Lea Lane
- Location
- Florida, USA
- Birthday
- August 26
- Title
- freelance writer/editor
- Bio
- As a travel writer for over 30 years, I've been around the block (more like around the world), and I write true stories about interesting people and places.
I've lived an unconventional life in conventional trappings. (As Homer Simpson said: "I can't live the button-down life. I want it all: the terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles.")
Been a corporate VP, worked with foster kids, acted in an Indie ("Nurse 1"), was on Jeopardy!.
I've been managing editor of a travel publication, written for the Times, authored six books. OS is my home, but I also blog on The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast. I've contributed (mostly anonymously) to everything from encyclopedias to guidebooks.
Married young, divorced late; married late, widowed early, I dated lots in-between -- and survived a scary illness. After being happily, peacefully solo for many years, I'm now happily married again.
I founded and still edit www.sololady.com, a lifestyle Website for single women. I'm truly grateful for each precious day, each well-earned wrinkle, my family, my cat. Truth, laughter, friendship, late love. And this blog -- on this wonderful site!
MY RECENT POSTS
- Eating Blind
August 29, 2010 06:02PM - Why I'm Still On OS
August 27, 2010 11:42AM - Taking a BIG Shower on New
Zealand's Milford Sound
August 05, 2010 11:13AM - The Weirdest Meat I Ever Ate &
Other Food Oddities
August 19, 2010 09:54AM - The Shabbos Goy & Lots of
Other Elvis Trivia
August 12, 2010 06:07PM
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “Thank you so much for
this brave post.
Agree
about the fat jokes. But
another pre…”
7:20AM - “Evocative, hot and
threatening. Great writing,
Gail.”
10:47PM - “I've been told this one
is:
http://open.salon.com/
blog/lea_lane/2008/10/21/alone
_o…”
9:25PM - “I remember the OK Harris
gallery back then. The
sculptures of
realistic nudes
by…”
8:44PM - “Your list is formidable.
Good going. And thanks for
reading
"The
Zeroes.&quo…”
4:40PM
Lea Lane's Links
- TO HELP PAKISTANI FLOOD VICTIMS: donate $10 by texting SWAT to 50555
- No links in this category.
- LINKS
- -MY SON'S MEMOIR, THE ZEROES
- -MY WEBSITE FOR SOLO WOMEN
- Favorite THINGS posts
- -I'm a Mad Men Gal
- -The Anniversary I'll Never Forget
- -My Son Lost His Shirt and Found The Zeroes!
- -10 Books in a Blink
- -How Unrelated Symptoms Saved My Life
- -Yeats/Torture
- -Is Empathy a Pejorative?
- -Media Vultures on Death Watch
- -Has America Jumped the Shark?
- -Why I Stay Here
- -A White-Knuckle Landing
- -15 ways to Cut Back
- -Birth & Death: The Circle of Life
- -Fear of Flying & My Near Misses
- -Waiting for the Blood Test
- -When a Post Goes Viral
- -25 Things About Me
- -I Don't Celebrate Christmas
- -A Scary Dream
- -Racing at 150 mph!
- -Quarantined on Thanksgiving
- -Musings, 3 am
- -Remembering Racism
- -Problems with August
- -Losing a Dream, Losing a House
- Favorite FUN posts
- -"Independents" Day!
- -Real Lessons from The Real Housewives
- -Another Husband for a Minute
- -Joan Walsh, Where are You?
- -Monkey Business!
- -10 Unexpected Bonuses from Health Reform
- -About My Bidet
- -What Happened in Vegas?
- -No Sex & 9 Other Ways to Spring Ahead
- -To Suzy: It's Over
- -Valentine Poem for Sweetie
- -Why Bill Maher is Angry
- -iPuke? iPeek?
- -The Embarrassing Things in My Purse
- -Resolutions I Will NOT Make
- -Ode to My Tweezers
- -Ode to a Groundhog
- -My Reality TV Addiction
- -I Got Published in the New Yorker
- -Broccoli Obama
- -101 Words: He Never Calls, He Never Writes
- -I'm Not Who You Think I Am
- Favorite PEOPLE posts
- -Chelsea Clinton & Moi
- -What Fay Vincent Told Me about Steinbrenner
- -Why I Didn't Love Daddy
- -A Play Connects to Famous People I've Known
- -Remembering Rue McClanahan
- -My Son Just Married Me!
- -Rick Died & I Was There for Him
- -For Nathan, Who Was only Two
- -Unexpected Lovers at Passover
- -Six Degrees of Separation
- -Porn King, Coke Prez, Murderer
- -My 2000 NYT Interview
- -My Man in Rio
- -You Caught Me, I'm in Love
- -Dumped By Answering Machine
- -My Best Friend Ended Her Life at 37
- -to lea at 17
- -Phyllis Schlafly Drooled on Me
- -Best in Show? Not This Lover
- -The Man Who Met Einstein
- -The Sahalis: Symbol of a Decade?
- -To My Sister, On a Big Birthday
- -My Birthday/Blogiversary
- -Mad Men: When My Bosses Were My Lovers
- -Julia (and Other Famed Chefs)
- -A Nice Jewish Girl Named for a Racetrack
- -A Conehead at the Fair: A Summer Tale
- -Anne Frank Would Have Been 80
- -Did I Really Just Tell You That?
- -Becoming Invisible
- -Elizabeth Edwards, Joan Rivers: Two Moms
- -My Surprising Talk With a Naked Actor
- -Why I'm Alone
- -Kate Winslet and Other (Drama) Queens
- -My Valentine Lover, 2006
- -My Life in 100 Words
- -One Snowy Dud, One Sexy Stud
- -My Gender Bender, Victor-Victoria Cruise
- -How I Wound Up in Claus Von Bulow's Apartment
- -To Odetta
- -My Late-in-Life Love
- -An Ugly Duckling OS Tale
- -To My Neighbor Hillary
- -OJ: You're Finally Juiced
- -On Being Single
- -Wisdom from a Hooker
- -The Seeing-Eye man
- -Two Weddings and a Funeral
- -Ted Kennedy's Brave Fight, and My Husband's
- -Dinner with Hill and Bill
- -The Abuser
- Favorite PLACES posts
- -Americana: Mohonk Then & Now
- -Scary Journey on the Norwegian Ferry
- -The World's Most Colorful Neighborhood
- -The Magical Slot Canyon
- -Four-Part Antarctica Series
- -The Other Ground Zero
- -India Life Lessons
- -Wild Dogs in Romania
- -Flutterbies in the Amazon, & Leo
- -Blue Lights in Barcelona
- -Crossing the Atlantic
- -Two Faraway Thanksgivings, & What I Learned
- -Sabrina's Walk of Remembrance in NYC
- -South Beach: Hot & Cool
- -Watching Greenland Melt
- -Carnaval in Colombia
- -Alone on a Cliff
- -An Irish Ramble
- -Dramatic Polar Photos
- -Argentina: Penguins, Penguins, Penguins!
- -New York's High Line
Eating Blind

