C,

Our 11 year old labrador joined our family when she was 8 weeks old, our son was 7, and our daughter was 3.  Neither of the children were permitted to carry the puppy and our daughter was not allowed to hold her without an adult present, who taught her how to care for a puppy. Children aren’t necessarily mean, they just don’t know any better.  When the puppy wasn’t in the kitchen or outside with us, she slept in her crate.  And before too long she had grown into a playful puppy, who occasionally nipped at our daughter — then too we had to teach our daughter that she was a baby with needle teeth and that she didn’t mean to hurt her.  We taught both the kids how to act around animals. The puppy is now an old lady who is an integral member of our family and the kids are teens who adore animals.

My father died a year ago, but he really enjoyed just having us around.  I think my husband will enjoy going out to play golf in the morning and doing something fun in the afternoon with my teens, who hopefully will have rolled out of bed by then!

Liz, As I heard Christianne Amanpour say, Arabs are fed up with being universally associated with terrorism, and I can well understand that.  Can you imagine, however, if Egyptians thought they could gain a real understanding about who Americans are by watching Housewives of New York, or New Jersey, or Atlanta?!  These tacky self-absorbed women offer entertainment, but certainly nothing more!  I agree with Deber, however, that if it were done properly, a Housewives of Cairo could provide the western world with some real insight about how much our cultures actually share.  I highly recommend reading Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks, who was a Wall Street Journal correspondent in Cairo.  She takes the reader on an enlightening tour of of the Middle East where she interviews women in each country. If you click on the link below, you can access a number of articles on reactions to Obama’s speech in the Muslim word. Charles Sennot writes what I consider to be a critical truth — that "one of the most resonant themes expressed across the economic and ethnic divides … about Obama’s words is that as eloquent as they were, he is mistaken if he thinks he can talk to all Muslims at once. They have different concerns and different agendas and different equations of anger and hope that provide the sum of their lives."  I think this applies to Hispanics in this country, whom Americans lump all into one pot … they are not a culturally, ethnically, politically, or economically identical group — Be sure to turn to page 2 and click on the various pushpins on the bulletin board to access articles written from all across the region. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/090604/obamas-speech-reaction-dubai I am very excited because next month a friend and I, along with our 18 year old sons are hoping to travel to Cairo. Her daughter is studying at the American University of Cairo and they are lifelong friends of Shafik Gabr.  Having never been anywhere in the Middle East, except for Jeddah airport several times many years ago, where I was not permitted to disembark because I was an unmarried woman over the age of 17, I am really excited about the prospect of spending a week in Cairo and hope that it will be the first of several trips there.

Liz, Thanks so much for your article!   As I heard Christianne Amanpour say, Arabs are fed up with being universally associated with terrorism, and I can well understand that.  Can you imagine, however, if Egyptians thought they could gain a real understanding about who Americans are by watching Housewives of New York, or New Jersey, or Atlanta?!  These tacky self-absorbed women offer entertainment, but certainly nothing more!  I agree with Deber, however, that if it were done properly, a Housewives of Cairo could provide the western world with some real insight about how much our cultures actually share.  I highly recommend reading Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks, who was a Wall Street Journal correspondent in Cairo.  She takes the reader on an enlightening tour of of the Middle East where she interviews women in each country. If you click on the link below, you can access a number of articles on reactions to Obama’s speech in the Muslim word. Charles Sennot writes what I consider to be a critical truth — that "one of the most resonant themes expressed across the economic and ethnic divides … about Obama’s words is that as eloquent as they were, he is mistaken if he thinks he can talk to all Muslims at once. They have different concerns and different agendas and different equations of anger and hope that provide the sum of their lives."  I think this also applies to Hispanics in this country, whom Americans lump all into one pot … they are not a culturally, ethnically, politically, or economically identical group either — Be sure to turn to page 2 and click on the various pushpins on the bulletin board to access articles written from all across the region. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/090604/obamas-speech-reaction-dubai I am very excited because next month a friend and I, along with our 18 year old sons are hoping to travel to Cairo. Her daughter is studying at the American University of Cairo and they are lifelong friends of Shafik Gabr.  Having never been anywhere in the Middle East, except for Jeddah airport several times many years ago, where I was not permitted to disembark because I was an unmarried woman over the age of 17, I am really excited about the prospect of spending a week in Cairo and hope that it will be the first of several trips there.  Nevertheless, I realize that Egypt and Saudi Arabia do not even closely resemble one another — but I’m not confident that all Americans do.

