Wednesday, July 23, 2014 7:31pm 84 degrees
It was a hot, heavy, humid night in New York City. The type of evening where you step outside and instantly become wet ( the unadulterated way). It was not too hot to attend the fund raising event for Champagne Joy.
Champagne Joy is a charming and extremely well connected lady. My first vision of her was during the Holiday House Press Tour. A giant, framed photograph of this woman with fascinating blue hair and colorful makeup donned in a football uniform (pads and all). She was not seated in the image.... au contraire .. . . .she was charging forward as if she had made a touch down. It is a memorable photograph that jet-set designer Ally Coulter displayed in her room at the Breast Cancer Foundation Showhouse in 2013.
Champagne Joy has stage 4 Cancer. She is the star of her own TV show called "CancerLand". Her quest is no different than yours or mine - she wants an extensive good life mixed with lots of laughs. She wants unconditional love of family and friends. And, she wants to be cancer-free.
Her fund raising event at hot spot No.8 - was a chic and sophisticated mix of who's who in design, fashion and entertainment. I spied Oscar winning actress Mira Sorvino, Holiday House Maven Iris Dankner, Interior Designer Gregory Allan Cramer, handsome actor Nick Loeb (ex of Sophia Vergara), socialites Jason Bigg and Anne Tack - and that was just upstairs.
Moet provided the delicious Sparkling Rose and tray pass nibbles were abundant. The crowd of 270+ enjoyed the jazzy tunes of a live band.
There was a silent auction and live public auction. But more importantly there was a wonderful energy in the room. That sparkling energy is called Champagne Joy. Get ready to listen to her own words . . ..
And then it got worse. More bad news after the PET Scan. Another crackly cell to cell call from the oncologist - while I’m again at a loud restaurant - to say the cancer is spreading - treatment is failing - I’m losing the battle. My mind races. My stomach drops. The panic tries to take me before even the cancer can. Every thought is a killer. I can’t get the replay audio out of my head - my dying friend yesterday asking me if I’ve thought of exactly where I want to be when I die and the sound of my crying mother exclaiming, “I refuse to believe this is the end!”. I try to get the Yoga meditation thing to kick in. I can hear my Master, Chrissy’s voice on a loop, “I’m breathing in. I’m breathing out” but she’s got competition today and now I am looking for the bottle of Valium instead. No one can drown out Grace’s angry and devastated plea to God to save her daughter.
.jpg)
