EKA, Your words resound in me, like two women on the exact wavelength. You exude intelligence and depth, not just looking within but looking around you and reacting to what you see. I had hesitated - why? - to bring up men in the same breath. But I find that beneath those facades, they too are multi-layered. It is like peeling a onion - those layers — but finding within a not so different version of us. Most never find it for they don’t dig deep enough, and make their own judgments on surface values. But PEOPLE are people and our personal needs for space and time are similar I find. As to Senator Amy, this is campaign time and I find it incredible in itself that there are that many hours in the day to work, care for a child, and fly to other states to campaign in Obama’s place. When we talk of “time for ourselves” and then look at the Washington scene where each person shares in the yeoman duties to get the candidate elected, free time just is not there. The pace is grueling; no mistakes are allowed. And yet, if there was more understanding of what goes on behind the scenes in these presidential campaigns in these much more sophisticated times - how huge numbers of strategists plot and plan - and the “play” is so highly constructed, the words, honed to a “T” for those on stage to capitalize on each word said hopefully, we might want to step back and watch how the extemparaneous moments play out. Though even these question and answer times have rehearsal and cramming times before they begin, we are more apt to see the real person behind the mask we sometimes wear and hear and judge his real thinking. You remind me of Hines. If you don’t know her writing well, you might look. Joan

Hey, Frank, how was the New Year’s besides being cold? I’m glad we are back to “normal”. Although, I’m all screwed up on what day it is; feels like a Monday…. :)