I saw The Sound of Music with Mary Martin at 3 and a half and I knew that was what I was born to do. Except for 1969 when I wanted to be an astronaut My goal never changed. That’s why seeing Liza was such a gift, after a series of mistakes and real heartbreaks I had almost given up on myself. I have been working on that path for the last year and a half, very hard, but still telling myself I was crazy to even try. Despite real encouragement I was losing heart, and then she showed me I was nuts to quit now. I am an ageless goddess with a gift yet to be shared…one foot in front of the other…

I saw Liza on the 28th and she was EVERYTHING you say. I was inspired by her, she woke me up to the reality that nothing is over until we choose that it is over. 2 years ago at the Melody Tent in Hyannis, I was saddened that we all have to “get old”, last week I was reminded that we all can choose our path until we die. Thank you Liza, you have put me back on the “EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE” track, when I had been on the “you have to accept getting old” track for way too long.

Thanks for all the really good info Char. I keep looking for “unbiased” sources of information, and I have had the best luck with things suggested by the people here.

While i have no quarrel with the legislature not doing anything to Bush and his minions while he is still president, (he would simply pardon himself and everyone else on his last day in office) if the democrats continue to do nothing after he gets out of office, we really MUST throw the rascals out. All of the current rascals. Because they are convinced that we are too stupid, or too lazy or too apathetic to do anything about their greedy and arrogant actions. This is, as I have said before a class of people protecting their prerogatives. Cheney is on TV admitting he broke the law and saying , :”So what”, if I do it it’s not illegal. And why isn’t Nancy Pelosi leading the charge against him? Because her husband is her campaign treasurer and has been transferring absurd amounts of money through assorted instruments at four times the rate it was happening before he became treasurer. If she doesn’t go after them, they won’t go after her, and none of us little citizens have enough interest or pull to do anything about it. And the corruption continues, because Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul are “really nutcases”. Wake up America. They are the only ones who have a clue!

There are so many problems right now that it is hard to choose the one that worries me the most. Hunger, homelessness, the destruction of our habitat, the list of inequities and horrors builds it seems with each passing day. The answer to what I do about it is far easier, I do at least one “good deed” a day. The deed can be as small as picking up another person’s trash on the street or as large as taking one of my daughter’s neglected friends on an adventure, to the mall, for example. It doesn’t have to cost money, although it often does. And the important part of this, is that I work very hard, to teach my children to do the same. Whether we like it or not our beloved children are not born compassionate… that is a learned behavior. They learn it from us, or they don’t. My story for this year is my daughter coming up to me and saying, “My goal this year is to put $10 in the Salvation Army kettle. Last year I only got to $5.” The other one that touched me from her, she has a new Latin teacher this year fresh out of school, teaching “honors Latin 3”. In other words, the hated grammar phase. The first 3 months she struggled with liking him because the subject matter is so boring. Christmas time comes, “Who to give cookies to? “Oh mom, we have to give cookies to Mr. B., or he’ll forget why he wanted to be a teacher.” Thank you Maggie It’s the small lessons in compassion. Merry Christmas from Cynthia

One of the funniest pieces of satire I have EVER seen I saw when I was 10 years old. The Smothers Brothers did a piece making the point that there is no THEY. While it was very funny, it also taught me, at that age, that there is no they. It was neat to be reminded of that after all these years, because I realize now that it was a pivot point in my thinking.

Lost my husband in Iraq last year and learned a profound lesson about Christmas. Christmas has to be about doing what you WANT to do, not feel that you have to do. I sent out cards this year, a few at a time, did them as long as I enjoyed the process and then stopped until I felt like doing it again. Today I am doing the same thing with baking cookies for gifts. I used to bake dozens of cookies to give to teachers and friends, and, and, and… This year I bought smaller tins and am giving a little less. Leaving a little more time to feel like celebrating. And finding that I do have moments of celebration in the doing…because I am not so darn tired from my expectations

rocky rocky It is up to us (the people) to get the message of the legislature not prosecuting him for breaking the laws of the land. It is time to throw out the people who have made this decision amongst themselves and vote (amongst OURSELVES) for change we can believe in. That will take a lot more than changing the president, as you will see in the coming months. It is an unfavorable position to take on this website but everything I am seeing points to more of the same people playing the same games and wasting our tax money on the same strategies. Subtle differences perhaps but certainly not “a whole new direction for our country”.

Thanks for sharing Char, I’m in too. Women are awesome!

“She knows what the reality is about that (Kennedy) name.” Why in the world don’t we? This is not what our country is supposed to be about. A “legacy” seat? In the US Senate? The American people need to stop being so lazy about their responsibilities in our government. The consequences of their apathy will be on us before we know it.

That I lived with honor and integrity, passed that lifestyle onto my children and left the world a better place than I found it.

While I understand your point of view, I still think it is time for the citizenry to take back their responsibility for the members of the legislature. I don’t think it is appropriate for anyone to be handed an office with this kind of power whether their name is Kennedy or Bush. It contains the seeds of in breeding and self containment which is profoundly contrary to the Founders intent.

I say again, what has she done to deserve it, or earn it besides be born with a name that symbolizes political dynasties on the hoof? What does she bring to the table in terms of skill set, experience, or competence? Wake up America! There is a class evolving in our “classless society” that is VERY dangerous to our freedom. Caroline Kennedy’s desire to become an unelected Senator is every bit as wrong as Ron Blagojovich’s desire to sell President-elect Obama’s seat to the highest bidder. In both of these situations as well as the Biden situation, the correct solution in our democratic republic is a special election by the people. Not a hand off to an old friend, or a well known supporter or an auction. The REAL correct solution would have been for “the people” to insist that these politicians give up their senatorial nests to run for these offices so that their replacements could be ELECTED at the same time.

I honor her honesty about this. Frankly it reminds all of us that she is human like the rest of us. She is a beautiful soul who has done her best to use her own life experience to teach the rest of us what she has learned the hard way. Bravo Oprah keep on being the very best you you can be. As long as you can keep yourself working out, the number REALLY doesn’t matter.

It’s on both sides, my observation is that it is an evolving class which wants to keep its privileges to itself and protects itself. Whether its name is Sununu, or Kennedy, or Romney, or Bayh.