Spring Cleaning

Over the weekend, I began the long, involved process of emptying La Casa del Terror of items I no longer need or want.

I started with the CD collection. How many CDs do I won? Couldn't tell you. When was the last time I listened to individual CDs? Again, couldn't tell you. If it's not currently in the frequently malfunctioning RCA 5-CD changer tray, then chances are I haven't given it a spin in a while. That makes just about everything in the collection fair game.

Still, one must do these things in increments, so I chose 15 CDs to head out the door first, including Fergie's "The Dutchess," the Juno soundtrack and all my Brian Wilson CDs. I managed to sell off 10 of the 15 and got back enough to pay this month's electric bill. Next? The DVD collection gets trimmed (though fear not, regular attendees of HMB--none of the movies in that group will be heading out the door).

I decided, further, to extend my spring cleaning to my electronic homes, starting with the "Saved" folder for my personal e-mail address, which I may be shutting down soon (it's tied to my home Internet account, which is effectively defunct due to a crappy phoneline, so that money may go elsewhere).

There are several dozen e-mails in there, including the death notices for Ms. Christopher, Gigi and Kaytee, along with the many related responses and expressions of condolence.

There was also a group of e-mails to and from an old friend, who, at the end of 2007, I'd had great hopes of renewing friendship after contact had been abruptly cut off years before; we'd traded e-mails at the end of that year, after she'd become fabulously successful in her chosen field, and I'd thrown a line of congratulations her way.

Unfortunately, 2008 began with silence, which continued for months even though I sent her messages regularly--some long and prosaic, but most short and to the point. Hopes were revived in July, when she answered a couple more e-mails, but then the silence resumed and carried through to the end of the year. I'd hoped for something, even an acknowledgment of a holiday greeting or a "Happy New Year" message, but no such luck.

At the end of the first week of January, I composed the following e-mail:

When you updated your bloggity on 12/30, I posted a brief comment: "Glad to hear you're OK. Miss you."

Afterward, I realized that I could have posted the same comment at any time within the last five years, including 2007, when I had some hope that we could renew our friendship. But after another year of emails, the overwhelming majority of which went unanswered (unread?), it would take optimism bordering on hubris (or, more aptly, dementia) to hope that you would answer any message, much less this one.

God knows you're busy--hardest working woman in show business. I know that. But I also know lots of busy people, and most of them find time to drop me a line, if only to say, "Haven't heard from you in a bit. How are you?"

Maybe you didn't want to communicate, even electronically. Maybe you thought I had an agenda. In that case, you thought right. I did have an agenda:

I wanted my friend back.

The e-mail was sent January 7.

There was no reply.