When Gloria C. MacKenzie went to a Florida supermarket near Tampa last month to buy a Powerball ticket, another person in line did something nice for the 84-year-old widow.
“While in line at Publix, another lottery player was kind enough to let me go ahead of them in line to purchase the winning Quick Pick ticket,” she said in a statement Wednesday. (Click here to see the woman who gave up her space!)
The nice gesture turned out to be a life-changing one for MacKenzie and her family. She came forward Wednesday to claim the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in history, $590 million.
A retiree from Maine and a mother of four who lives in a modest, tin-roof house in Zephyrhills, Fla., where the lone winning ticket in the May 18 drawing was sold, MacKenzie took her prize in a lump sum of just over $370 million. After federal taxes, she is getting about $278 million, lottery officials said.

Wearing large sunglasses and dressed in a pink sweater and white pants, she clasped her son’s arm after visiting the lottery offices as they made their way to a silver Ford Focus and left quickly. She did not speak to a crowd of reporters outside the building. She was accompanied at the lottery offices by two unidentified attorneys.
MacKenzie bought the winning ticket at a Publix supermarket in the town of about 13,300, which is 30 miles northeast of Tampa. It is best known for the bottled spring water that bears its name — and now, for one of the biggest lottery winners of all time.
The $590 million was the second-largest lottery jackpot in history, behind a $656 million Mega Millions prize in March 2012, but that sum was split, with three winning tickets.
MacKenzie let the lottery computers generate the numbers at random. She said she had previously bought four other tickets for the drawing.
“We are grateful with this blessing of winning the Florida Lottery Powerball jackpot,” she said in a statement read by lottery officials.
“We hope that everyone would give us the opportunity to maintain our privacy for our family’s benefit.”
The winner had 60 days to claim the prize. Lottery spokesman David Bishop said MacKenzie, her lawyers and her financial adviser spent about two hours going through the necessary paperwork.
“They had clearly been preparing for this. They took all this time to get everything in order,” Bishop said.
Minutes after the announcement, a dozen reporters in Zephyrhills were camped outside MacKenzie’s gray duplex, which backs up to a dirt alley and is across from a cow pasture.
Neighbors were surprised by her good fortune.
“She didn’t say anything about it. She’s so quiet and secluded. She’s usually in the house,” said James Hill. “I’m very happy for her. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. She was always pleasant and smiling.”
Another neighbor, Don Cecil, joked, “I hope she gets a better place to live.”
MacKenzie’s neighbors offered few details about her life. They said she mostly kept to herself, but they’d seen her take short walks along the street and exchanged pleasantries with her.
Her house, situated among mostly mobile homes and pre-fabricated houses, has a chain-link fence with a sheet-metal roof and an old TV antenna.
MacKenzie retired to Zephyrhills more than a decade ago from rural Maine with her husband, Ralph, who died in 2005.
Back in her hometown of East Millinocket, Maine, relatives and friends were surprised to hear of her good fortune.
Robert MacKenzie, Ralph’s brother, said the couple met just after World War II after Ralph got out of the Navy. He went to work in the town’s paper mill, laboring as a technician for almost four decades.
He said the couple raised four children in East Millinocket, a town of less than 2,000 people in northern Maine. A daughter and son still live in East Millinocket, another son lives in Florida and another daughter lives out of state, possibly in Massachusetts, he said.
Robert MacKenzie said he didn’t know his sister-in-law had won until a reporter called him.
“Holy mackerel,” he said when told of her winnings. He added: “It hasn’t soaked in, but I’m happy for her. That would be great because she’s a widow and she can have a nice home now.”
One of the MacKenzies’ daughters, Melinda “Mindy” MacKenzie, a high school teacher, still lives in the family home in East Millinocket in a quiet middle-class neighborhood of white clapboard houses.
Ralph MacKenzie enjoyed snowmobiling, hunting and fishing, said Andrew Hopkins, a retired high school teacher and assistant principal who taught some of the MacKenzie children.
“They were good people. That’s about all I can tell you,” said Hopkins, who lives across the street.

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I have been an avid customer of Wholefoods grocery stores for as long as I can remember. On numerous occasions I have been sucked into the scam of overpaying for goods without thinking twice to check my receipts. It wasn’t until about mid summer last year that I finally woke up and paid more attention to my tally at checkout. It started with fresh produce, particularly the Habanero peppers. Each time my total was rung up incorrectly, I would bring it to the manager’s attention that it wasn’t what I saw on the price card when I picked up the produce at the aisle. He would argue until I had to drag him to the spot to see it for himself after which a rain of apologies would follow. This went on for weeks with promises to fix the cash register to reflect the actual price.

