Sunday, February 15, 2015

(part 283) ......AND HOW WE REMEMBER IT.........


 still from "mondo hollwood" georgiana steele and bobby jameson

Becoming involved with women from my past, online, presented me with a variety of problems, particularly when it came to so-called social media platforms. The reason being, was each of them became aware of each other's presence. I had nothing to hide, as I said earlier, but hadn't considered the possibility that they might not like each other at some point. I'd known each of them separately, in the past, but now there was a collective intermingling taking place. Looking back on it now, I realize I blindly put my foot in it. I'd been so focused on what I was working on, before any of them showed up, that I paid no attention to the now obvious stupidity of it.

Early on it was Paula who started calling me on the telephone, just to say hi occasionally, and we'd talk about the old days in the 60's, and how we'd met. The more I talked to her, the more details I remembered about that specific time. She'd been one of the few people who was actually present at some of the "Color Him In" recording sessions, which, according to her, she remembered fondly. As for me, it was more a memory of the work I did rather than who was there.

As time went by, and the calls from Paula continued, there were conversations where I erupted in anger to some of her remarks about the old days in West Hollywood. One of them had to do with me being on the 11th story ledge, or roof, of the Continental Hyatt House on Sunset Blvd. in the 70's. You might want to keep in mind that I had not seen nor spoken to this woman since 1967. Her comments about this life altering occasion of mine seemed to be minimized by her at the time. For me it just stood out as an uncomfortable subject that she really didn't want to discuss. She told me she'd driven by as it was happening, but said she didn't know it was me up there until later in the day. I asked her why she hadn't tried to contact me after she found out? She said she'd heard I was up on the Hyatt House demonstrating against record companies.
"What?" I yelled, "I was up there because I was going to commit suicide goddamn it!"
"I didn't know that at the time," she said, "I just heard it was a stunt."
"Well even if it was a fucking stunt, as you call it, why didn't you try to get in touch with me if you cared so fucking much?"
I never really got an answer to my question that day about why she hadn't tried to contact me, but the feeling I got from that call never left me.

In another telephone conversation she told me she had been at a house in Laurel Canyon, in 1980, when I was there playing/singing with some musicians and song writers. Again, I hadn't seen her since 1967, and had no idea she was there, so I was pretty confused when she told me about it.
"If you knew it was me Paula, why didn't you say something?"
"Because I didn't like the outfit I had on that day and didn't like the way I looked," she said, "so I didn't say anything, and I didn't know if you'd even remember me!"
Huh? If I cared about someone as much as she was claiming to care about me, and I ran into them thirteen years later at a house in the canyon, I think I would have said something no matter how I looked, but that's me. My response to this was it kind of pissed me off, and I said so at the time. I had a hard time believing that she could care so deeply about me, if she couldn't even say hello when she'd been in the same house with me. 

As far as Sharon went, she'd taken to emailing me on a regular basis. I couldn't handle another set of telephone calls, so I never let that get started with her as I had with Paula. Sharon also said she'd always loved me, and said she'd named her son, Jameson, from her marriage to some other guy, but again, it was all news to me when I heard it. In both the case of Sharon and Paula there was one clear fact that stood out to me. The claim that, "I was always in love with you," that I was hearing from both of them now, had not been present back in the 60's. I don't mean to belittle what they said their feelings were, but history notes that both had suddenly disappeared from my life by their own choice. One day they were there and the next day they were not. So love had not been so clearly defined back then, or so it seemed to me.

Georgiana was a different case altogether. I had had no love interest in her whatsoever, at least that I could recall. I met her in 1966 on the strip, and I only know that because I saw us together in some film footage ( still picture at top of post) from "Mondo Hollywood" on youtube. We were walking through the Beverly Hills Court House together when I was on trial for disturbing the peace at Ben Franks coffee shop on Sunset Blvd. Bob Cohen filmed some of the trial and it ended up in his movie. Other than that I have no recollection of Georgiana being in my life until 1981. But on myspace, and then facebook in 2008 onward, she acted as if we'd been life long friends. I remember thinking what is this broad's trip? Even Georgiana was surprised by the "Mondo Hollywood" pictures of her and I together, so she hadn't recalled it either, until I posted the pictures on fb.

The one thing I've learned about people from my past, without exception, is that each of them have recollections that don't square with my own. I stand on my set of facts and details regarding what I say actually took place. If someone has a different version, and I'm sure that they will, let them put it forth if they'd like, and I will post it. If they remember things differently than I do, I understand, but I am writing about what I recall. I have no need to alter anything, because the facts themselves paint an extremely clear picture.


