited me over and when I got there I met her sister Laura (lah-oo--rah). Unquestionably the most beautiful woman I have ever met. And sweet as Tupelo honey. The two Italian beauties and I chatted for a while then went to dinner. I was feeling a lot less lonely by now.

After dinner, we went to a club in Studio City where a friend of Ivana's named Shannah was performing her semi-erotic confessional poetry/monologues accompanied by a rock band. Shannah is an extremely sexy blonde dynamo who is the former girlfriend of at least one famous hollywood star. Her most memorable poem is entitled: All I want to do is lay in bed all day (and masturbate). In addition to Shannah I also met another blonde beauty named Kai (or something like that) who is apparently the girlfriend of another famous hollywood star. Sitting there, surrounded by Ivana, Laura, Shannah and Kai, I was feeling anything but lonely.

We next went to a cigar club in Beverly Hills to see Kai's boyfriend and his jazz band perform. Kai's boyfriend turned out to be Jeff Goldblum and he invited Shannah up to the mike to perform one of her poems. Guess which one he wanted her to perform? Shannah brought down the house and gave the band quite a thrill as well. We hung around there for a while and I chatted with some crazy woman from Dreamworks who told me how she drove her BMW to Las Vegas on bald tires and see if she could make it there and back without a blowout. She didn't. After about fifteen minutes with her, I was feeling nostalgic for my loneliness.

The next day, Ivana took me to Paramount Studios for a couple of movie screenings and a reception. We were joined at the second screening by the very lovely Laura, sexy Shannah and another friend named Heather who is an actress. It was the first time I had ever been inside the gates of a movie studio and I was slightly giddy. Not to mention being surrounded again by beautiful women, which is nice.

Jon came home on Monday and on Tuesday he and Ivana and Laura and I went to the Santa Monica Pier and rode on the carousel they used in The Sting and then had a wonderful dinner. Did I mention how nice Laura is?

Thursday, Laura and I went to see the film The Big Blue. Laura is from Rome and is learning English, so she brought along her large Italian-English dictionary. I bought an Italian phrase book and tried to learn a few words to throw in here and there. Somehow we managed to communicate quite well. You know, I've always wanted to see Rome.

Friday, I paid one last visit to Jon and Ivana's to say good bye to Laura before I left for Maine. She is returning to Rome this week. They say its one of the places everyone should visit if they get the chance. Did I mention how adorable and charming Laura is?

Maine is like heaven with seafood. It is the greatest place on earth to be in August. I cant think of anywhere Id rather be than right here with my family on the shores of Lake Sebago.

Well, maybe one other place.

Hope everyone is well.

Love, HWD

Laura



Her eyes with blue dawn-light upon me shone,
And golden hair brought daybreak to the night,
That long had kept my heart from heaven's sight,
And left me blinded, wandering alone.

She stands as love's pure goddess newly born,
Delivered like an angel from the sea,
And reawakens hope in what could be,
Created fresh as on the earth's first morn.

Her sunrise ever lights my inner sky,
Her ocean drowns my thoughts and floods my mind,
Her beauty fills my landscape with its glow.

And when I see the stars so bright and high,
Or feel the sun, so gentle and so kind,
Her perfect gift is there for me to know.