You see, the price card states $4.99 per pound but by the time you get to the register you end up paying a whopping double of $9.99 a pound or more! I got tired of making the same complaint each time and started taking pictures to show the cashier exactly what I had seen and must be charged what was advertised. Now imagine many other customers who don’t pay attention to their receipts, especially those that buy in large quantities and want to get home/work in a hurry. The last thing on their mind would be to remember every grocery tally by the time they get to checkout. You would do yourself a favor to make it a habit of checking your receipts! Each time I made the correction/complaints I saw my grocery bills go down by at least $30!!! Yes it adds up! You can’t trust anyone when it comes to money and most certainly not Wholefoods to do what is right by their customers! Buyer beware!

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You guessed it! There’s a parade/festival for everything under the sun in New York City and the Marijuana legalization protest rally was no different.

I’ve never smoked anything in my life but couldn’t resist what was going on just a few blocks from my place. Upon hearing it was a “Ganga Rally”, I quickly slipped on my Ganga smoking Lion shirt, figured it’s a good day to wear it.

On Saturday, May 4 2013, closeted users and outspoken supporters joined the movement at the rally to publicly voice and exercise their civil liberties, freedom of speech at Union Square. Political dignitaries looking for mayoral votes and ex cop/detective turned activist (Joanne Naughton) gave speeches and educated the public on some of the failed drug laws in the country. Despite a few active duty cops on hand to help make sure it was a non violent protest, a few denizens lit up joints to while away the time while they chanted and rejoiced at what could soon be a Cannabis friendly state  to join the ranks of Colorado and Washington States that already legalized the use of Marijuana since late 2012. More rallies are happening across the country each day, all asking for the same liberties.

Preview the video footage below to see the event of the day.

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86 year old woman doing what you would never believe! The video footage below says it all. I want to be like her when I grow up. Heading out to yoga class now! WOW!

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I finally made an effort to visit the Botanical Garden in Brooklyn today for the very first time! It was well worth the wait. The Garden had a 2-day celebration of the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival. It was not to be missed. I made lots of new friends at the event and got to discover many types of flowers and trees. I had no idea such a unique garden was right here in the city. Naturally, I dug through my closet to find one of the many classic silk Kimonos I bought during my visit to Kyoto, Japan a few years ago.  This event was a perfect excuse I needed to wear it in New York City. Upon my arrival at the garden, I saw many others in Kimonos as well. I guess we all got the unofficial dress code memo. Nevertheless, I felt right at home and had loads of fun.

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Sikhs in the United States have long been confused with ultra orthodox Muslims because of the traditional turbans on their heads, especially since the 9/11 terrorists downing of the World Trade Center in 2001. Many were assaulted and publicly humiliated until a few organized groups stepped forward to better educate Americans about their religion and culture. The 26th annual Sikh day festival which turned Madison Avenue into a “mini Mumbai” for a few hours was one of the educational vehicle for that purpose, to also further their cause in letting the world know of their desire to separate from India as a country with their own government. If successful, this would mirror the creation of Pakistan as an independent Muslim nation from India. The Sikhs have been fighting this battle since 1984 after their temple was bombed by the Indians which prompted the 100,000+ US based Sikhs to demand their own day of festival in New York City, a separation from the much larger Indian Day Festival. Today at the festival, food was abundant and free for all, regardless of origin, race or culture. They chanted for freedom and rejoiced in their moment of unity. The atmosphere was positive and energetic.

I sincerely wish them all the best in their mission for a separate country.

If you see any image you fancy, just click on it to preview the enlarged version. Larger images including those not posted here will be posted on my Facebook page. As usual darling, all rights reserved

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Spring has never looked so good in New York City. The flowers are in full bloom creating a great platform for outdoor photography. I didn’t waste anytime in enlisting my dearest and favorite model, Marina Cavallini as my model subject. We have worked together many times before, including modeling for Shoeholics magazine, movie trailer and website, among many other things. She is one of the most dedicated and loyal friends I can count on one hand. When I told her of my “Acrobatic Ballerina In The Park” concept, she was delighted to participate. At the park, we used every garden and blooming trees we could find. We didn’t spare Alice In Wonderland statue either. It wasn’t long before we started attracting spectators. At some locations, with each conclusion of poses we received applause. Occasionally, we get a couple of annoying professional photographers wanting to steal our thunder by snapping a few shots of our set up. I guess we should be flattered. Marina summed up the day very well….