Food is not just about taste, we know. But how much it depends on visual stimuli was a surprise to me. And so were a few other things I didn't expect and which I can't forget.
A couple of years ago I was in Zurich and… Read full post »
Why I'm Still On OS
This month I began my third year here on Open Salon. And sometimes, like this past week, it feels like I've been here forever!
A big, huggy thanks to those of you over the years who have taken the time to read, comment and rate me. And to share my experiences,… Read full post »
Taking a BIG Shower on New Zealand's Milford Sound

The Milford Sound on the western edge of the South Island of New Zealand, where mountains plunge to still water, offers some of the most magnificent scenery on earth.
But about half the time it rains. Pelting, sleety rain. And sometimes it pours. And sometimes, as in… Read full post »

photo credit: deadspin.com
When traveling I'm often conflicted when offered local specialties. And the anecdote at the end of this post is a great example of why.
As a travel writer who’s eaten my way around, I’ve consumed local products that I’d never… Read full post »
The Shabbos Goy & Lots of Other Elvis Trivia

thepioneerwoman.com
Elvis died at Graceland, August 16, thirty-three years ago, at the age of 42. When I heard the news I was sitting with my mother in the sunroom of my house in Westchester County. I was unhappy in my first marriage. It was hot. New York was/… Read full post »
Here's the Link to My Son's Segment on Morning Joe
Update: My Son's Interview on "Morning Joe" Went Well


