Wake up at 4 a.m.? That’s about when I finally go to bed! Night owl, much?

Diana was a breath of fresh air to a stodgy, homely, inbred family that wasn’t used to anything ‘fresh,’ and they pretty much choked on it. Whether she was murdered, or whether there really was a conspiracy of some kind… these do not interest me. I remain fascinated, however, by the brief streak of lightning, color, and real life that Diana introduced into the boring, dowdy world of Windsor. That Charles could have preferred that hideous horse-faced adulterous Camilla to his wife will forever remain a mystery to me. Then again, Charles is pretty hideous and adulterous himself, isn’t he. Let’s face it: Charles is just another mother-whipped Norman Bates who prefers his women to look and behave like his mother. A beautiful woman with a life of her own like Diana was too threatening to him, so he brought her down by breaking her heart and cheating on her. Typical insecure ugly-man mama’s-boy whiny pee-pants antics. She genuinely loved him, and he treated her like pond scum. As for Camilla, well, she got what she always wanted, didn’t she. A woman who pursues a married man is always trash, and the married man who encourages it is always scum. “I want to be your tampon… .” Wow. That would certainly sweep any woman off her feet. Gross. I sincerely hope that the Queen bypasses Charles and makes William king.

The American public has an insatiable “need” to “know” all about everyone, especially celebrities. My college students can tell me every aspect of Lindsay’s rehab wardrobe or Britney’s latest nudie expose or their favorite rock star’s latest drug arrest. They know who’s sleeping with whom and who they’re actually married to. They know who’s the real father and they know how much money an actor makes for a particular picture. What they DON’T know are the names of scientists, philanthropists, discoverers, the janitors at the college, the receptionist, the nurses who saved their mother’s life, or authors who don’t write for Harlequin. There is big money in the checkout counter tabloids, and it’s made with lies, scandals, innuendo, LaToya Jackson’s predictions, and the concept that “she might be a celebrity; she might be richer than me, prettier than me, etc, but in the long run, she and I are ALIKE because she can’t keep a man, stay sober, or control her kids any better than I can.” There’s money in promoting that. BIG money. Is the author telling the whole truth? Publishers don’t really care, as long as the money keeps rolling in. Is this reprehensible? Maybe, but I believe it is the responsibility of the American public to make sure we are educated and intelligent enough to be discerning. Their job is to polish a product and sell it. Our job is to know the difference between biography and bullshit. It’s difficult sometimes, because we don’t always know the difference in our own lives.

Could somebody tell me what a prostitute could possibly do that would be worth 5000? My husband can’t sleep until he finds out. Seriously, while people who love one another should stand by each other in almost every aspect of their lives, I honestly believe that adultery is a sign of such rampant disrespect and disregard for the very being of the spouse, that it doesn’t behoove the betrayed to believe a single word the betrayer has to say any more. Someone who genuinely loves you simply doesn’t betray you. Period. And don’t anyone dare spout anything resembling “It’s an illness; he can’t help it” because such beliefs are nothing but enabling nonsense. Adults CHOOSE, of their own free will, to do right or to do wrong. Obviously, this man chose to do wrong. From “Love Actually,” my favorite movie since it first came out, come these lines that sum it up, in my opinion: Karen: Would you stay, knowing life would always be a little bit worse? Or would you cut and run? Harry: Oh, God. I am so in the wrong. The classic fool. Karen: [voice breaking] Yes, but you’ve also made a fool out of me, and you’ve made the life I lead foolish too. That’s the thing, you see. Even if you do stay, your life - lives - will never be intact again. A man who can’t keep it in his pants, or a woman who can’t keep it OUT of her pants, can’t be trusted in any other aspect of life, either. That was probably OUR money he spent on himself, too. I deeply resent that. And while many people - most or whom lead lives similar to his - might easily forgive him (mostly for getting caught), I doubt that his wife and innocent children could. Perhaps what he needs to do now is decide who is most important to him: Mr. Happy or his family… .

I think all four should be American women on this particular monument, so: 1. Helen Keller 2. Eleanor Roosevelt 3. Marian Anderson 4. Madame C.J. Walker