No doubt, but how sad that he chose to remain a Roman Catholic — a religion that turns human beings into guilt-ridden entities.  This poor man could have continued to inspire and to comfort as an Episcopal priest, without all the self-reproach. I am happy to see that Father Cutié has been received by the Episcopal Church, where he can continue to be a spiritual leader and a human being.   

Dick,

I don’t understand why you object to children learning about homosexuality.

I live a very conventional life in the suburbs (married to a man for 20 years, 2 children, dog) and my children have 2 gay cousins (one on each side of the family). One of the gay cousins has a lesbian aunt, who shares Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of us and her daughter from her former marriage to a man.  We had a gay couple, who lived across the street from us and were like uncles to my children.  My neighbor behind me has a gay brother, who is the uncle of her children and often visits with his companion.  One of my daughter’s very close friends also has a gay uncle, another a lesbian aunt. My children also have a first cousin, who is 11, whose best friend since kindergarten is the adopted daughter of a gay couple, who live in my sister’s suburban town.  My point is that homosexuals coexist with the rest of us heterosexuals.  They are not an obscure tribe with which children won’t ever come in contact.  Why would you not want children to better understand the different types of people that live around them? If you are white, would you never want to discuss/address/explain that there are people of African-American, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American descent, who live around them?   Would you object to your children being taught about different races or cultures in school?

 

I watch Seinfeld reruns @ 11 pm & I might hop over to JJon Stewart — and if I am still up I will hop between Jay Leno and Stephen Colbert.

Tragic news.  Nothing worse for a parent.  I hope she recovers and that her parents and brother are surrounded by good people, who will support them through this crisis.

The money should allow them to set themselves up comfortably now.  They should quit while they are ahead, regroup, and salvage their family.  

The show has probably generated some income, but how can they expect to connect without any privacy? 

Thank you Dianne! I like my name too! I was named for my great great great grandmother!  There aren’t many Lucindas around.

I agree with you wowOwow does need an editor — but here’s another one: I happen to l like Anderson Cooper, but I heard him on Ellen say something about someone being hung (I cringed), but later that evening on his broadcast he said the person was hanged (to my relief)  Another time, I heard him talk about laying down and I wanted to shoot him an email telling him that chickens lay eggs and people lie down! I think I said earlier that I was not a grammar nazi, but perhaps I am! :-)

I have often told my teenaged children that they will be judged by the way they express themselves and their manners, or lack thereof. And I truly believe it is so!  No doubt there are posters who will roll their eyes when they read this. Tant pis is what I say!

Amen! :-)

Dianne, just wanted to give you a shout out! I am late to this discussion, but I also noticed the grammatical mistake — and it did bother me —- and without sounding petty, it bothered me quite a bit.  More than likely because I admire Julia, I envy her career, she comes from my part of the world (she’s from the big town and my family’s from the little town), she attended the same schools as my cousin and my sister, and she makes her living as a writer.  Not that I am a grammar nazi, but I once commented on the editing (or rather lack of editing) and the grammar in one of the official posts, and I was condemned by several of our fellow-posters. So here’s to you Dianne! I support you all the way!

Excellent idea for a topic!  Joni keep listening!

I had a friend in high school who had a fraternal twin.  I was told that the doctors determined that she was a 9 month baby and her brother a 10 month baby — a very rare occurence indeed — but in this case, same set of parents.