London in New York

American Cancer Society to Honor John Thiel of Merrill Lynch

We live in an era when many are quick to condemn and ridicule glamorous aspects of philanthropic events in this town to perpetuate the notion that societal elite are oblivious to the times that we live in and the challenges facing the every man. Despite a focus on financial industry miscues, among the greater minds at large in the business and financial services community, there is in fact a very real sense of the interconnectedness of our lives.

The Financial Services Cares Gala to Benefit the American Cancer Society

On the eve of the upcoming Financial Services Cares Gala, I head downtown to Lower Manhattan’s World Financial Center to the office of John W. Thiel, Head of U.S. Wealth Management and the Private Banking and Investment Group for Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management.  As an advocate for finding a cure for cancer, Mr. Thiel serves as chairman of the Manhattan Region Financial Services Cares Board of the American Cancer Society. He also serves as a Trustee on the Board of Florida State University’s Foundation. Thiel, along with Black Rock, the largest asset management firm in the world, will be honored  at The American Cancer Society’s 7th Annual Financial Services Cares Gala on Monday, June 18, 2012 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. He will receive the 2012 Eugene D. O’Kelly Award.  I wanted to speak to the man who rose from humble Midwestern roots to lead a distinguished career in public accounting and the insurance industry to come to lead Merrill Lynch, the very firm whose history is tied to the democratization of capitalism. History buffs will note that the founder, Charles Merrill helped bring Wall Street to Main Street allowing ordinary Americans to obtain equity stake in the industries that built this country. As goes Merrill Lynch so goes Main Street has been a truism most of my life.

When I finally met with Thiel, he played down the significance of the award personally, emphasizing instead the significance of the night, “the spotlight is on New York, and the financial services community is all here.” Expected to be in attendance are many of Thiel’s industry competitors. I wondered frankly what he thought of this, would there be tension? Despite the competition, Thiel emphasized that there is mutual respect among and for many in the industry, “it’s one night to put the gloves away and rally for the American Cancer Society.”

Thiel has arrived at his station in life through discipline, principled hard work, long term planning, centered on the fundamentals, which has given the man a strong long game not just in the investment game but in life. Thiel has lived and worked through professionally, the lessons of the economic downturns of the early 90’s, the tech bubble and the most recent financial crisis, only to emerge stronger and more well regarded in the industry and by his peers.  He arrived in a post 9/11 New York City, in 2005 during a period of tremendous upheaval and uncertainty at a time we were still licking our wounds and trying to move forward, before we were rocked once again by the financial collapse of 2008.  Where many others pursue pipe dreams and engage in wishful thinking in boom times, hoping only to be lucky, Thiel’s approach perhaps emanates from his years in public accounting and the memory of what it was like to be broke and to have to map pursuit of the American Dream from Ground Zero. He gets it and what the every man feels.

BULLISH ON: John Thiel’s Philanthropic Commitment

Sitting in the chief’s World Financial Center offices on a bright sunny day with the Statue of Liberty in the distance and the rising World Trade Center to his back, the revitalization of Lower Manhattan in full bloom, I found it hard not to be bullish on Mr. Thiel and Merrill Lynch. John Thiel is a centered and principled gentleman with a steady view of the world, a genuinely warm and engaging demeanor and a sincere humility that evidences the core of his character. Frankly, he is a man better than his resume or the simple summary of his life accomplishments, one who glossed over rather humbly his Horatio Alger like background to focus on what matters to him most:  the eradication of cancer and specifically the never ending work of the American Cancer Society. Thiel has motivated those in the orbit of his life to commit ‘to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.’ A year since my mom  passed at the Hope Hospice in Cape Coral,  Florida, and there is nothing I would do to celebrate one more birthday with her. Thiel’s fight is not simply good business, the right thing to do or even noble; it is simply personal to him and that is what matters most.

