An unromantic proposal: spectacle or sentiment?
I know, I know. It's barely past Valentine's Day and love is still in the air. And I'm not against romance. I'm happily married. I believe in love at first sight and happily-ever-after fairy tales. I cry at sentimental stories, romantic comedies, and commercials. Those are all disclaimers to prove I'm not some bitter old lady. (Although the "old" part is debatable.) But I just can't wrap my head around what's happened to the wedding business. And I mean "business" in the broadest sense. It's enough that weddings have become events arranged by planners like a military campaign---now they cost as much, too. (I promise this is the only time in this post I'll mention the name Kardashian.) And the pressure starts way before the walk down the aisle. It's pretty ironic for someone of my generation who … [Read More...]
10 Reasons I Love You
It’s a day for love…to the tune of an estimated $18 billion dollars. That’s a lot of hearts and flowers. (And a lot of chocolate.) I never come close to spending the national average of $116 per person— but I’m still sentimental, and I want the people I love to know it. So if you [...]
no star shines brighter
She studied the stars—and no star shines brighter than she did. When Susan Niebur died today, the blogosphere lit up with memories, tributes, and love. After my last few weeks of sadness, I planned to be writing about something cheerier–but right now I can’t write or think about anything else. Susan was an astrophysicist, one [...]
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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