Travelling to Sag Harbor’s American Hotel by Ferrari
We’ve been enjoying the gorgeous weather and beaches on the East End, the wineries on the North Fork, and some outstanding restaurants. Most of the meals we’ve been indulging in have been local seafood, simply prepared and served. Its not fancy — or cheap — but its fresh and delicious.
At one canal-side restaurant, we bump into a friend of mine from college, wife and kids in tow. We also had an elegant meal at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, which leads to this charming anecdote:
We are enjoying delightful meal at the restaurant — 5 star food, wonderful service — and Mrs. Big Picture and I are taking in the crowd. Its a lot of beautiful people, glamorous, eclectic — and dripping wealth.
As we were ogling the room and enjoying our food, an older gentleman finishes his meal, and makes his way over to us and walks up to our table.
Every now and again someone recognizes from the blog, so I kinda brace myself for the “Aren’t you . . . “
Instead, he asks “Do you have a silver Ferrari?”
The street outside is littered with luxe rides — Rovers, Mercs, Porsches, Bentleys. Of all this expensive sheet metal, I did notice a silver Ferrari 612 Scaglietti on the street on the way into the restaurant. Not my favorite F-car, but a formidable machine with a 534 HP supercharged V12 nonetheless.
“The 612? I saw that outside — no, that is not my car. Why do you ask?”
He responds “I have a 911, and on the way into town, I was playing with a Silver Ferrari.”
Ok, I’ll bite: “Why did you think that was my ride?”
The gentleman answers: “There was a beautiful blonde in the passenger seat. I thought that might be your date.”
The wife gently blushes. It made her night.
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September 4th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
….don’t buy anything from that smooth talker
September 4th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
dude, you’re james bond…
September 4th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
i have to 2nd Wes-
did you have you hand firmly placed on wallet- er . . . do you still have your wallet? . . .and wasyour wife wearing any jewelry? empasis on was
September 4th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Oh the life in East Egg…
“There was music from my neighbor’s house through those summer nights. In his enchanted gardens, men and girls came and went like moths, among the whispering and the champagne and the stars. I believe that few people were actually invited to these parties. They just went. They got into automobiles that bore them out to Long Island, and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door. Come for the party with a simplicity of heart that was it’s own ticket of admission.”
Jay Gatsby: Summer’s almost over. It’s sad, isn’t it? Makes you want to – I don’t know – reach out and hold it back.
Nick Carraway: There’ll be other summers.
Jay Gatsby: [Turning to Nick] How ’bout a swim?
Nick Carraway: Maybe later.
Jay Gatsby: Hrmm.
Nick Carraway: I’ll give you a call – around noon?
Jay Gatsby: Fine, old sport. I’ll be at the pool. [Jay watches Nick walk away for a moment before calling out to him]
Jay Gatsby: Nick? Thank you.
Nick Carraway: [Nick nods and then continues on his way. But then he suddenly turns back] They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.
Daisy Buchanan: And when I was in the delivery room, waking up from the ether, I asked the nurse whether it was a boy or a girl. She said it was a girl – and I turned my head to the side and cried. And then I said, I hope she grows up to be a pretty little fool. That’s about the best a girl can hope for these days, to be a pretty little fool.
The Great Gatsby
September 4th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
He was talking to your wife. Every. word. he. said.
September 4th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Behind every successful man, there’s a Mrs. Big Picture. Enjoy the holiday weekend!
September 4th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Wonderful story !! I’m sure Mrs. R. was most deserving of the compliment and more. Best wishes for continued fun on your vacances..
September 4th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I don’t think the 612 is supercharged – normally aspirated all the way.
~~~
BR: I think you may be right — I’ll have to check where I cut & paste that from. F cars are not big into blowers . . .
September 5th, 2009 at 12:04 am
I was hiking in a park in Woodside, CA area a few weeks back and came across the local Ferrari club holding a picnic. Must have been at least 50 exotic cars there (not all Ferrari’s). I took some photo’s:
http://www.fototime.com/inv/2729B4E7B9CA42E
September 5th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Green Ferrari with yellow rims? That’s up there with Geithner’s blue tile.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-29-2009/home-crisis-investigation
September 5th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Barry, when the old 911 guy asked if your car was the Ferrari why didn’t you come clean and say, “No, mines the ’85 Chevy Citation.”
~~~
BR: never owned a Chevy in my life, tho I have my eye on a ’70 Vette. My first car was a ’67 Chrysler 300 — huge engine, could chirp the tires at any speed.
September 5th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Pardon me, but would you have any Grey Poupon?
September 5th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
“He was talking to your wife. Every. word. he. said.”
Exactly what I was thinking lol. Barry, he was hitting on your wife right in front of you.