Thiel is a man who has progressed because he seems possessed of the same steely determination and optimism of folks like Larry Silverstein who forged beyond the hassles of rebuilding and those who questioned whether it could be done and done better, to convert many former and existing opponents of the rebuilding process, who saw a reinstallation of the former Twin Towers as the only conceivable alternative. I know because I was one of them. And though I deeply respect the work of the Twin Towers Alliance and hoped myself to see a version of the iconic Twin Towers rise again, I must acknowledge that in my heart,  as is being documented by Project Rebirth, I do believe Lower Manhattan is finally rising in a manner that we can be proud.

Perhaps in the end, the best leaders don’t simply pander to the average man’s sentiments but help us all to evolve by guiding us with their leadership. Thiel is a man with both the character and poise to lead the rise of the financial community from a troubling era where capitalists, community and political leaders and average citizens all point the finger of blame at one another, to a new dawn and a more prosperous tomorrow.  Sometimes the best New Yorker’s arrive here from….. some place else. With all due respect to Julie Menin, John Thiel, is also one of the reason’s Wall Street [is] Rising.

Thiel is one of many untold stories in this great metropolis that put better in context how, during a time of turmoil and flatter profit margins, an abiding humanity underlies the commitment of business leaders to sustain and fortify a modern society by keeping many philanthropic and cultural institutions in the black. From the illumination, education and cultural enlightenment of our children, to providing opportunity and upward mobility, critical health care and other transitional services to members of our community in need, the work of philanthropically inclined citizens in the financial sector, like John Thiel, forges onward in the occupy humanity movement.

Bridge & Tunnel Nobility: One Time King of Corona

My friends, I must confess that I was born of Queens and was raised  and lived among Kings & Queens….counties, that is; a veritable Earl of Sheepshead Bay and one time Prince of Kew Gardens and perhaps even a King of Corona, long before ‘Me and Julio [were spotted] down by the school yard’, at P.S. 14 on Otis Avenue or even at the Corona Ice King (raspberry or cherry please) or striking balls with bats in the national pastime down at Flushing Meadows Corona Park.  On a side note, though we thought we were wonderfully talented we had no Tom Terrific from our favorite local franchise of fellow Metropolitan’s among us. In those days a Cosmopolitan was a a magazine for women. Today, however, we can all happily drink from the same vines as  Tom Seaver, Mr. George Thomas Seaver – to be polite, in a full bodied product from the Seaver Vineyards as if every day was a simply amazing one in 1969.

I am thus a man of Bridge & Tunnel nobility and a veritable Royal Class of New Yorkers, a regular reader of New York’s Hometown Newspaper and “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” Please do know of course that I have never sought to trade off that standing and have instead settled for walking among the people, along side of folks like you.

Truth  told, my preferred carriage or mode of transport was always rather regal. My taste in that regard has not changed.  In my youth it was the D, E & F trains. In later years when I came to reside on the other side of the moat in Manhattan, I took the green numbered cars of 4,5 & 6 while living in Carnegie Hill for the better part of a decade, and even the Red ones of 1,2 & 3 (much like I took the Red Line and the Green Line while living in the Boston/Cambridge areas during my days in New England) when I moved to the Upper West Side/Morningside Heights. Notably, in recent years, due to the works of quintessential New York leaders like the former Mayor of New York City, a Prince of the City who led the turnaround of New York City and who later came  to be known as America’s Mayor in  Rudolph W. Giuliani and the Alliance of Guardian Angels led by Curtis Sliwa, my means of transport has been increasingly secure, with minimal risk of stage coach robberies which Americans of an earlier age were subjected to while traveling in or across this region.*  (*Note: Yes,  there are critics and more nuanced views of the Giuliani legacy, yet whatever one thinks, lessons due remain for future leaders who will look to aspects of his success referenced in Fred Siegel: “The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York and the Genius of American Life” to shape their governance. This legacy has continued under Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Mayor Mike Bloomberg, one of the greatest philanthropists in this period of American history, even though their leadership styles have been different.)

