Sunday, September 12, 2004

Queen of Mean

Shoot with the last entry. I attempted to type up an entry on my friend's sidekick. I only managed to confuse myself in the process and I gave up -- I was going to sign out but I inadvertently ... published the funny comments.

Looks like I was on something, eh?

Anyway, last Friday, I had the opportunity to visit the famed Helen Keller National Center in Long Island. It is a training center for deaf-blind people in different areas. I was impressed with the center and the location. The location was simply gorgeous -- it is located in one of wealthiest neighborhoods. I was amazed.

But why am I talking about Queen of Mean? Who is she? It is none other than Leona Helmsley. Most NYCers knew her as the owner of Helmsley Hotel. She is a millionaire, or maybe a billionaire. Many people despised her for her snappy comments. She found herself on the national scene about a decade ago when she was charged for tax evasion and jailed for a year, I believe. She uttered a famous line, "Only little people pay taxes."

And the most recent one brought her back on the spotlight after a gay man sued her for harassment. She drove him out of his job after having a great evaluation then found out that he's gay and pushed him out of managing the hotel. He won the case.

Anyway, back to the HKNC, I was surprised to see a wing of the building that was recently added thanks to the contribution of $1 million by ... the Queen of Mean. Probably a tax write-off. She donated $1 million to the agency and they named the wing of the building, "Harry and Leona Helmsley Conference Center".

I cannot describe how I felt about it. I grinned and grinned all day long. She donated money to an organization that helps people who cannot hear nor see what kind of Leona Helmsley is! Oh, gawd.

That was funny thought.

Thought you guys would like to know about this.

Later,

R-

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