~~~
BR: And his own (brunette) wife!
September 5th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
And what, the Gallardo or Mucielago was busy at the time? Oh dear. Barry only rates the Ford of sportscars. What will we do? Heap more gas upon it and prey that the gods of speed have pity on him :-)
~~~
BR: Not a huge Lambo fan, but they are starting to grow on me. I do like the looks of the new 458 tho . . .
September 5th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Jojo — I don’t live too far from there, and a few weeks ago I was seeing a surprising number of Ferraris driving around, so it looks like you’ve explained it!
September 5th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Let’s see, how would I email this message to the 8,000,000+ unemployed people in this country so they can enjoy it too?
September 5th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Why, were they in the market for a Ferrari before they lost their jobs?
September 5th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
I remember vacationing in Côte d’Azur, traveling on E80 from Nice to Monaco. All of a sudden at least 10 Ferraris showed up, all competing to get to the Formula 1 race. I’ve never seen as many Ferraris as I’ve seen that day at the race. A whole parking garage floor was filled with Ferraris.
September 5th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Well, I remember vacationing in Chamonix at Count _____’s chalet. At the beginning of the week the obligatory cavalcade of rock stars appeared: Elton & Dave, Bono, Mick, Sting, and a host of lesser lights.
And didn’t they clear the dear Count’s cellar of all of his Rothschild’s. Savages. So he asked me on the QT to sneak out and take his Turborossa over to the Prime Minister’s place to pinch a box of his.
So on the way down the mountain the road is deserted when out of nowhere this rust bucket of a Peugeot zips past me. The insolence! So I played with him for a few miles until at last I darted in front of him and caused him to go off the snowy road to his death. Peasants.
At the Prime Minister’s place (rather shabby compared to the Count’s) I found only his personal assistant, Ms. G___ at home. Overcome by the urge to unburden my loins of the tension brought about by preying upon the rust bucket, I seduced her in near record time, I must say, with the usual passages from Verlaine and in general the wit and charm that have brought me rather scandalous fame . . . but I digress.
The seduction served my purposes well, as I proposed to raid her benefactor’s wine cellar and required a willing guide. Accessing the cellar was even easier than accessing her sweet fruits.
Within an hour I was loading 24 bottles of Chateau Rothschild into the passenger seat, much to the chagrin of my new conquest, who pouted and made a show of protest. There are not women, dear reader, only a single Woman with many faces. To know one is to know all. As one who has known many, I can share that they are indeed all the same.
I bid her adieu and departed.
September 5th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
tz-
funny stuff- from where?
September 5th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
TZ, I hope you write for a living… if yr a trader, maybe you outta switch
September 5th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
“U.S. Recovery Leaving Workers Jobless May Spur Company Profits”
A year ago, this headline would have been from Onion, not Bloomberg.
September 5th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Tranzor… LOL. Thanks for putting your cards on the table, as well.
September 6th, 2009 at 12:50 am
…(con’t) because soon enough, the large middle/upper middle class populace who fancied themselves investors will need entertainment more than ‘financial planning’.
(Anyone else remember that new yorker cartoon sometime post-2000, a stockbroker telling client, “I’m sorry, we have to drop you because you’re no longer high-net worth” ?
September 6th, 2009 at 1:01 am
The gentleman is a third level player at the game.
He brightened your day for BOTH of you. I find that truly successful people intuitively make people feel good about themselves.
September 6th, 2009 at 3:11 am
I bought new spark plugs for my 2003 Sentra. I don’t make a monthly payment on it. and I have a HUGE MEMBER of my social circle who tells me this is a prudent decision.
September 6th, 2009 at 3:46 am
ROFL, that was a great anecdote. Glad you’re enjoying a holiday weekend in such a lovely spot Barry. Just as a matter of interest, what do you drive on weekends? I know you take the LIRR during the week.
September 6th, 2009 at 5:12 am
I remember….
never mind, coz aliens ate my Buick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0njr9AjaEU
September 6th, 2009 at 7:54 am
tz-
LMAO- funny stuff- where from?
September 6th, 2009 at 9:29 am
@BR
Hey BR… We have something (almost) in common… My first car was a ’65 Chrysler 300…
My best car ever was a 66 goat 389…
September 6th, 2009 at 10:14 am
[...] noted earlier in comments, its hard to guess the true source of this headline: • U.S. Recovery That’s Leaving Workers [...]
September 6th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
@ahab:
From my personal memoirs. ;)
September 7th, 2009 at 9:21 am
You’all should look at nature for awhile ..try weeding a vegetable bed for instance and realize that your playtoys and domination games are keeping you blind from the the number one relief of getting over yourself while you are still alive to appreciate it. Don’t wait until the white light comes for you at your last
breath as it surely will.