Word: hostessing
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Most American novelists are firmly rooted in the middle class, and when they write about their social betters, they are usually a little uncomfortable, like a stranger at a grand dinner who furtively watches to see which of the many forks the hostess will pick up next. Louis Auchincloss was born to that elevated society, however. He is, as reviewers always note, perhaps the only living example of the novelist of manners,, the last descendant of Henry James and Edith Wharton...
Once one of the world's most visible leaders, Begin now lives like a hermit in a 3 1/2 room apartment on Zemach Street, two blocks from the home of his son Benyamin. He sees his three children (the third, Leah, works as a ground hostess for El Al), nine grandchildren and a few old friends, but no one else. He spends his days reading and talking on the telephone, which he often answers himself. An Israeli diplomat who recently called his home found him well informed and alert...
Patterns are also changing among the wealthy. Cleaning women's wages are down because more households are doing without help. The hostess in Paris' well-heeled 16th arrondissement still appears in the latest Chanel outfits but has given up sit-down dinners for 40 in favor of buffets for ten and less expensive champagne (Veuve Cliquot instead of Dom Perignon). The elderly count in Provence dwells in one wing of an otherwise shuttered château he hesitates to sell because of the government's "wealth tax" of up to 2.5% on assets over...
...many cases the women themselves have trumpeted the message that older is better, or at least just as good: Olivia Newton-John, gracing a People cover proclaiming her relationship with a younger man; actress Leslie Ann Warren chatting with Tonight Show hostess Joan Rivers about her junior-aged beau; TV star Joan Collins posing nude for Playboy, followed in this month's issue by ex-Congressional wife Jenrette and former "Raging Bull" spouse Vicki LaMotta. Most notably, TV's highest rated soaps Dallas and Dynasty, both feature steamy liaisons between mature women and nubile males...
...there is a certain risque and taboo element to their life. Geisha are entertainers; they are hired by small gatherings of men for evening amusement at banquets. Geisha perform traditional dances and songs, pour sake for the customers and provide the services of a very well-trained and amusing hostess who make parties run smoothly...