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Rich Man, Poor Man

Aug 22, 2014
by Caroline Miller
Ciros, Mark Seal, Sunset Boulevard, The Beverly Hills Hotel, The Mouline Rouge, The Pink and Green Blues
4 Comments

One of my favorite pastimes when I was a teenager was to cruise Sunset Boulevard, starting from the beach at Santa Monica, California and following the winding road all the way to where it ended at the Los Angeles railway station.  The scenery along the route was varied.  The low beach bungalows were soon replaced with glitzy boutiques and famous night clubs like Ciros and the Moulin Rouge.  Interspersed among these were exclusive hotels that gave temporary shelter to the rich and famous.  One of the most exclusive was the Beverly Hills Hotel.  Sheltered from view by tall palms and shrubbery, I’d speed past in my secondhand Dodge,  barely catching a glimpse of the main entrance’s pink façade.  Once or twice I toyed with the idea of turning into the  driveway, but I never had the courage.  What would I say to Clark Gable if he drove up behind me?

 Over the years, the hotel has had some good times and some bad times, many facelifts and several owners.  The Sultan of Brunei owns it now, and that’s the trouble.  Near the end of his life, the Sultan has decided to amend his profligate ways and embrace his religion.  A sign of his new faith is his decision to impose Sharia law upon all the residents of his country, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.  As homosexuality is punishable by 10 years’ imprisonment and marital rape deemed legal under the new law, the stars of Hollywood have taken notice.  They’ve come out, not to twinkle, but to orchestrate a boycott of the hotel in an effort to force the Sultan to reverse course. (“The Pink and Green Blues,” by Mark Seal, Vanity Fair, August, 2014, pgs 113-115,138.)   Unfortunately, the property is a mere bauble in this oil rich potentate’s fortune, estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars, so he doesn’t care what Ellen DeGeneres and others celebrities have to say. 

 If dragging the hotel into economic ruin is the goal, then the boycott has been successful.  The inn is running at a third of its capacity and most of its annual social events have been cancelled.  But, the Sultan bows only to Mecca and refuses to sell his property.  That leaves the hotel staff, 650 employees, in danger of losing their jobs.  One Salvadorian women who has worked as a server in the Fountain Coffee Shop for 19 years admits she feels the celebrities have betrayed her.  “We feel shut out,” agreed a waitress. (ibid 115)

 If there’s a high ground in this clash of Titans, I can’t see it.  Certainly, the celebrities mean well by their boycott, but they seem to be doing more harm than good. The 650 Beverly Hills Hotel workers, who earn benefits and wages above average for their trade, are about to lose their jobs.  The Sultan of Brunei takes no notice.   His eyes are turned toward eternity. 

 What’s being played out on Sunset Boulevard is a microcosm of life in most societies.  The rich pursue their interests and the poor pay for that privilege. 

The Beverly Hills Hote;

Courtesy of diary.thepurplepassport.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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4 Comments
  1. Louise Labby Carroll August 23, 2014 at 6:13 pm Reply
    Powerful stuff. And I do so agree. It is so tough to figure out how to compel change.
    • Caroline Miller August 23, 2014 at 7:17 pm Reply
      And a change to what? That too is a question. Thanks for your thought, Louise.
  2. Pamela August 26, 2014 at 10:58 pm Reply
    I did not know about the boycott, but have been surprised the last couple of times I've been in there. Years ago when I went to have tea there with a friend, it oozed celebrity and wealth. But when I went there to have appetizers and cocktails before Iris on my 50th birthday, it felt off--now I know why.
    • Caroline Miller August 27, 2014 at 7:39 am Reply
      Oh, you are a brave person. I've always wanted to step inside the place, but knowing its history always intimidated me. It's one of my phantasies to have cocktails there and you have lived it. But yes, I am sorry to report the place has fallen upon sad times.

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published five novels

  • Getting Lost To Find Home
  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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