This is simply how I roll as a man of privilege, class and style.  Yet, in this whole debate about the 1% vs. the 99%, sometimes the shortsighted acts of others simply force me to accept that I simply  might be a tad better than both — at times.  Capische?

Despite the royal lineage referenced herein and previous coverage of fundraising affairs of the Central Park Conservancy, I found myself on the outside looking in this past week as I was denied for  the first time in the past 8 years as the Editor & Founder of ManhattanSociety.com,  the opportunity to cover the famed FLO Luncheon or Hat Luncheon, one of the more regal fundraisers for the Central Park Conservancy hosted by the Women’s Committee. It had me wondering whether it was my association with one of the parks in the outer boroughs that cost me my societal standing with an elite group of proud Upper East Side Manhattanites committed to the maintenance of the people’s park at the heart of our metropolis. Why a private non-profit, managing a space in the public trust would choose to manage, control or limit social or society press that had afforded it and its benefactors and honorees traditionally positive coverage, in such a manner is curious. But I diverge and will explore this in my next blog post.

Women on my Mind in the Month of May

Mother & Son, Circa 1999

Women are on my mind these days. I am well aware of the many challenges women face still in America and around the world. But for me it is even more personal.  It has been a year since my mother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer which spread to her spine and brain and took her life shortly thereafter in the Summer of 2011. Yesterday was Central Park Conservancy’s FLO Luncheon which for the first time in 8 years, my website, ManhattanSociety.com did not receive an invitation to cover it despite our prior coverage being widely perceived as favorable (that story will be laid out in a coming blog post so do return for some juicy details), but on Thursday, May 3rd I will be at Cipriani 42nd Street to cover the 2012 Women Who Care Luncheon: A Benefit for United Cerebral Palsy of New York City which will honor many women, including a special lady I have a great deal of respect for in Patricia Duff (see also: NNDB, IMDB, Blog) who founded and heads an organization called The Common Good which is covered regularly by ManhattanSociety.com, including most recently a discussion with Gloria Steinem along with a screening of  “Gloria: In Her Own Words.” On May 8th I will be at the New York Historical Society’s Strawberry Festival Luncheon will honor Chelsea Clinton. And then on May 10th the New York Women’s Foundation will host the 25th Annual Celebrating Women Breakfast honoring among others Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. And then on May 13, 2012 it is Mother’s Day.  Given all of the foregoing, I would expect that my mother would want me  to reflect and honor her life by being striving to be a better man each day that I am alive and following the lessons taught me from her own life.

Who Am I?

I have been asked on a number of occasions who I am, what I stand for and how did I become this way. Sometimes the inquiry was intended as a compliment, other times it was made perhaps out of shear frustration and confusion with my approach, but  finally in a number of other instances it was intended as an insult.  While it may be useful, from a communication standpoint, to be understood to achieve certain objectives, in those instances where those that did not get it or me, I was never insulted for their inability to grasp the import of a less conventional man. In some cases, perhaps a rapprochement might be necessary but yet in other cases I soon realized that it was perhaps not necessarily worth time to justify the essence or foundation of my character as a man.  Conventional thinkers have a hard time grasping unconventional people, and thus sometimes you can help them by simply walking away from them.  For, in this life, I know that I have already experienced profound love, lust, happiness and loss.  Were I to die today, I would rest comfortable in the knowledge that I have taken all that life could give in terms of punishment and need not solicit anymore.  Likewise,   I have sampled sufficiently from the tree of life, enjoyed its plentiful bounty and been given the opportunity to continue to plant seeds to infuse my spirit in to those who may out last me here on earth.  This gives me solace in the fact that while maybe there are things that cannot be changed in the here and now perhaps can be changed when I am gone.

A Revolutionary Builder of Souls: Virginia Bernadette Saunig-Roche (1-31-39 to 8-24-2011)

In my mother’s company, I always felt truly rich for it was always clear that I was in the presence of a revolutionary builder of souls. On the eve of the anniversary of her  diagnosis with Lung Cancer, which took her life soon thereafter, a little less than a year ago in the late Summer of 2011, while the pain of her loss is still fresh in my mind, the lessons of her life instilled in me are ones which I believe must be passed on.

