I was on the beach this morning,  just in time to catch the opening act of a new enactment of the war of the genders.  Two very young boys were working on on what could have passed for a sleeping octopus.  The taller boy was barking out work orders in a menacing tone. Still wet and half-wrapped in a towel, I surrendered my front row seat to see what was going on. “We gotta beat them,” Cooper told me and pointed to two small  girls about 20 feet away.  Then he shook a tiny crab under my nose.  “Afraid of crabs?”  he taunted.  I held my ground politely and dropped by to...

I’m an early bird, you know. And I’m getting very excited about the new year, already. This one will be very special — cause it won’t be too long before I’m headed out of state.  A new year in a new place. I wish all the very best of everything  to everyone — even if you weren’t born Jewish. Just about everyone, I suspect, if you look closely enough, can track down a Jewish relative.  I feel so proud being part of the tribe and when I get called a Jewish mother — I smile! Can’t always tell by the name, you know. Marvin Hamlisch and I got along...

I used to tell people that my all-time favorite age was 35 — but I’ve changed my mind.  I think being 60 is far more fun — in different kinds of ways.  Sure, at 35 I wore a size 6 comfortably, made small waves in the national PR community, was a correspondent for a San Francisco journal, worked with my spectacular husband on designing our dream house, and was president of the local Bryn Mawr Club –la di da.  (Is that how Annie Hall said it?) But that was before I had a precious family — and that was before I learned to say what I meant — not what I hoped people...

Sometimes, when I know I should be taking a walk, drinking more water, doing all the things a girl’s gotta do — I give myself a very quick  three minute break. If I need something funny, I turn to a genius like Woody Allen for help.  I still can’t decide who’s funnier — Woody Allen or Larry David?   www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN2m5x4djaE After Jimmy and I finished reading “Bonfire of the Vanities” — see my blog tribute to Maestro James DePreist — I heard they were making it into a movie and that Mick Jagger wanted to play the reporter.  He...

Could there have been a better year than 2008 for a kid smitten by politics to start college?  Forget Hurricane Ike and what it did to Houston!  Thank goodness, Rice University took care of its talented student body and helped Houston, too.  But what about us — 2000  miles away?  We missed our son so much! At first, we tried filling our empty nest with a sweet cockatiel called Tilly. She sat on our shoulders and chirped whenever we played “Mame” for her.  But the house still felt empty. So, I volunteered on a big Senate campaign. You know when you’re on the phone trying to...