No indeed…..I’ll believe it’s a thing of the past when there is an unattractive female on……a "female" Larry King.  Not to take anything away from Diane Sawyer, but certainly her appearance helps a lot. 

But Sheila, you do knock that particular scum off of the board.

Do agree — added a little spice to the game — and yes, I can’t believe that the judge actually thought that Serena would harm her.  It was an extremely stressful time and yes, John McEnroe did ALL the time.

We were watching Serena lose her temper for the only time ever.  It was the heat of the moment; she was, unbelievably, losing the match and I do believe that although she’s a professional and should be able to exercise control (surely that’s the thinking, I suppose—but yet, she’s human)……which she has done at all other times, we should cut her some slack.

I believe that Levi learned from the master; what a bunch. 

A "PS" if I may — after reading some other posts.  When I once said that I don’t remember a happy childhood; my mother snapped, "who’s childhood was happy?  No one had a happy childhood." 

Our own children have described their’s as idyllic and have tried very hard to  duplicate it for their own children. 

In some ways, I suppose we all have that "Oh My God, I’ve turned into my mother" moment; but actually I’m very different than she was.  My mother should have been a child of this generation and thus not have had to have children.  She was smart, she was charismatic, she was an expert at that guilt thing, she loved us; she just didn’t know what to do with us.  We were kind of appendages……and my father followed her lead.  And yet we were very close when I was older; too close; I became the confidant and my brother always remained the son.  She did have a wonderful sense of humor and hopefully I do too — she saw the ridiculousness in the posturing of many.

 There’s one story that could have been one of those skeletons in the closet, but one important thing she did teach me, was that you make your own skeletons; usually secrets with which some people like to create a weapon. 

My mother was a gambler; a big one actually.  Considering our means (not very much at all) I don’t know where she got the money.  We had a bookie coming to our house regularly; she bet numbers; she played poker for a lot of money.  She was in a big poker game that met in a woman’s house in a very posh neighborhood.  At the time, I must add, my mother was about 65 and the youngest member of this group.  The woman’s children thought she was gambling away their inheritance, and she probably was, but it was still hers.  They called the police and the game was raided.  The police took these old ladies to jail for the night.  At the time my husband was the public defender for that district.  My mother called us and told us she was arrested and that she needed my husband to get her out. 

The police in that district were having a field day telling my husband they were going to hang his mother in law (he said "hang her").  When my mother told the story she would say that all these older women had to pee and the police wouldn’t let them go when they were ready to go — they told them they would be peeing on the floor if they didn’t get to go.  They had medications they needed; you get the picture……I think the police were sorry they ever answered this call.

"Sports Illustrated" had a cartoon that month in their magazine depicting an old lady with a bun, glasses hanging around her neck being dragged by two burly cops with playing cards trailing behind them — the caption read:  Big raid at Black ……….<the woman’s last name>". 

Months passed, my mother’s trial came and went; she was fined; the money had been confiscated — quite a large sum.  On New Year’s Eve we went to a party where the arresting officer (a man my brother and husband grew up with) and the captain of the district were there.  When we were introduced, and I realized who they were, I told them I couldn’t talk to them, they arrested my mother…grandmother to my children…loyalty dictated that I shun them.  They said they would make it up to me……..and they did.  They got me my mother’s mug shot.  (Now come on, how many people have a mug shot of their mother :)   )

For Mother’s Day of that year we had the picture enlarged and framed.  That was a story in itself, taking that to be enlarged and trying to explain it away.  We wrapped the enlarged, framed picture as a gift and gave it to my mother.  She really laughed and laughed; my aunt thought it was a good picture, my father?  He didn’t like it.  He didn’t think it was funny AT ALL.

And thus we have a Grandma Pearl story that goes through the ages.  Just last week two of our grandchildren asked me to show them which one was Grandma Pearl in a picture from our wedding. 

My children loved her and miss her still, even though she’s been gone more than twenty years.  It seemed that either she mellowed or knew how to show them her love more than she knew how to show her children — I think she regretted that.  She often told me in later years that I knew how to do it right in my marriage, in my parenting — it was nice to get validation from your mother :).

 

 

 

chuckle, chuckle — really clever

we’ve been in a lose/lose situation for a long time

Money can buy health care….lots of money.

Unfortunately my vote has been a negative vote in the last few elections, i.e. voting against rather than for someone.  There are good, good people out there, people who would carve out wonderful, meaningful places in our history and yet, the media will not let them or their families alone.  Is there any one of us who doesn’t who doesn’t have some skeleton buried in our family closet?  The good people that abound do not want their families subjected to that kind of scrutiny and so we get what we get what we’ve had.  If only we could take the politics out of politics.

 

 

Fall is my very best favorite as my grandchildren say.  There is just enough bite in the air to have to wear a light jacket; something that hides the bad stuff.  Unlike those bathing suit things. 

Hillary does need to lighten up……..as does Barbara Boxer.  They’ve both been in the media spotlight long enough to know that even a tic will be picked up, analyzed to death and never forgotten.

Ah food, a whole gallery of food passes before me.  We can’t dismiss Bogart’s in Cancun where they place a pillow beneath the lady’s feet. Or (and damn my memory) a restaurant in London that was so exquisite with their delicious food and a Beefeater at the door.  I don’t believe there is a bad restaurant in New York, or at least we haven’t found it — a restaurant in Little Italy where the waiter brought me a meal….a fish stuffed with all kinds of seafood and covered in a lovely, lovely tomato sauce…..that has never been duplicated.  Getting hungry, have to stop now and have some boring breakfast.

There are so many books with passages that just needed to be remembered, that I’ve kept a small journal of them over the years.  I’ll be adding LC’s lovely quote

LIFE    

IS  NOT  MEASURED  BY  THE  NUMBER  OF  BREATHS  WE  TAKE, BUT  BY  THE  MOMENTS  THAT

TAKE  OUR

BREATH

AWAY …..thank you for sharing it.