Con Games: The Real Secret Of Aspen

It's not secret that anyone who lives in Aspen knows that The Secrets of Aspen on VH1 is about as true to life as a fake boob job. But I do know one person who appears on the series -- a real person living in Aspen --and I think it might be worth seeing exactly what can happen to someone who is trying to live that imaginary "Aspen" lifestyle in real life.

My friend and her friend were (and presumably still are) funny, smart, and beautiful, but after staying out partying night after night they grew ragged and disinterested in their marriages, at least from what I saw and heard. They partied, in other words: a night when they were not on the prowl was a night lost forever.

Both of them ended up divorced and the friend of my friend has been in and out of alcohol rehab -- mostly out, a terribly sad circumstance. My friend on Secrets, the one who still lives here, is still partying -- and working in local boutiques -- but there is an obvious emptiness to it, and the truth is we're no longer in touch.

I look at it this way. You come here and it's like Aspen becomes a character in your novel who never goes away. You go to everything, every party, but over time Aspen fades and it becomes your life again. If you're unlucky, like my friend in Secrets, then you get stuck in the cycle of parties, drinking, and dissolution, all because you happen to live in a putative playpen for adults and those who don't want to grow up..

The real secret of Aspen is that "Aspen" does not exist beyond the beautiful reality of mountains, rivers, and people. Just don't tell anyone at VH1.