I was asked: “Was the Ball a ball?” My answer: “I fell 3 times!”
The 1st annual Beaux Eaux Ball was held at D’Jais to benefit the Belmar Arts Council (BAC). The BAC helped D’Jais in their fight against the Town of Belmar. Tickets were $50. For your money you got 1 ½ hrs open bar, food, a goodie bag and Holme. There was also an art show on D’Jais porch and a raffle of prizes. Camille, Susan, Sharon, Donna, Marian and I went. Most of us stayed at the Belmar Motor Lodge. The BML has not changed an iota in 20 yrs. They still have the “no guests after 10 pm” rule. The room rate was $60 and you got what you paid for. We went out to eat before the benefit. There was no way we were going to eat small portions of food and stand to do it. Also, as I am a vegetarian I always eat before any party. Camille’s choice was Mom’s Kitchen in Neptune. Susan didn’t care as long as they had liquor. We feasted and then went back to our rooms to get ready. Camille packed light. Lucky for her I over packed. She wore my white curly ruffle tux shirt and Sharon’s rhinestone belt. We were all dressed sparklee. Sharon wasn’t staying the night so she took her p/u truck to D’Jais. The rest of us took a taxi. The cab driver seemed a little surprised we were going to D’Jais as it had closed for the Summer. He hadn’t heard about the benefit. We filled him in and he said he had an uncle like Frank Sementa (whatever that meant). I told him I had been married to Frank for about a second and he found it admirable that we got along so well that I could go to D’Jais. We were given a red clown nose at the Ball. We didn’t need them as I had mailed everyone one earlier in the week to wear as an accessory. We got our goody bags and put them in Sharon’s truck. Late we found that one of the goodies you got was a 2006 D’Jais courtesy card! The open bar part was fun. Jen & Ashton look-a-like were bartending. Ashton’s mom had been at D’Jais a few weeks prior. I asked him whether women thanked his mom for having such a cute son. He said yes and that she was embarrassed being asked. The open bar made it feel like D’Jais past ala 6 beers for a dollar as my friends were ordering rounds 6 at a time. Too bad they can’t charge $50 every night and give you open bar. The $50 fee also kept the crowd at a nice number. You were able to maneuver on the dance floor and keep your place at the bar. None of us won the raffle, none of us cared. Donna, Marian & I had the best New Years Eve of our lives at a D’Jais theme night party in the 80’s. I don’t know how the subject came up but we reminisced about how there had been so much confetti dumped in front of giant fans that open champage bottles ended up being full of it and when we went home and took off our dresses confetti fell out. There was confetti all over their house that Summer and Belmar for days. It was at that party that I decided I wanted to be cremated and have my ashes dumped in front of those fans so that I would be in every nook and cranny in D’Jais forever partying in my favorite place in the whole wide world.
Donna & Marian are from Staten Island via Brooklyn and had never seen Holme before. Sharon had but not this year. They all loved them and wished they had gone to see them during the Summer.
We saw Joel across the bar and Sharon held up her arm and licked her armpit. He came right over and I introduced Sharon as the girl he had sex with at my shore house. He told me he finally ready my Blog. We discussed its contents and he gave me carte blanc to write anything I want about him good or bad. He told me I shouldn’t be writing according to who talked or paid attention to me. Joel took note that except for Susan we all had pointy shoes on. Kip also took note of Camille’s shoes telling her he had never seen her in such high heels before (not true).
Kevin Kavanaugh substituted for Peter Schulle who probably had a prior commitment with Cats on a Smooth Surface that night.h
We were wrecked. When Frank saw us all together he said: “Just like old times”. I told him I’ve always loved him and added the disclaimer that I was very drunk.
Sharon was leaving early and Susan, Camille & I did our best to keep her there. We all took turns wrapping ourselves around her and jumped up and down to the music. Surprisingly I did not fall then.
Marian met a guy and dance the whole night with him.
The first 2 times I fell going out the door onto D’Jais porch to view the artwork. The 3rd time was a doozie (or so I am told). I got everyone on the dance floor to dance to I Wanna Be Sedated and just as the song began, I fell backwards onto the floor hitting the side of my head against a pole as I went down. Everyone rushed to help me up and sit me down and the bartenders immediately made me an ice pack for my head. I was laughing and still drinking. When the band came off stage, Harry asked me what happened and Billy kissed the cut on my head. Camille says she will never hear that song in the same way again.
We we left our taxi driver (Bill) was waiting for us. We made him take us to Dunkin Donuts and he came in with Donna, Marian & me and ordered along with us. He dropped us off at the BML and then took Marian’s dance partner home. When we got back to the room I realized I had left my camera in the taxi so I called “Mr Taxi Driver” and he said he’d bring it to me at the hotel. When he returned with it he stayed awhile hanging out with us in the lobby. He owns the cab company and we will no doubt be his life long customers.
The next day we did what all girls do – go over the night’s happenings over breakfast. We had bagels and Camille broke a tooth. Sharon uttered a truism when she said that bread will always do your teeth in. You never hear of people breaking their teeth on a raw carrot. It’s always bread.
It took me and Camille until Tuesday to recover.
Donna called me at work on Monday. She hadn’t seen Susan in 20 yrs, Sharon in a year and Camille in quite awhile yet she did not really talk to them at the benefit or the hotel. She did not talk to me or her sister either so she called to ask me: Just what was she doing all night? Does anybody know?
As Kip informed us, the band is now “On the Road”. You can find out where they’ll be playing by visiting their website: holmeband.com. You can access their website from this Blog in the Links box.
Thanks for all the emails. I even got one from a guy from England who’s in band called “Home” there.
A special thanks to holmefan for your comment.
And in answer to kmk8376's questions:
1) Not big. Not available.
2) Don't know.
3) Don't know. Yes.
4) It was the 70s, 80s before Aids and before I got old.
5) I would not pick you as partner in Holme Trivia Contest.
If you haven’t been yet, please come. I’ll see the rest of you at an upcoming gig. Please fill me in on any dates I miss. Love, M.
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