Like the homeless guy peering over my shoulder at a sidewalk New York café, I’m now the outsider desperate to taste that Chinese Chicken Salad just out of reach….   After ditching New York City for the quiet, calm of Tucson’s desert life, I’m ready for my close-up. Or the Looney Bin.   In other words, Los Angeles never looked so good.   As a former entertainment writer on the Right Coast, I’m used to parties, premieres, previews and people.

No one in the gossip world can touch the hem of Liz Smith’s pantsuit.