My husband and I got engaged on Christmas Eve just six months after we met. Since I was divorced, I was a pariah to his parents, who thought being tattooed with the scarlet "D" made me a bad person. I could fill a year's worth of daily posts with stories of… Read full post »

My dad passed away suddenly on his way to work on Long Island. He took a seat on the subway train he rode every day and died. Just like that. No warning. No ceremony. He was gone.

Mom didn't want to live alone, and since I was divorcing my first husband,… Read full post »

This past Sunday, since the Giants had a week off to contemplate their shameful behavior, my husband and I decided to reorganize the garage and throw away a lot of the junk we have accumulated since 1975. High up on one of the shelves were two boxes, unmarked except for the… Read full post »

His face is known on every site

Where lonely people roam the night

Seductive words his chosen bait

The hearts he hooks he also hates

 Overbearing mother not to be pleased

 His father at best an absentee

These are the people who… Read full post »

Pity poor Ryan Haraughty, a teacher in the Prairie Village, Kansas public school system, who, after 11 years in the classroom, lost his job due to a momentary lapse in judgment. While teaching eighth graders a lesson on how jet streams affect U.S. weather patterns, he drew an outline of the… Read full post »

On November 10th, I posted a piece entitled, "Should We Lobotomize Our Supreme Court Justices?" The gist of my rant was the Supreme Court's deliberation into whether life sentences without parole are justified for juveniles who have  been found guilty of crimes not including  murder. Florid/… Read full post »

A friend and I ate lunch recently at a very upscale restaurant. All around us professional men and women, dressed in business suits and carrying the requisite iPhone/Blackberry, were engaged in animated conversations that rivaled Japanese katakana. Well-groomed and, seemingly, well-educated, their ma… Read full post »

 I have only one thing to say. If all it took to get an ass like this was Reebok sneakers, I'd have my feet cut off and Reeboks soldered to my ankles.

 Okay, I lied. I do have more to say. This ad was without a doubt designed by… Read full post »

When my son was just about six years old, we arrived home from school one Spring day to see an old man standing on the corner across from our house. Always curious beyond my control, Michael rushed over to see what he was up to. “Hey, what are you doing?” Michael… Read full post »

The Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, is considering a ruling that would limit and, perhaps, abolish, life sentences for teenagers found guilty of crimes that do not involve murder. They have singled out Florida, whose sentencing guidelines allow the elimination of a chance for parole in certain… Read full post »

For the full story, read "Barter as Birth Control" and "Home-zooing: Chapter One"

Theme birthday parties are nothing new. When my kids were small, we all tried to outdo each other with novelty acts and entertainment thrills. A good friend of mine hired a magician, who kept the kids enthralled… Read full post »

There should have been a sign on our front door

"DANGER: Maternal Instinct on Overdrive"

Our son could connect an umbilical cord to a fetus before he did his first jigsaw puzzle.

Above the chime of Eucharist bells, in a silent church filled with solemnly worshipping parishioners, a lone little boy had the courage to shout out what I only dared think. "Eat My Body! Drink/… Read full post »

My mother is 96 years old and still going strong. She lives on her own, cooks, cleans and drives my sister and me crazy with her demands. She is going to outlive both of us because neither God nor Satan wants her.

I cannot remember one holiday or special occasion… Read full post »

A long time ago, in a city 1,300 miles away, I lived for culture -- the theater, the opera, libraries and bookstores straining under the weight of greater and lesser minds. My evenings were spent at Lincoln Center or on Broadway. Saturdays at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MOMA inspired… Read full post »

PECKING ORDER

Each morning with the lightening sky

A cardinal comes as if to spy

He perches on the window ledge

And peers upon my rumbled bed

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. He beckons me, "Rise."

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Can't he sense his demise?

Propped on my elbow, I… Read full post »

As a follow up to my post of October 11th, "Smoking's Scarlet Letter - S for Stinky," I've found the perfect solution to Palm Beach Tax Collector, Anne Gannon's desire to employ non-smokers only. The threat of being fired for continuing to puff away would not be necessary.

Ms. Gannon is… Read full post »

For the last few months, the highway between my home and office has been under construction. Each day, I pass men in hard hats driving backhoes and steamrollers from one section to another as they dig up and repave the road. Bob’s Barricades do a fine job, with their fluorescent orange… Read full post »

Born and raised Catholic, I spent twelve years in parochial schools, received all the sacraments, went to confession on a regular basis, attended Sunday mass and got married at the altar. My father breathed religion. One of my aunts was a mother superior in the Franciscan Order. Throughout my young a… Read full post »

Recently, a friend mentioned that she is becoming less flexible (attitudinally) as she gets older. Being married for thirty-four years, compromise is a given. However, in other aspects of my life, I’ve become a grumbler. I have little patience for the snowbirds that invade Florida every winter.… Read full post »

I’m a Jersey girl – born and bred. The New Jersey Giants are my team. During football season, my family’s sleep patterns revolve around how well the team played that week. If they win, we sleep. If they lose, well, I try not to think about that.

Until… Read full post »