Things experienced so far in LA – part 20

— Family is so important to me. It’s everything. I drove off yesterday afternoon to go to my cousin Mike’s house. There was going to be a big gathering. My cousin Kerry is in town for pilot season – my brother Brendan is here – and actually, my uncle Tom is in town for a job as well – although we didn’t get to see him. But it was going to be a big O’Malley confab. I haven’t yet met Mike’s two kids although I have seen many pictures – and I haven’t seen his wife in a couple of years. Maybe Kerry’s wedding was the last time – which is way too long to go without seeing family members!!!

— When I arrived, Mike was away – visiting “the witches” – meaning his acupuncturists. He calls them “the witches”. Everyone in the house was napping – but Kerry and Mike’s assistant and good friend John (who is well known to me – just because every O’Malley except me has met him – he’s terrific) were there to let me in, show me around. It’s a gorgeous house – so peaceful, and beautiful. It’s not brand spanking new – it has old wooden beams, it has a kitchen full of awesome little nooks and crannies … Mike’s office was so wonderful that I nearly cried when I saw it. A wall lined with books. I scanned them. Arthur Miller, Philip Roth, John Irving, a ton of entertainment biographies … but just a WALL of books. The backyard is beautiful with these two MASSIVE palm trees shooting up into the sky. The trunks are so wide that four people standing with their arms outstretched around still probably couldn’t touch hands. There was a quiet little blue pool. A cozy peaceful little guest house.

— Kerry and I sat in the nook in the kitchen and talked. The light was low and warm in the sky.

— Eventually, we could hear the stirring sounds of children waking up from naps. And then I got to meet the kids! Uhm … the cute little fat hands, the staggering diaper-ass walk … the random smiles … It was so wonderful to see them. They gave me odd looks, like: “Uhm … who is this person?” and then they were fine. It was so good to see Lisa. She’s such a beamingly beautiful woman. So warm, so nice.

— Mike came back from the witches. He immediately started giving me books from a box he was going to donate somewhere. Two of the books on Ovitz – which I really have wanted – the whole Ovitz journey in Los Angeles has always FASCINATED me. I remember when he “returned” to Hollywood and opened up his own talent agency – this was last year, I think? And there was a piece in Vanity Fair that literally had quotes from people that were like: “The devil himself has returned to La La Land.” “Beelzebub is BACK!” Anyway, there were a ton of great books, and Mike – with his normal generous spirit – was like: “TAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT.”

— My brother came over for a bit. He lives a 3 minute walk away. He was going to a friend’s one-person show that night and was going to meet us at the band afterwards.

— At one point, we all went into the living room to watch the Oprah show where she interrogated James Frey. Mike kept pausing it so we could discuss it. James Frey took his beating like a man. The whole thing was FASCINATING and there were many disagreements, and arguments. Oprah playing to the audience … when she discovered Lily hadn’t hung herself … she was clearly upset – turned away – the audience made a sound of horror – and then Oprah “acted” the next moment – when she nodded, and tried to accept that the book was a lie. Mike KEPT rewinding it and then playing it in SLO-MO so we could see how calculated Oprah was, how the audience pushed her to respond. Etc. And yes, there was certainly a feeling of blood-lust in that room. She stacked the deck against him. Mike and I both read that book so we knew what she was talking about when she talked about the horror of the dentist scene … I ended up feeling bad for James Frey, which is amazing to me because I called bull shit on that guy TWO YEARS AGO. But I was, I have to say, very impressed with how he just went through that gauntlet. He said he “made a mistake” … he didn’t say he “lied”. The whole thing is VERY interesting and VERY interesting to talk about. What is truth? What responsibility do publishers have? Memoirs are, by their very nature, what someone REMEMBERS – and memory is a very sketchy thing. Was Angela’s Ashes LITERALLY true? No. He is recounting his memories as a small boy. Anyhoo – the whole thing is FASCINATING. It’s polarizing, indeed … Everyone has an opinion. I think it’s all kind of fantastic. I can see both sides, I really can. Mike KEPT pausing the thing. To show me how I was wrong. “Sheila … watch this part … watch … watch ….” Oprah slowed down to a crawl, her eyes moving this way and that … it was hilarious. I love Oprah – the whole thing was just so damn INTERESTING. I’m not really defending James Frey, by the way … the fact that he turned a 2 hour jail sentence into 87 days is just ridiculous – but the dude’s an addict and he wanted to seem tougher than he was. Just the mere fact that he kicked alcohol and drugs wasn’t interesting enough to him – he HAD to make shit up to make him seem tougher. He as much as admitted this. Oprah was relentless – you could see how LIVID she was. I actually love Oprah, and love her show … but to me she looked just as fallible as James Frey did in that spot. She was trying to salvage her reputation, which took a blow in this past week. And what the heck was Frank Rich doing there? It was so funny – he went off on reality TV and Jessica Simpson and how that’s not “reality” – it was just a stupid diatribe – and Oprah was like, “Uhm … yeah. So what do you think about James Frey?” Like: “don’t use my show for your own op-ed column. Stay on topic.” She looked fantastic, by the way. Her suit was GORGEOUS. Kerry commented on her total and utter lack of nasal labial folds. Her makeup artist is a genius. Her hair also looked really nice. As you can see, there was MUCH to discuss.

— Pizzas were ordered. Wine was drunk. People began arriving. To go, in an entourage, to the “rock concert”. It was great fun. I just love being with my cousins. There’s something so comfortable about all of it.

— And then … we were OFF! Driving in a caravan to the club.

— I talked to my uncle Tom on Mike’s phone on the way. He’s out here right now. I don’t know … it was cool. Too bad I won’t get to see him. But it was good to hear his voice.

— The club was really cool. Spacious, dark, with random dark booths, and candles … a big space. Opening acts playing. We were there to see Marah – a band from Philly that my cousin Mike adores and follows. Kerry, Lisa and I sat over in one of the booths and chatted – caught up with each other. Brendan arrived. He joined us. Mike was the grand master ceremonial leader of events. Getting everyone drinks, coming over to say to Kerry and I: “Okay, when the band starts – you guys are NOT allowed to sit over here.” “We won’t! We promise!”

— The band was just fuckin’ AWESOME. Brendan and I stood together for a while – there was a huge crowd – all just rockin’ OUT – and Bren said, (he’s seen them before): “It’s like their shows are a total release for them – at all times.” It’s true. They just GO there. They behave like proper rock stars. (Another great observation from my brother) The two lead guys are brothers. They were great. The SOUND. It was so fun. Great songs, great atmosphere – everyone knows all the words – It was great – looking around and seeing Mike and Lisa together, Kerry over there, Larry over there, Brendan in front of me … you know. The community of friends out here, all together for this one thing. It was great – haven’t been to a club in a while for live music, and it was a blast. They did three encores.

— Thanks, Mike … for the ticket … and for your extraordinary organizing abilities. The witches should be proud.

— I drove home with ABSOLUTELY NO ISSUES WHATSOEVER. I didn’t make one wrong turn. I didn’t ever have to backtrack. I went from Mike’s house to Alex’s house scotfree. This is a major breakthrough.

— And today? Alex and I are going to meet up with Emily. WE CAN’T WAIT.

— Oh, and in other big news … my post about the Hubman museum got linked on Cult News – one of my favorite sites ever. It is a proud proud moment.