Letters...We Get Letters...AKA The Paris Post

For some reason, people don’t comment on my blog—they email me. So the other day, niece Mindy asked why I hadn’t blogged about the Paris Hilton saga. The answer was that I was too busy self-indulging with endless accounts of my recent trip to the South. Then, I figured the story had passed.

Stupid me.

Of course, the story drones on.

Last night, The Drudge Report carried this headline: “Outrage Grows in L.A. over Paris Hilton Case”

On top of watching a Larry King interview with Matt Lauer earlier in the evening, I’m finally moved to comment.

First, please. Let me abscond with quotes lifted directly from the CNN transcript:


LAUER: What has she done?

KING: What has she done?

LAUER: What has she done except, you know, get in her car drunk one time and then go get in the car again with, you know, an expired license? It's a difficult question. Why are we so celebrity obsessed? Why do we care who's on the cover of "People" magazine. And why do we care who's on the cover of "Us Weekly"? The answer is I don't know but we do.

KING: It is what it is.

LAUER: It is.

Oh, this is scintillating insight, for sure. It is what it is. One of my favorite new inane catch-phrases.

Let me take Matt to task here, because it’s really, really, hard for me to believe he doesn’t understand the celebrity attraction factor. It’s about ENVY, Matt.

Paris is rich. Paris is beautiful. Paris is young. Paris is absolutely free to do anything she wants, go anywhere she wants, any time she wants. (Well, except for the moment.)

On some level, if we could adopt and self-define those parameters for ourselves, wouldn’t we all like to BE Paris Hilton??

I don’t mean I wanna hang out with Lohan, Ritchie, and Spears at whatever snotty nightclub they frequent…no, of course, given the same opportunities, I’d do something constructive with my life...er...I think.

Whatever.

I’m just saying.

I’m not rich. I’m not beautiful. I’m not young. I slog through the day job eight hours a day, five days a week, year after year.

Why wouldn’t I be fascinated by a woman whose life is a 180 from mine?

They say opposite’s attract.

There’s your answer, Matt. It is what it is.