at a loss
I'm at a loss ---for words and so much more. There's never been such a long gap on my blog; and there's never been such a huge hole in my heart---- due to losing Howard, my ex-husband, father of my 2 children, in many ways my closest friend in the world--- who died two days ago after a grueling and heroic struggle against cancer. I don't have the heart, the will, or the words--- to write. So I'm just going to link to words I've already written about our unique relationship--from the beginning to the middle to the end. And here's a link to some sweet words written about Howard today by my nephew Max, who also took this shot of Howard a couple years ago. … [Read More...]
10 birthday thanks
Today is my husband’s birthday—and I think he deserves this in exchange for letting me say anything I want about him on this blog. 10 birthday thanks 1. You’re smart enough to believe I’m smarter than you. 2. You are unfailingly loving to my children and supportive of my relationship and theirs with my ex-husband. [...]
New Year’s Resolutions Unresolved: The F**k-it List
Did you make New Year’s resolutions? I like the concept-–the approach of a shiny new year full of unlimited possiiblity and potential—unspoiled by problems and pressures…. which lasts until 12:01. But I don’t like the reality: every time I made a resolution to cut back on chocolate, it lasted approximately until 12:02. The real problem [...]
B-Older and Wiser
BURNING BRAS WITH KEIRA KNIGHTLEY
I always thought she was gorgeous. That face. That skin. That elegant willowy body. And talented. Period English films. Pirate action movies. A teenage soccer movie. What couldn’t that girl do? In addition to all that, Keira Knightley, age 23, now becomes my inspiration. For standing up to the Hollywood system and the popular culture [...]
Cancer
The power of a punchline
There’s a surprising amount of power in a sense of humor, sometimes including the power of attraction— humor is what connected me to my first husband. Not only is he funny himself, he was the personal manager for Mel Brooks, a man who knows the power of a punchline. He told me once about a [...]
Popular Culture
Dear Celebrity, Your 15 minutes are up
(Hopefully this post will be read with the gravity it deserves.) As advertisers scrambled to save their campaigns and wives warily eyed their husbands’ cell phones and golf clubs.…Tiger created a tsunami. His sordid saga splashed across the globe, growing from golf ball to snowball size, gaining speed and momentum until it was a planetary [...]
Carmel Charm
By the C by the sea
Answer to the most frequently asked question around here: No, Clint Eastwood is no longer the mayor; but he’s still Carmel’s most famous citizen. Among other local oddities like no streetlights, no high heels and no eating ice cream on the street ( NOT urban legends but actual city ordinances) my biggest surprise 15 years [...]
Parenting
Stand back and watch
She’s two and a half. My daughter is sitting on the floor with the other toddlers in her weekly music class. Usually they sing songs as a group–but today’s there’s something new. 20 kids take turns singing solos—a song of their choice into a microphone. 19 of them sing the Alphabet Song or Twinkle Twinkle. [...]
Chocolate and other food for thought
Jews and Saints
The first time my daughter tried to cook latkes she ended up with a fireball. Which proves beyond a doubt she shares my DNA. Both Jewish drama queens with a genetic mutation–Alli and I come from a long line of Jewish mothers who can’t cook. I had one Jewish grandmother who burned everything and one who never [...]
An Accidental Artist
Peace by piece –Hope by hand
I call my mosaics “Peace by Piece” —and the other night I learned that others can find the same in themselves. Especially people who know the feeling of hearing 3 words: You. Have. Cancer. Life goes from normal—to nightmare. Equal to the physical effects can be the emotional effects—constant fear and stress. As a mother [...]
All in the Family
Learning Curve
This is a piece I wrote about my daughter Alli– published in MORE Magazine, in March 2006. I finished college in 1971, a member of the first class of women to graduate from Yale. I would not describe myself as overly ambitious–still, I like to be first, and I like to be best. Of course [...]
After becoming a writer, artist, TV journalist, mother and breast cancer survivor----I realize nothing turns out the way we expect. So I blog about handling the big and little things — with humor, humanity, and hope.
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