Because of my mother, the women I have evolved to most admire have most often been strong, independent minded women committed to their own evolution, who were “resilient and self-reliant”.  Much like my mother, they could do it all. And much like my mother, they often had to explain away their success or hold back their achievements, accomplishments or superior insight because it might undermine men the stature or confidence of men relying on their wisdom.   Many of my heroes and favorite artists are women.  I am sure that some even see a place in their life for cold heartless bitches. Personally, I do not go that far, but I do have an appreciation for those who like author Arden Leigh who can embody being ‘A Weapon of Mass Seduction’. ‘‘The New Rules of Attraction: How to Get Him, Keep Him, and Make Him Beg for More is a philosophy any reasonable man would love to unwittingly embrace. Let the deception begin. But I diverge.

For the preferred type of women, a man was certainly a welcome or useful accessory but not a necessary component for their survival. While I embraced those kinds of women in my professional life, my romantic life was a mixed bag. Maybe I thought that I did not have enough to offer them? I am not 100% certain but all too often I rushed to those who I thought I might be able to assist rather than those who might complete me; some even ‘had me at hello’ but before too long I was already headed for the door.  At this point, with the clock winding down, all I can say is that may the epilogue to my mothers life be that I finally get the most important and obvious lesson of all, to embrace and support women of strength, independence and character who choose to embrace and accept me, a man with both alpha and beta personality attributes, whose passion and pursuits are not always conventional. The reward I seek may sometimes have no value to the more conventional man. I do however, know, accept and appreciate that I need the love, if not the vital energy of a strong woman infused into me much like plants need sunlight. Unlike a predatory vampire stalking his prey, I will let nature take its course; therein lay the conundrum of the beta man, he may not invest the time only to learn that she’s just not that into you. Besides which he won’t be tempted to hire a Wing Women or employ the Wing girl method. You can instead figure out how to get a Scorpio man to fall in love with you.

“Though all Scorpios do not spend their lives pondering the mysteries of life …  truly evolved Scorpios can learn to use their power to help and inspire others”, and this is what I hope to do hereby.   I honor my mother, my god and my country by embracing powerful feminine spirits who gravitate towards me and choose to steer carefully and respectfully away from those who offer a mere frolic and detour that will result in taking me off a productive trajectory in what remains of my life. I recommend you do the same. For I know that I no longer frankly have the time.  Those are my values as taught to this Scorpio man by the woman whose sign was brewed in the Age of Aquarius.

The Lessons Learned/Distilled

Female strength comes in many forms. Know, understand and accept that. But more importantly, recognize it when you see it.  Don’t run from it. Fear not strong women. I am certainly not scared of them. Instead I am scared more of weaker and manipulative women who will detract from your pursuits in life and set you back from accomplishing your ultimate destiny.

Nurture and support a woman’s strength and independence for it is the best emotional venture capital investment that a man can make in life.  More and more men will come to grasp that as fact. As men grow increasingly more secure with women’s strength they will in effect become more liberated from self imposed servitude towards the wrong women and be free to love a woman for being all those amazing things that even you as a man are as well and some of those things that you are not.  And even so they will still accept you. If you need an arithmetic lesson: 2 + 2 = 4 and 1-1=0  Many of these women know that but too few of us men know that.

A real man should have little or no desire to restrain, inhibit, control or undermine a woman’s power and feminine strength should he be lucky enough for it to find and embrace him. Likewise he is not controlling, jealous or possessive in his romantic relations with her. Even when overwhelmed by desire for her, he stands back and let’s her roam free in the wild, taking care of his other business in life, until her return. If you satisfy her needs, quench her thirst and stimulate her mind, body and spirit on many levels, rest assured and be confident….for she will return, only to savage you for you patience in dealing with her evolution away from you and to celebrate how you too have evolved in her absence. This coming together and apart is part of the process of developing your spirits and power mutually and independently. Fear not the absence of your loved one, but instead do something with that time.

