Felicia, I had heard of her before–in general–but THANKS for all of this specific info spotlighting: Baroness Monica von Neumann
Her Humanitarian Efforts in Africa
“As a small child growing up in the oftimes dreary world that is Detroit, never in young Monica’s wildest dreams did she imagine that she would be given a royal title, not to mention be a dazzling doyenne of Hollywood, Palm Springs and Europe.
As a youngster, Monica’s family moved from Detroit to Los Angeles where she studied dance and modeled for Yves St. Laurent and Dior which took her to Europe in her teens. Her beauty and poise granted her access to circles which included Sonny Bono, who introduced her to Austrian Baron John von Neumann — the first importer of Volkswagens to the U.S. and son of the doctor to the King of England and Spain.
After a few years, Monica went to a Swiss finishing school under the tutledge of Baroness Heidi von Salvisburg of Vienna and again ran into Baron von Neumann. The two fell in love, were married where she gained her title, ‘Baroness’ and eventually had a daughter.
Moving in exclusive circles as a Baroness, she travelled between homes in Geneva, Cannes, New York, Palm Springs, and Bel Air. Tragically, she lost her husband, Baron von Neumann to cancer in 2003.
After a few years of mourning, the Baroness is now poised to show her skills to the world, she now spends her time with her now grown up daughter, doing interior design for friends and family, writing and is currently working on a TV show on etiquette, interior design, entertaining, etiquette, and culinary arts. She has renovated and revamped her many homes-all of which include items from bargain shops (Target and Pier 1, for example) to vintage and high-end design boutiques.”
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I am so happy to read about this woman who is having the life she’s having! Hmmm, I wonder if I can afford anything in her store? LOL! Nope. Not hardly. That’s alright. Plenty of other folks can.
When you listen to the end of the video, my regular readers will notice that her advice is the same that I always give to black women here at the EZINE, which is to: Broaden your mind. Travel. Absolutely do NOT listen to anyone who tries to tell you what you CAN’T do!
Most of what I’m saying here bears repeating because this is how lessons are learned.
Bw, do not listen to anyone who tells you that men of this or that group won’t love you, commit to you, or marry you. It is a fact that many men in EVERY group will not want to marry you. AND???? That’s the same for any woman on earth. You only need ONE CQLL man.
So, it’s a matter of preparation, positioning and probability, as are most things in life. You are a woman, aren’t you? You have the same package, meaning the same general attributes and qualities that any other woman has because you’ve been given the female card. Men are wired to want women. No one on earth can change that fact, so why would any woman who has any smarts listen to naysayers? They’re simply trying to discourage you, so that you will stay put where they believe a bw should be, struggling and suffering, so that you can be just as miserable as they are, or so that they can piggyback on you, and without on-par reciprocity.
And think about this: MOST of the same black people who will try every okey doke in the book to discourage an AA woman from socially mingling with, dating, or marrying out to a white man/nonbm will NOT say anything to an AA man who dates or marries out to a white(r) woman. When that happens, just notice how these same folks will usually either be totally SILENT or they’ll outright encourage him and give him approval points.
This is pure SEXISM.
However, I too, encourage AA men to choose the woman of their choice,for a different reason. I want him or any person–man or woman–to be with the person who makes him/her the happiest or most content. I’ve had the privilege of marrying 2 men who’ve brought a great amount of happiness and contentment into my life. And I’m a mom; I certainly want that for my sons.
Likewise, I want the same for AA women and any grandchildren I may have. This is why I encourage them to explore ALL of their options. And since I know that my grandchildren will one day most likely read much of what what I write, I certainly would never, ever want my sons or my grandchildren to settle for scraps when they can have the whole hog or at least a lot more. LOL!
And to wear this metaphor out, I am so thankful that I’ve been able to get as much of the hog as I can handle! I have gotten my share. I don’t want anymore; I am so content.
Many AAs already KNOW it’s a total waste of time to say anything to a typical AA man about who he chose to love. He will simply ignore them and/or give them the figurative (or literal) finger.
I would LOVE for AA women to learn that lesson from AA men. Dont argue; just be quiet and move on! Remember that ‘yesterday is over’; life is NOT fair and never has been, but YOU have been given the wherewithawal to even ANY odds considerably. YOU have a brain. Preparation, positioning and probability.
Insofar as this woman marrying a very wealthy member of the European royalty, I’m not surprised at all. She’s a woman who married a man. That type of committed relationship is about as old as dirt. LOL!