GO TO PART 1 OF BLOG

6 comments:

  1. Bobby, You are so mixed up! That isn't me in Mondo Hollywood, my name has one "n"..I wasn't after you, I, if you remember, live with Johnny Echols...and I was in the UK in 1980. arrived here the 22nd March 1981, ran into you at John and Nadia's, went home with you, hung around awhile and. you moved in, then moved out, disappeared for some 20 years, I was married. So, when I found you again thought it was a trip to re connect with many old friends. You are nothing special...peace

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    1. I was just going to Part 1 when I read your comment. How can you tell someone that their version is mixed up just because it differs from your version, I guess your need to be right outweighs everything even if it is at other people's expense. Bobby understood that other people might have a different version and welcomed them to post it. He posted HIS version and it is HIS blog.
      Bobby has posted that photo many times on his Timeline identifying you as the blonde in the picture. I never recall you correcting him and saying it wasn't you. It's comical that you bring up the spelling of your name ...it is either you or it isn't?
      Rather than just write your version I see that you made two judgments-first Bobby is so mixed up and second he isn't anything special. What need did you fulfill by telling him he wasn't anything special?

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    2. P.S. I'm just one of Bobby's many sycophants

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  2. Georgiana, your reply above made me laugh. Whether your name is spelled with 1 'n' or 4, it's still you, any way you slice it.

    Hundreds of people on Bobby's Face Book wall have seen you over the years talking about how far back you and Bobby go , the Mondo Hollywood shot, and how close you supposedly were with him "back in the day".

    We've witnessed your somewhat odd behavior, implying that you were some great love of Bobby's, even though he never implied or acknowledged any such thing. We all watched you have, what in my opinion, was a narcissistic tantrum, screaming about how close you and Bobby were and how you were one of his "Real" friends, while the rest of us were not.

    Your outrage over being removed from his friends list sure seemed to be coming from someone who was insisting that she had a special relationship with him. Your meltdown where you attempted to somehow embarrass Bobby on his wall, screaming about "F-ing him", may have been eventually deleted by Bobby, but Face Book keeps records and there were 100's who read what you wrote.

    There were 100's who read what you wrote on many occasions about how long you had been friends with Bobby. Your remark above that Bobby is "Nothing special", sure doesn't jive with the remarks you have made over the years on social media.

    Your attempt to make Bobby feel that he is "so mixed up", is text-book narcissistic abuse--- trying to make your victim feel that his sense of reality is false. It's classic, and after watching with horror at how you've treated your "friend" Bobby at times, it does not surprise me in the least.

    Kudos to Bobby for always being a gentleman to you at those awkward times, and for just flat-out ignoring your ridiculous claim above, because after all, attention is what you seek---even negative attention is good for some people I guess. Getting a reaction still gives you control, and it's all about control.

    Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned....with one exception maybe....Hell hath no fury like a groupie scorned. If the shoe fits, just own it, put it on and walk away, Cinderella. In the passive-aggressive contradictory sign-off style of Georgiana Georgianna Georgiannna, " You are nothing special.....Peace." Lori Kamyk

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    1. I just read what you wrote and you made so many valid points. This was very well written and points out the contradictions that Georgiana (one "n" only) continues to write. I very rarely get so affected by someone's comments, but, I will never forget the comments she made on Bobby's timeline that evening. One that really infuriated me was her telling Bobby how close she was with his mother and deliberately repeating something his mother had allegedly said to her in confidence about him. This was while his mother was slowly dying and a time when he was hurting and needed support from his friends. I think that was the cruelest thing anyone could do while they are claiming to be his "real" friends. If Georgiana's motives were for Bobby's benefit she could have sent them in a private message. She chose a public forum to air out his and her personal business. Fortunately the end results didn't have a negative impact on Bobby; they only showed Georgiana's true colors.
      A day after Bobby's mother died Georgiana chose to post something about him without actually mentioning his name. I respect that she had the decency to keep him anonymous as some of the comments made by Georgiana and her partner were extremely calloused and insensitive. For some odd reason she thought he needed to hear what she was saying.
      Quote "I hope someone has given him a heads up to this post."
      My response to that is I'm glad no one gave him a head's up to Georgiana's post.

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  3. Bob has been clean and sober for decades. His writings online have been brutally honest even when his words portray him in a less than flattering light. I suspect that some have not become clean and sober, so perhaps their memory is flawed, marred by years of drug use. Someone that would write a friend who is grieving in such a demeaning, condescending manner and in a public forum, is toxic and surely no friend. JMO

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