Our society will only grow stronger if we nurture and support the independence and strength of women in our personal relationships, in our country and worldwide in our human policy. As the anniversary of my mother’s passing draws near and in a month of women being honored while also facing challenges around the world, I am reminded that perhaps my ultimate purpose is to help others who would dare to repress women to recognize we as a people can only lose, if our women are less or if we strive to make them less to appease fragile male ego’s.

God bless America. God bless the women of America and everywhere on this planet they meet those who would contain their dreams and their passion. Tear down the walls that impede their progress and we will remove those impediments to our own evolution.
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About: Virginia Bernadette Saunig-Roche (1-31-39 to 8-24-2011), was born in Chelsea section of Manhattan to working class American parents of German, Austrian and Italian descent. Virginia attended St. Colomba’s Catholic Parochial school and attended mass regularly at St. Colomba Church.  As an adult, Virginia resided on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for nearly a quarter century working in media ad sales and the barter industry, before retiring to Cape Coral, Florida with her second husband, James P. Roche (who worked in property management for the Trump Organization and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for nearly 3 decades) where she passed in the summer of 2011 at the Hope Hospice survived by her four sons, two sisters and her grandchildren.  In September of 2011, I, along with my older brother Stewart, eulogized our mother at a service held for her at Church of Our Lady of Peace, a Roman Catholic Church on the Upper East Side of Manhattan which she regularly attended during her days in Manhattan. My development and perspective were impacted strongly by my mother’s Catholic faith, common sense and wisdom as well as the regular nourishment she provided me and her other 3 sons with her flavorful and hearty meals, especially on Sunday. She will never be forgotten by those that were touched by her grace, wisdom and humanity.

NY JETS ACQUIRE PROVEN WINNER

Tebow-mania has hit New York.  As reported in the NY Times: “In a move that diversifies their offense but threatens to undermine Mark Sanchez, the Jets on Wednesday agreed to a trade for Tim Tebow, the popular but polarizing quarterback from the Denver Broncos. The deal is pending N.F.L. approval.”

The Denver Bronco’s signing of Peyton Manning made Tebow expendable.  Despite Tebow’s infectious winning ways and his leading the Bronco’s to a victory in the playoffs over the Pittsburgh Steelers last season,  it was perhaps too much for the Broncos leadership team to pass up the chance to retain the services of  Peyton Manning, widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks of this era.   Hall of Fame quarterback and Bronco’s President John Elway signaled that he wanted to go with ‘Plan A’ and in letting go Tebow he acknowledged ‘We Don’t Have a Plan B’.  Elway in explaining his belief that Peyton Manning was the man best able lead the franchise in its  pursuit of another Lombardi Trophy, paid Tebow a great compliment.  As reported in the Wall Street Journal, at a news conference introducing Manning, Elway offered that he was exploring all options for Tebow:

“Tim Tebow is a great kid. If I want someone to marry my daughter, it would be him,” Elway said. “But I think with the opportunity to have Peyton Manning’s services, we had to take advantage of that. Now that it’s happened, we have to go back and address Tim and see what the best situation is for the Denver Broncos, as well as him.”

To some it  was perhaps a no brainer for the New York Jets brass to acquire the former Heisman Trophy Winner. After all, he did lead the Florida Gators to a victory in the BCS National Championship Game over the top ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in 2007 and has two NCAA Championships to his credit.  Tebow also lead the Broncos past Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets late last season, into the playoffs where in a ‘Mile-High Miracle’ the Broncos upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in dramatic fashion.  Media reaction has been mixed. ESPN New York has labeled the trade ‘A Logic-Defying Move.’ Critics like the New York Post’s Steve Serby stated that the Jets should ‘Take a pass on a QB who can’t’.  Joe Namath labeled the acquisition a ‘publicity stunt.’ Questions remain whether Tebow will diversify the Jets offense, serve as a compliment to Mark Sanchez or a distraction. Or as postured on ESPN,  ‘Mark Sanchez is the key to Tebow-mania’. To his credit, Mark Sanchez stated on a radio show ‘Tim Tebow will do great ‘no matter what happens.’