“Today was a beautiful spring day in NYC. The temperatures up in the 70s, flowers blooming, clear sky, green parks… all of it contributed to a perfect day for a photo shoot with my dearest Tinu. I should say there were a few weirdos we ran into that made our day even better and funnier! The day began with a few laughs and spotting Slumdog Millionnaire Dev Patel walking to a movie set at around 9 am at Madison Square Park. Then we headed uptown to Central Park to other locations. I brought a few outfits with me and started changing. Point shoes, tutu, leotard and then… into the fountain! No, no, it wasn’t on yet! I got on the sprinkler, got on point and started posing. 5-10 minutes into the shoot we heard “Oh my God! Do you know how fragile that is? We just painted it yesterday! Get out of the fountain and take all of your body parts with you!” It was one of the park keepers. For a moment I wondered what part of my body I’d leave there if I had a choice…
As we were shooting at another location in Central Park we couldn’t get rid of one really nasty stalker with a professional camera. He was trying to take pictures when I was posing while pretending he was up to something else. He’d turn his back on us and then we’d spot him hiding behind a tree, bushes, and even after I gave him a finger, I could still spot him on a bridge, in a tourist crowd… oh, so annoying! We ended the shoot at Columbus Circle. The day was very productive and fun!”

Please feel free to share these images with your friends and loved ones. We hope they brighten up your day and bring you smiles as they did to us. If you see any image you fancy, just click on it to preview the enlarged version. Larger images including those not posted here will be posted on my Facebook page between now and end of May. As usual darling, all rights reserved

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I had a lovely time last night at the charity ball honoring Crown Princess Margarita and Prince Radu of Romania. The great great great great granddaughter of Queen Victoria of UK gave a moving speech about her beloved country Romania just before dinner that had me in a bit of tears. I have never seen a person love a country so much that she’s willing to do all and give all to help her people. I learnt a lot from her that night.

Prior to the gala, I had just spent about 8 hours shooting a ballerina on Central Park before rushing home to figure out what to wear to gala. I had absolutely no idea what to wear until after going through my stash of gowns where came upon a floral silk dress by Emanuel Ungaro Haute Couture, 2001 collection. To my luck, it still fits! Unfortunately, this is one of many haute couture houses that ceased operations. I still remember attending their very last haute couture fashion show in Paris. Gosh, I really miss them.

It was a perfect choice considering the spring season with flowers and all the right trimmings. The weather held up pretty good too, all the more reason to be able to wear the high slit silk dress with a pair of tassle accented gold sandals by Gucci. At the gala, I was assigned my very own cadet to accompany me to my seat. A very productive day overall.

My friend Giles Ashford described the outfit best, “….stunning bird of paradise!” I can only hope Monsieur Ungaro is reading this and perhaps it will convince him to open up shop again. I can only try. 🙂

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I attended a friend’s birthday party this past weekend. I don’t get many opportunities to wear my traditional attire much in New York. When the invitation came in the mail, I couldn’t resist. Figured why not celebrate the affair in spring colors in Swiss lace I bought a few years ago during my trip to Switzerland. I completed the look with a pair of powder pink Christian Dior slide heels, Fendi shades and rare pink Chanel purse adorned with a pink bottom miniature platform heels. It felt GREAT! It took me only 5 minutes to tie the head wrap style I created and call “The Sydney Opera House”. I like big head wraps, better to make a statement and be seen coming through the door! 🙂 Go big or go home!

Of course, many of the guests didn’t believe that I actually tied it myself. I might wear western clothes everyday in New York, but there are certain things one can never forget. For me, tying a head wrap is like riding a bicycle. Once I mastered it at a very young age from my Grandmother, it stayed with me and I have since made it my own and created many variations since then. RIP Mama. This one is for you.

It’s important to connect with our heritage once in a while. If you have one, please celebrate it with pride! Don’t be shy or ashamed of it. Happy Monday, Happy Spring! 🙂

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Persians from all parts of America descended on New York City yesterday to celebrate their centuries old, rich heritage on Madison Avenue in a parade that had no shortage of elaborate headdresses and costumes echoing dynasties long gone. One could almost think it was the biblical old testament coming to life at the 10th anniversary Persian Festival. The festivities brought out the old and young, Muslims, Jewish and Christian Persians. Some proudly wore outfits declaring their proud status as an Iranian American. The festivities also included Iranian celebrities such as Armarti “Shahidi” Fitzgerald and Mary Apick in full costume! Upon the conclusion of the festival, the crowd feasted on some of the traditional cuisines fully stocked at nearby tents, built solely for the guests. The weather held well, allowing for a nice family gathering and networking.

If you see any image you fancy, just click on it to preview the enlarged version. As usual darling, all rights reserved

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