Posted on 10/26/2005 7:14:37 AM PDT by Millee
The mansionization battle rustling the leaves of North Barrington Avenue is something new even for Brentwood.
It's a dispute not over a 12,000-square-foot neo-Tudor monster or a towering modernist cube, but over a backyard treehouse for an 18-month-old girl.
This being Brentwood, of course, the edifice at issue is no ordinary treehouse. When Les Firestein, a television producer, and his wife, Gwyn Lurie, a screenwriter, wanted to do something really special for their daughter, Sydney, they enlisted their friend Roderick Wolgamott Romero.
Romero is a renowned builder of elaborate treehouses for such celebrities as Sting and Donna Karan. His work can be found in the "fantasy gift" section of this year's Neiman Marcus holiday catalog. Beginning price: $50,000.
In the backyard of the Firestein-Lurie home, which sits on a tree-studded half-acre north of Sunset Boulevard, Romero and his buddies built a roughly 10-foot-by-10-foot structure of reclaimed wood, salvaged windows and vintage stained glass from Buenos Aires that would quicken the heart of any fun-loving child or parent.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
The surrogate fatherhood program..
That being said, I'd bet good money that if Adam and Steve were shacked up at this address, and adopted a child, and built a treehouse ... there'd be no complaints at all.
Elitist battle ground, like the windmills offshore from splash.
Of course,it would be FOR THE CHILDREN
Heck he gave her a boy's name too!
That is going to be one screwed up girl.
Just my opinion of course.
The burning question I have is "what the heck does 18 month old need with a treehouse???" Sounds more like a parental fantasy to me.
Don't underestimate your opinion here : )
"Les Firestein, a television producer, and his wife, Gwyn Lurie, a screenwriter"
They sound like perpeTRAITORS of Lolliwood garbage.
His wife may have used someone else to provide the "pixie dust."
"Heck he gave her a boy's name too!
That is going to be one screwed up girl.
"
Hmmm....
Sydney, spelled with two "y"s is almost exclusively a girl's name. Sidney, with an "i" is the man's name.
Sydney is in the top quarter of girls names in popularity. Guess you're off a little on this one.
Lots of Girls running around your local middle school with the name of Sydney. Heather and Brittany are also pretty popular these days.
Taylor and Tyler are often used in the same way. I've met both boys and sirls with both names. It's gotta be tough having to explain your way through life.
"How'd this guy father a child???"
That part isn't too hard based on what I've seen producing offspring.
"I've met both boys and sirls with both names. It's gotta be tough having to explain your way through life."
Oh, I don't really think so. There are lots of names that are used for both boys and girls. As long as it's common to use a name for both, it causes little confusion. It's only when you use a name that isn't commonly used for both that you get into trouble.
Calling a boy Alice or a girl Richard would cause a problem. Sydney or Sidney, on the other hand, won't cause any problems for either a girl or a boy.
It really doesn't matter. Remember Michael Learned? She seemed to do OK with a man's name.
I adopted my nieces and nephews a few years ago. It's been a challenge for us all . . . both financially and culturally because of my disabilities and my lifelong bachelor-hood.
My youngest's thirteenth birthday was in August. I heard her talking to her older sister a couple of months ago about some name-brand sneakers she "would die for." I saved my pennies and bought her the shoes for her birthday.
A week later she was an hour late coming home from school. We live only three blocks from school so the children walk to and from class. I WAS FRANTIC!! All kinds of sordid thoughts were ping-ponging around in my noodle!
I sometimes have to use a wheelchair and, after calling the local police, I rolled back and forth to her shool twice looking for her. I was about to call the FBI . . . LOL, though I didn't think it funny at the time . . . when a friend called, saying my child was safe and with her. My friend is an assistant manager at the local WalMart.
My eldest and I loaded up and sped to WalMart . . . it's about two miles from our home.
When we arrived, my soon-to-be-grounded-for-life daughter was waiting patiently by the information counter . . . loaded down with four shoe boxes my friend said she refused to put down.
The little stinker had walked to WalMart!! It's on a busy highway! I was boiling mad.
Then . . . I went from a volcano about to explode to a wimpering old Village Idiot in seconds.
My lovely child has good ears as well . . . she heard me and my eldest daughter discussing finances one time.
This Beautifu Blessing had taken back her $100+ shoes to WalMart and bought her and her three brothers and sisters all new pairs of school shoes. The little snot had even stolen a pair of each of her brothers and sisters shoes so she would know what size to get everyone.
So . . . maybe some folks have to buy their children $50,000 treehouses to feel good. My youngest made me feel like a REAL DAD and I only spent about twenty-five bucks a child.
I HAVE THE ABSOLUTE BEST CHILDREN IN THE WORLD!!!
Remember . . . LOL . . . I asked for your indulgement in the very first sentence of this novel.
Wow! This thing is bigger and fancier than my first two apartments!
Rumor has it that it has been valued at $ 800,000 and over a dozen realtors have already approached him to sell it for him...
Magic?
He feared that children could perch in this aerie and look in on him and his wife in their backyard pool and hot tub.
There's the crux of the issue, right there. The neighbors are in the habit of getting naked in the back yard, and are turning to the Law as a substitute for modesty.
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