worlds apart

it's that time of year again. every august for the past three years, i have done my best to wake up early, dress like i make more money than i do, get in a car and drive the 2.5hours past the town on long island where i spent several of my early years, past my grandparents town an hour out, and past the cemetary where they were laid to rest.

the purpose of all this memory lane travel on the l.i.e.? the hamptons, yo.

i raise money, and there is much money to be raised out there. it seems like it's nonstop cocktails and benefits, and last night was no exception. we were competing against both john kerry's only event out there and an unwelcome amount of rain, but all ended up okay. maybe i'll write about the actual event itself sometime, but the reason i found a computer today was so i could try to get down something that happened upon returning to the city late that night.

yes, returning to the city - while brooklyn may be allowed to put on a fancy shirt and talk to met opera trustees while drinking - strangely bad - white wine, brooklyn is not allowed to stay in the hamptons. that would be like allowing jersey to stay in brooklyn.

at 3 or so in the morning, pulling up to our offices to unload various things, i was approached by a clearly unwell and desperate homeless woman, crying and pleading with the surprising number of people who were still out on the street at that time of night. there i was, prepared to dispatch the usual 'i'm sorry' and summon the powers of ignoring that are so quickly, if sadly, developed in this city, when i was struck by both where i'd been earlier in the day and where i found myself just then. matters were made worse by the fact that in my back pocket i had an envelope with checks from the evening - last minute ticket buyers who had given nearly $4,000 for drinks and music and food. i had that, and i had a bracelet tiffany's had donated, another $1,000.

and as i stood there, and on the ride home, i wondered how that could be.