This will be funny. Hang in there.
As the film Eat, Pray, Love opens across the country next week, what’s already a worldwide club of solo women seeking fulfillment in Italy, India and Bali will increase even more, until you’d have to seek a settlement in the/… Read full post »
Thoughts on Writing About My Travels
at the Grand Canyon, on assignment
Especially in this time of dire economic hardships, people comment that they envy my travels and my “interesting” experiences. Yes, I focus on the positives and the fun things. And yes, there have been/… Read full post »

the bride, who didn't invite me
Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea. I know your guest list is whittled to only 400 or so lucky souls. I know that you aren't inviting many donors and celebs to your wedding. Not even the current occupant of your
… Read full post »
Mad Men, Season 4 arrives Sunday night, and like so many
of us I can hardly wait. When I watch that show (and when I read
Silkstone/Nell’s recap on Mondays), I get a powerful flash of
recognition.
For me, it’s not just the style and… Read full post »

red-jeep.com
He drove me to the inn in Brewster where we always celebrated. A fire sputtered in the fireplace although it was summer. He ordered coquille St Jacque and tournedos Rossini. I did too. It was the meal we had ordered… Read full post »

mburgan-wordpress.com
My sons grew up as major Yankee fans during the 1970s and 80s, when George Steinbrenner, who just died of a massive heart attack, was the colorful Yankee owner who captured the headlines.
As a single mom I often took them to… Read full post »
To My Son, Who Lost His Shirt, and Found The Zeroes

Dear Randall,
That weekend I spent with you, Jen and the girls in February, 2009 you were still reeling from the loss of your business, your dream, your job, your life savings. Your company… Read full post »
Let's Have "Independents" Day!-- July 3

Our great country honors just about everybody: couples on Valentine's Day, mothers, fathers, grandparents, secretaries. presidents, laborers. Even groundhogs.
How about a tribute to singles who live independently and who bear the burden of higher per-capita taxes, single supple… Read full post »
Americana: Mohonk Then and Now (and a comment about Greg)

reflections of Mohonk Mountain House, originating in 1869
This first week of July many of us will be writing about Americana and displaying images of our beautiful country.
Some of us just spent a weekend at one of the great old lodgings from the mid-nineteenth century, a… Read full post »
10 Disturbing Reasons Why I Didn't Love Daddy

He yelled all the time.
I don’t remember him talking. He would get emotional and pace up and down through the rooms, roaring away. This frightened me.
He was gone six months of the year.
He played the horses and dogs… Read full post »
A Play That Wins a Tony Starts a String of Memories

abstract-art.com
I recently saw Red, just awarded the Tony for best play, about the abstract-expressionist artist Mark Rothko. In the play, set in 1959, Rothko is flooded with memories about art and life –and change.
The play sparked my own memories… Read full post »
My Surprising Flirtation with a Naked Actor (repost)

bobandersonentertainment.com
Well, he got naked an hour after we talked. But this is short, with a big payoff. Here's the true story:
Long ago I purchased a matinee ticket for a well-reviewed drama, Indiscretions, brought across the pond from London to Broadway. The/… Read full post »

wordpress.com
I spent a few days with actress Rue McClanahan, who died this morning of a stroke at 76.
About 15 years ago I was invited as a travel writer on a “Love Boat” Valentine excursion where just about everyone on… Read full post »
Turn Back! My Husband's On Shore!
visitnorway.com
Ferries in much of the world run on a tight schedule. Timetables rule. Show up on time or miss the boat, or even worse.
I learned that the hard way, in Norway, on a June day
… Read full post »
etonline.com
My brilliant grandma watched soap operas. My witty mom read romance novels. I’m hooked on The Real Housewives Series on Bravo. And so are many of my smart girlfriends and yes, some of the smartest and best writers on OS. (You know… Read full post »
A Repost in Response to Rand Paul

newamericandream.net
Rand Paul, you've got to be kidding whether or not you now support the law passed to uphold civil rights. And misguided teabaggers and pundits who support him, you need to rethink this. I’m remembering my early years, shaped in Florida, Georgia… Read full post »
Why I’m -- No Longer -- Alone

http://www.sextherapydoctor.com/images/index.1.gif
"It takes a hell of a good man to be my Mr. Right. It takes a hell of a sweet man to see me every night. It takes a hell of a good man to be better than no man at all." –Hell… Read full post »
Oedipus on this Mothers Day: My Son Just Married Me!

I share this happy news with you as a reminder that love often comes when you least expect it. And it's never too late.
We kept it as a surprise to all but family, but I want you to know that on Saturday… Read full post »
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