chapter 450

10/2/2016

Queen of Versailles

billion dollar image

The Fireball Run, a sports car rally to promote missing person awareness and local communities, stopped in Clifton Park this week. After a two hour kayak trip the timing was right to stop by on the way home. Was about to leave when I noticed this beautiful sunset over the Queen of Versailles van. Was this a message?

The first car in was this new white Corvette. As the drivers exited to check into the Hilton it was amusing that they were Nuns, but I guess it was a fitting cause for them. Chance or fate?

The next morning the contestants gathered at the start line to receive instructions. I sensed a sadness in the Queen, or maybe she just felt out of place, or dulled by the prior nights festivities. Later read about her last years tragic loss of 18 year old daughter to drugs.

This is the message of the day. I recall watching the movie a couple years ago on Bravo, The Queen of Versailles. It's available on Netflix. The camera crew had intimate access to her family's excesses. Billionaire husband David Siegel a time share mogul in Florida was building the largest $100 million dollar home in America but was stymied by the pesky economy meltdown in 2008. [Has recovered and continuing to build Versailles.]

The Queen, Jackie Siegel, was a local girl from Binghamton. Got a cheesey RIT computer engineering degree, started working at IBM, immediately was disenchanted with that corporate rat in maze culture, quit to become a model in NY City, became a beauty contest winner and married into wealth. Their lifestyle - value system is unabashedly unbelievably documented.

There are a lot of life lessons everywhere, if we look for them.

I took this picture of the starting line up before the race. Their live feed caught me in action at the 6 minute mark of this video. Perhaps I'll make the final cut in their movie.

The chrome looking paint job of the million dollar list price Mclaren F1 is actually a plastic wrap on the car for protection and show. Wrap for Less from Orlando, Fl (ties to the competitors) can do your car.

By the way Ripley's Believe It or Not is involved with this venture.

Like I said, it all started with an early fall kayak trip from Round Lake with Colleen and daughter Karissa. I like to think our boats give just as much pleasure as yachts to millionaires, maybe more. Values?

My high school art teacher, Mr. Boison, said to incorporate cross angles to give a sense of motion and activity. My art phase is waning a bit, so much easier to shoot photos.

Queen of Versailles movie data base

Victoria Siegel deceased daughter news

mucho Queen of Versailles tid bits youtube

.