And I shouldn’t even bother to point out the obvious, but I know that typical AA women of all ages are STILL surrounded by naysaying people who will tell her in both direct and indirect ways that “A wm won’t marry a bw.” Or “Yeah, a wm wants to get between the sheets with a bw, but he won’t take her around his friends and family members and won’t marry her.”
These naysayers know that if they can succeed at keeping the typical AA (and similarly situated bw) feeling hostile enough towards ALL nonbm ((and white -hued men are overwhelming the largest number of nonbm in this country) and prevent her from even wanting to socially mingle with them, then there is little chance that she will ever marry out. Voila! What they’ve predicted will come true! LOL!
I know the deal. I was told this same thing enough times by folks who supposedly were ‘looking out for me.’
Yeah, right!
So, I know how the message is delivered as naysayers try to make sure that you, a bw, never ever leave the black construct–even though the black construct is not introducing that bw to ANY quality, marriage-minded men, on her level, or higher. And normal women around the world strive to marry at their level or higher. Never apologize or be mealy-mouthed about that!
However, if you are a bw who has that type of concern about ANY man’s interest in you, as in maybe he ONLY wants sex, this is why you must VET, VET, VET. Remember that ALL heterosexual men want sex, but they can’t get anything from you unless you give it (or unless the man rapes you). Considering the sordid ways in which some men and women treat each other these days in and out of the bedroom, y’all should be vetting from A to Z ANY man who shows any interest.
I tell my youngest son the same thing about women. VET them.
But suppose I had been dumb enough to listen to the naysayers. Look at all I would have missed. I would also have been just as miserable as they still are.
Btw, the naysayers told me the same thing about my ex-husband (an African man)–that he only wanted me for sex and that he had some other ulterior motives too since–according to them– he thought he was “better than me” because didn’t I know that “Africans think they’re better than AAs.”
Wow! Didn’t these naysayers just tell on themselves? LOL! That’s what I thought at the time and that’s what I think now whenever I hear any version of this. That just SCREAMS major insecurity and inferiority complex. I didn’t point that out to them, of course, but I filed that bit of knowledge about their emotional makeup away for later–just in case I needed it.
That being said, I’ve met folks in various groups who are convinced that they’re “better” than those in other groups for no other reason than that they are from the group they’re from. SMH! Some human beings are really beyond pitiful!
The fact is that I know that no one can ever be “better” than me, but who am I to stop them from having their feelgood delusions if it makes any of them feel good to think that?
Another thing is that it’s futile to try to figure out how anyone thinks about you. Instead watch how they TREAT you over time. That’s what matters. And if a bw is dating or is contemplating marriage to a wm or other non-bm, it does NOT matter whether that man loves or even likes ALL black people. That’s just another type of okey-doke that I hear and read about that naysayers throw at a black woman to try to block or scare her away from mingling romantically with a white man. They want to keep a bw guessing, speculating, worrying, stressed, etc.
There is the remote occurrence that a wm who married(s) a bw was/is a racist, but I highly doubt it happens frequently at all, as the naysayers would have bw believe. There can be a lot of ignorance (lack of awareness) about racial issues, however.
What matters is how that man or ANY man TREATS black and other people BECAUSE if he maltreats other people undeservedly, he WILL mistreat that woman too, eventually. So, this is an important vetting issue because a cruel or abusive person will mistreat anyone, eveutually.
Other than that, the bw-wm/nonbm relationship is between that bw, that wm/nonbm, and key family members and friends, but it’s primarily and MAINLY between that woman and that man, as two INDIVIDUALS. When I married Darren, I didn’t marry ALL white people, and neither did he marry ALL black people or take a vow to save alla black people. I’ll let y’all in on a lil secret: We don’t like or love ALL people in each other’s “race.” As a matter of fact, we despise some of them.
The only time that the “Does this person like or love ALL black people” question is asked is when a bw is mingling with or even thinking of mingling romantically with a nonbm. I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but I have never, ever heard it even mentioned that an AA man required a ww or non-bw to like or love ALL black people before he would mingle with her.
So that’s just another okey-doke that is hurled at bw.
Anyway, I ignored the naysayers when they tried to scare me away from my ex-husband too. LOL!
However, among what I consider to be the most priceless gems of wisdom that I can share with AA and similar bw is this, that I want to stress once again: It IS just as easy to love a wealthy man as a poor one, so why not love the wealthy man?