Tim Tebow is a winner. It is plain and simple. Any discussion about Tim Tebow should begin first and foremost with the fact that he is a proven winner. Tebow is a man who gets the most of his god given talents. Some will argue that there are more purely talented quarterbacks in the NFL.  Few consider him a franchise QB in the same vein as Peyton Manning, Eli Manning or Tom Brady;  ‘All he does is win’.  You would get no argument from me on that score and I suspect even Tim Tebow knows that he still has to develop and fight to create a legacy as well as simply maintain a job in the competitive NFL.  Tebow is young and has proven relentless in his commitment to improve every aspect of his game, to prove doubters wrong and to otherwise simply be the best that he can be while he ‘LEADS’.  Doubters point to his passion for his Christian faith as it if that is emblematic of his problems. Last I checked, New York counts among its citizens and sports fans people of faith and I believe that we even have a few churches here in Manhattan. A belief in god is only a disqualifying credential among the soul less. But that is besides the point, Tebow can play.

As Sinatra famously said, ‘If I can make it there, I will make it anywhere.” Tebow has presumably taken the doubters with a grain of salt by now. New York is for winners. Winners come here. Winners want to compete here. It is awful when you lose in this town.  But for those who have witnessed the championship runs of the New York Yankees and New York Giants in recent years, it is quite special to have that media glow and millions of fans behind you. The light is about to shine even more brightly on a man who has come to the world’s biggest stage.

As a New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan with a stint outside the city in my adult years in Westchester County and as one who lived through the torturous 70’s and 80’s drout, I am only to pleased to have in our city, Tebow, a man I met and photographed several years ago during the Heisman Trophy Awards week in Midtown. And I pray he sticks with the New York Jets, even if he may have a hankering for Jacksonville and even if still others may wish he goes back there.

Welcome to New York City Mr. Tebow. Let’s hope god is a Jets fan cause I already know he is a Tebow fan.

IS SOROS PLAYING ‘WIMPY THE MOOCHER’ TO THE GENEROUS BRAZILIAN BEAUTY?

Adriana Ferreyr

George Soros and his damsel in distress, Adriana Ferreyr, a  Brazilian beauty who appears  to be a veritable renaissance woman, are back in court after failing to reach a settlement over alleged misrepresentations in their five year affair that resulted in her suing the legendary octogenerian financial king for $50 million. According to the New York Post:

George Soros offered to pay his Brazilian bombshell ex-lover Adriana Ferreyr $1 million to settle her grievances after she accused him of backing out of a promise to buy her an Upper East Side apartment, sources tell us. But furious Ferreyr turned down the lump sum, insisting she is determined to sue billionaire Soros for up to $50 million after he promised to buy her a dream, $1.9 million East 85th Street pad, then instead gave it to his new girlfriend, Tamiko Bolton, who — according to Ferreyr — he’d claimed was his nurse.The warring pair head in to court again April 17, with Soros demanding a judge throw out her case against him.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game some might say.  Truth told, I have always been intriqued by George Soros and think he is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant men of our time. Even so, smart men often make stupid moves and are tempted to behave badly when in the pursuit of  younger women.  Fact is some extremely affluent players, for whom millions are relative pennies to the average man, get away with seducing pretty young things all on the mere suggestion if not bold representations, express or implied, that they will  shower them with gifts down the road, take care of them and otherwise enable their lives or grease the wheels of their independent success in a meaningful way.  If you ask me, some of these young ladies are foolish if they don’t get something more than what amounts to a facial on the front end for a promise on the back end.   Soros is I am sure well aware that his wealth and power is very much an aphrodisiac for many women, but he should also know that  cheapness is a buzz kill and brings your stature down to that of a poor man with a small penis.   Power and status may give you currency with sought after younger women, even those who possess the youth, raw beauty, talent and creative spirit of someone like  Adriana Ferreyr. You must however be able to part with a few shekels,  especially when you seem to have an endless supply of them.   So what if you ‘lose’ a few more coins if the one who brought you such pleasure should walk upon the conclusion of your affair with honor, dignity and grace and without anger, hostility or sadness?  You never want to tell a woman that she is worth less than the world if she literally gives it all to you in terms of her innocence, youth and beauty.  Is that not priceless?    It is thus, in my opinion,  truly in bad form, especially when what she requires to move on peacefully is relative chump change but you decide to haggle.  It makes you akin to the character Wimpy the Moocher from Popeye the Sailor who famously was known for the tag line:  “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”

