Society: Hosting the 'hillbilly,' America as food culture, and a hint about Bergdorf

So, JD Vance ....

Adding more kindling to our “Palm Beach Is the Center of the Universe" bonfire, one could argue that the vice presidential hopeful launched his political career right here in Palm Beach, in the Colony Hotel, in January 2018.

Vance, fresh off his Pulitzer Prize win for "Hillbilly Elegy," was already being floated by the GOP as a possible Senate candidate, although he would not comment on the possibility.

Gee, look how that turned out.

Vance discussed the book and his trauma-filled childhood as the son of a runaway father and a junkie mother.

That kind of of childhood trauma "is one of our society’s very worst gifts to its children, and it’s that terrible gift that keeps on giving,” he said.

A moment, please.

"Society" did not give the deadbeat dad a ride out of town. It did not put a glassine bag in mommy's shaky hands. Those gift were entirely from them. But maybe "personal responsibility" isn't part of the political lexicon anymore.

Vance said his salvation was the support system he had around him, from the grandparents who essentially raised him, extended family and teachers.

And that was his message in Palm Beach: It’s important for people with the means to play a role in the lives of children who need a leg up, he said.

We think that's what they mean by "preaching to the choir."

Read our former colleague Matt Morgan's story of the event here .

On the road: Talk about your fruited plains and amber waves of grain. Capri Cafaro knows from jump.

Capri, the daughter of Palm Beachers Janet and John Cafaro — Janet chaired the Red Cross Ball a few years ago -- is the producer and star of "America the Bountiful," a new show on PBS.

In the show, Capri travels the country's back roads and looks at  its "culture food" — cranberries in Massachusetts, corn in Arizona, wild rice in Minnesota.

Maybe it's just us, but when we hear "Minnesota" and "food," wild rice does not come to mind. Lutefisk maybe, or gravlax.

But apparently, the wild rice is a crop of the indigenous peoples and highly prized. Really. It's, like, $40 a bag on Amazon.

This very minute, Capri is on a lobster boat in Rockland, Maine, which is celebrating its annual lobster festival.

The show has been picked up by 300 PBS stations.

Mom and Dad are very proud of their girl. That's quite an ROI on that Stanford (bachelor's) and Georgetown (master's) tuition.

Heard: That the sale of Neiman Marcus to Saks could mean a Palm Beach home for Bergdorf Goodman, its crown jewel ... That Jada Loveless will design the 2025 Old Bags Luncheon's "It" Bag. Jada launched her accessories collection this past February at The Breakers.

Resort report: Veronica Atkins, Jacquie Michel, Nancy Stone and Sarah Wetenhall were among the 200 guests at a benefit luncheon for Stony Brook Hospital at the Maidstone Club. The event included a talk by Bobbi Brown . Liz Lange was among the chairs... Meg Braff, Richard Sammons and Anne Fairfax at the inaugural Newport Design Week, where each lectured...Braff and Anne Hamilton at The Newport Show, which they co-chaired with with John Peixinho . The show's exhibition included modern needlepoint on loan from Palm Beach's Lycette Designs.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Society: Hosting the 'hillbilly,' America as food culture, and a hint about Bergdorf