Miller Time

UNITED STATES—It’s often easier to go unrecognized as a diet guru. And what happened after my daughter’s 8th grade graduation, has left me with a intricate desire to scream. I could scream. That’s right. After the blazing sunny ceremony, held on the lawn of Beverly Hills High School, a couple of parents, friends and children, now teen graduates clad in togas, adjourned...

UNITED STATES—The Wylie Empire included a hotel in a prime location on Skid Row—the elegantly named Palmer House on Wall St. (conveniently around the corner from the police station). A lot of work was going on in spring of 1991. It was being painted and refurbished after one manager had been replaced. His replacement, a sweet fellow who favored...

UNITED STATES—"I didn't want to tell you over the phone, but the social worker laid down an ultimatum: they can't have her here if she doesn't show progress in therapy. They were ready to kick her out three days ago, but they gave an extension. It's a godsend you came. We being together can make a big difference." "If she...

UNITED STATES—Meet Eliza’s accomplice: Roger worked for a production house in Hollywood and had slickly edited together breaking news flashes about a terrorist group that was going to release a geriatric bomb in different parts of the globe. From the Hollywood Hills to Lake Cuomo, in Italy. Flashes appeared of people in black ski-masks that revealed only their eye-holes...

UNITED STATES—"Hello," she called out. She was in front of another body shop not 30 yards away from the first, with its yard of wounded cars. They were wounded, but they were the best makes, and their owners demanded perfection. In contrast stood what had been a payphone on the corner. Danielle was old enough to remember, but for the...

UNITED STATES—I get a kick remembering when Maya turned to me with the Wooster, Massachusetts edge and the fleeing r’s in her voice and said, “Are you a cynic?” It was a treat to have somebody close enough to observe that; it’s the bonus togetherness. Well, calling me cynical was like accusing Husserl of being a logical positivist. Time...

UNITED STATES—Because of Kevin’s growing notoriety donning his robes around town, his fame as Jesus of Hollywood spread. Some filmmaking friends of mine who knew him publicly and had no idea he was my friend spoke about him. My curiosity was roused by their misconception of him being a lunatic. Finally, one day in the laundromat I asked, “How...

UNITED STATES—I was flush in confidence, soon to complete a second draft of my screenplay, “The Persecuted,” on my Olivetti portable that fit snugly atop a sun-bleached street find Art Deco table, positioned by the driveway window where my eyes could wander to the tops of the palm trees tall my dreams. I had made a sweet deal to...

UNITED STATES—I totally get it when a friend said after attending a big wedding back east, lots of family and drink, “I’m in detox mode.” I get it. Travel this summer has taken its toll and severely tested my easygoing live-and-let-eat philosophy. I was at the mercy of roadside convenience stores in a dozen states. At one point I was trapped...

UNITED STATES—“This was one of Kyle’s permanent molars, so we’re going to do our best to save it,” said the dentist. Meanwhile Allegra was so nervous, steeling herself for the heist of dental work for her son, and discreetly sharpened the left index finger between her finely manicured right thumb and index.  She already imagined holding it on the...