Well the girl clearly gave up the  hamburger (or the pink taco whatever the case might be) and  then some for the better part of five years man. George why make Adriana grovel?  How do you put a price on five (5) years of a young woman’s life? Or worse, why low ball her?

The non billionaire, working class or professional working class drone or low 7 figure salaried slave either pays by the minute, the hour or by the life time if he gets married. You have got to pay to play in this town. There is no way getting around that. That is the deal even when you are not 80 years old, at least for women of a certain caliber, like renaissance women with the brains, beauty and talent of the Brazilian knockout. All you have to do is take a walk into Lavo New York on East 58th Street between Park and Madison Avenue  on a week night in this ‘half hooker economy’ to realize that pretty young things, pro or not cost more than a cocktail or two or future promises of affection.  Most expect you to show them the money up front and that is true even and especially if you want to put a ring on it.   Now, I am not in any way suggesting that Adriana Ferreyr is a hooker. Even so,  there are rules of engagement in the realm of ‘transactional romance’; a certain protocol, manners and etiquette when a gentleman hopes to freely partake of  a young woman’s special gifts, especially if there are no representations of a permanent relationship with the house and the white picket fence, or in New York City, a Penthouse view at 1 Central Park West.  You are simply deluding yourself if you are an 80 plus year old wrinkled man, even one who has all the power and intelligence in the world, and you think she is charmed by the cellulite on the back of your saggy old ass or shriveled up scrotum with grey hair. You get to the point where you do not have to watch Hitchcock, Halloween or Friday the 13th to scare yourself but can simply stand in front of a full length mirror upon exiting the shower. So if you are feeling me man then perhaps you are getting the picture. There is undoubtedly a major sacrifice here on her part no matter how intriquing a character you may be.  As a man you should always be eternally grateful for the wanton things that some women willingly do to give you memorable nights between the sheets or on the living room floor, a limousine or in the shower. You get the picture? Cleaning toilets at the Waldorf Astoria rather than at an uptown youth hostel is nicer but it is still cleaning a toilet. Some times the old pipes have a good degree of rust and soot for a plumber to contend with.

In my opinion, it says alot about a man’s character that George Soros would rather pay his attorney William Zabel than the 20 something year old creative and talented beauty who nurtured and bedded his wrinkled hide for the better part of five years.  Is not he better than this?  You see I always thought he was. This would be especially bad for the philanthropist’s brand as a human being if he promised to shower Adriana Ferreyr with gifts and security, including a $1.9 million apartment before welching on the promise and giving it to some other young thing who was also simultaneously nursing the octogenerian billionaire and financial overlord. Soros is a smart man. He has to know that there is a better way to treat a young lady, especially one with the class, manners and breeding of Ms. Adriana. Seriously, look at this woman.

Soros lawyer William Zabel also notably represented the now deceased philanthropic racketeer - Jeffry Picower, the largest beneficiary of the Madoff Ponzi Scheme, in his business dealings before he was found upside down drowned in the pool at his Palm Beach estate by his lady’s lunching Palm Beach Socialite wife, just as the Department of Justice (and perhaps some Russian mobsters) were closing in on Picower. Soon thereafter, Picower’s wife Barbara Picower, in a landmark settlement orchestrated with Picower attorney William Zabel, disgorged $7.2 Billion in ill gotten gains.  The gangster’s wife, Barbara Picower was permitted to keep her home and $200 million so she could continue doing her good works — shuttling around to Palm Beach luncheons with other ‘philanthropists.’ Let me be clear, in my opinion, Ms. Picower is akin to a mob moll’s widow. The insincere twat who was ‘married to the  mob’ can stuff her fucking crocodile tears up her tight philanthropic ass. Pieces of human garbage like this along with Ruth Madoff who has moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, her son Andrew Madoff and Shana Madoff continue to roam free and you wonder why there is an Occupy Wall Street movement? Give these bitches ‘a dog’s leash’ and tell them to do the Mark Madoff vertical mombo. If you were a black kid in the Bronx and you stole somebody’s wallet on the subway, rather than a white family of financial criminals who destroyed thousands of families lives, you would be rotting in a cell at Rikers Island.

Why are Picower, Madoff and Zabel relevant? George Soros should not want to be in the same sentence as any of those guys for what amounts to short change with a former girlfriend. He has enough ‘fuck you money‘ not to get his hands dirty.  Zabel has a reputation as a fix it man, sort of like the Bruce Cutler (mob lawyer) for high society types.  As aptly surmised in the NY Times, “William D. Zabel has spent his career striking complex deals for wealthy families in sticky situations.” He may have a propensity for representing GUILTY people who suicide themselves rather than pay the piper or face the music. Does the word PUSSY ring a bell? Yes, Jeffry Picower was a dirty slimy stinky pussy of a man who had he lived should have been hanged at sun down in Lower Manhattan in front of the famous Wall Street Bull – that is truly if there was any meaningful justice for financial criminals in this town. Capische? Now, I do not suspect that Soros is gonna drown himself over a few million dollars or what amounts to just another day at the office. So he may have to lose what amount’s to a days pay to settle up with a young, beautiful and sophisticated Brazilian woman who presumably did assorted nasty things on a regular basis (for five years!!) with a guy who is closer to resembling a cast member on The Dawn of the Dead than Warren Beatty in Shampoo or Michael Douglas’ Gekko in Wall Street.

Let me ask you, can you imagine giving head to an 80 year old Shrek? He promised her “an apartment”….how about the phucking Kennedy Compound brother? Do you hear me now? [ Ewwwwwwww yeah this blog is irreverent, what the phuck do you think happens when you send a kid from Queens and Brooklyn to the Ivy League? We may both have shopped at Brooks Brothers but I am no Romney. That much is clear. I am also in no rush to 'get rid of Planned Parenthood.' But I diverge.]

Soros is a sage business man, wiser than most, history has proven so. But even he has to know that it feeds into the bad narrative about selfish, greedy and indifferent financiers when you would rather pay another fellow geriatric sleazeball in a suit than a woman who went to bed with a dirty old man for five years. Squabbling with a youngster over a few million dollars, really? When you get to be 80 years old, wrinkled and chubby consider yourself fortunate that you have the billions to get a beautiful and talented 20 something year old to satisfy your manly urges. Who cares whether she truly loved you?  It is irrelevant. She nurtured you. Besides which you cannot take it with you.  Give the kid her cotton candy and be done with it. No I am serious, pay the girl.  This is silly. The poor young thing had to go to bed with a living corpse for the better part of 5 years.  Sorry George, I love you man but look a man has to look at himself in the mirror and recognize his shortcomings. When I am your age, I am not sure I even want to touch myself.  Hell, I am not sure I want to do so now and I am approaching 50. Given your net worth of over $20 Billion, you are in effect haggling over buying your sugar baby an ice cream cone or a slice of pizza. FEED THE KID!!