No doubt it would be a horrific thought for someone such as yourself to be subjected to the daunting task of enlightening men. I did not mean you actually should take on giving seminars, do forgive my glibness. I was trying to compliment you in that I certainly did not expect to encounter a man in this thread who got women, especially after wading through the toads and snakes of one man’s comments. Indeed, save your pearls and rose petals for those more deserving. As for who would want an old fart like you, you would truly be surprised, Sir!

I’ve read all the comments and there are some truly fantastic pieces of wisdom I wish someone had told me when I was young. I am amazed and thrilled at the collective knowledge of the women posting here. My thoughts: Be careful with your money. Define yourself, accept nobody else’s interpretation of you and trust your intuition or your gut level feelings. Take care of your health. Never stop learning and growing. And laugh. See the humor in every absurdity that approaches you; life is filled with them. With all that said, don’t be afraid to reposition yourself or reinvent or however you choose to phrase it. We change as we grow and don’t be afraid to move forward or sideways or whatever way suits who you become at each level. Finally, share what you’ve learned as you go along.

Frank “gets it” and I lift my glass to him in a salute. He needs to be giving seminars to other men. And to him I say “When you are ready for a new love, you will be blessed because you get it.”

Diana was beautiful and vulnerable yet approachable. I think it’s normal she has become even larger in death than in life. I completely agree that it was ridiculous they did not have their seat belts fastened; by now, we ALL know how important that is. All that said, I feel she will always fascinate and that will just grow in time. People love mysteries, even if they have to make them up. As for this site being fluff. Hmm. I must admit, when I logged on and saw the topic of how many people had we slept with, I was turned off. I chose not to comment there. The last thing I want to become as a woman is a big braggadocio the way men can be. That’s a private matter for me to know about. As for the site being an online Cosmo, I know how excited I was when I watched Charlie Rose with the ladies. I logged on right away. However, there is a sign at the top of this site that reads BETA and I’m hoping things will shift and form into something a bit more substantive. I’ll hang out to see. And I did want to congratulate those who have churning stomachs when they post. I am not afraid of public speaking or posting yet I can understand the fear. Always remember, your voice is as important as any other person’s. Even if you haven’t jumped out of a plane. I swear, there are days getting out of bed is fraught with as much danger or anxiety. Post on!

In regard to the bats falling ill, those little guys eat many times their weight in insects. I truly hate to think of life without them. Our crops would be destroyed and who wants to be overtaken by insects. We have a few bat boxes on our property and I’m anxiously waiting their coming out for the spring/summer nights. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have had one of the coldest, snowiest LONG winters and I am hoping all the little beneficial creatures have survived.

Bees, hands down. Every year, I plant more and more things to bring them around and so far, my gardens are full of them but I worry. A gentleman down the road from us has hives and honey to sell and his populations have repeatedly been decimated by colony collapse. I find this more than worrisome. Without bees, we won’t have pollination which means no food.

Having been young in the 1960s about says it all. I have done things I would faint dead away if a young person told me she had done the same now. Such risks, but I thought I was invincible. However, as an adult, knowing better, I’d have to say the scariest thing happened when my car broke down at ten o’clock at night on the San Diego Freeway. I had four underaged models with me for whom I was responsible and I had no choice but to accept a ride from an unknown man. I was less afraid for myself but the responsibility of someone else’s daughters safety weighed heavily on me. All in all, things turned out just fine, the man was on the up and up, but I can remember the adrenalin rushing wildly through my body and I was prepared to do battle at any second on their behalf. Thank God for cell phones now.

I honestly don’t know what I would do in the situation until faced with it; anything else would be pure speculation. And I know the answer would have been different at all the stages of my life. Who I am now, I do know one thing: If I saw his underwear on backwards, I would have probably wet the bed laughing. I apologize for being so crude, forgive me. But, really. I mean, his hair is neater than usual, he has no scent to him and his shirt has no sweat rings but his underwear is on backwards?! If his hair was a mess, he smelled like a brothel, his tie was hanging over his shoulder, I could buy he had dressed fast enough not to have his underwear on correctly. But who would go to such trouble to disguise having had sex with another person and then put his Jockeys on backwards?! Is it just me? It’s almost lame enough that he would have to be innocent or he’s so blasted stupid and clueless, all I would be able to is laugh … AT him.

I, too, discovered this fantastic site last night by watching my favorite show in the world: Charlie Rose. I am so excited there is a place such as this for us to learn, grow and share our experiences; rather like a candy store for the mind. I admired Ann Richards. To me, she had it going on in every way; she was physically beautiful and lovely on the inside. She could make me laugh and make me pause and think. She also made me less afraid of growing older in this society that doesn’t always hold in high regard our most valuable older women. It is my belief this site and the women here aim to change society’s attitude about those of us who have just begun to reach our prime. I wish I could have met her and told her how much I respected her. Liz is no doubt a hoot, too, you can just tell by the devilish twinkle in her eye!

My perception is any woman who has worked her way to the top has obviously rid herself of the Disease to Please and perhaps that does entail developing a thick skin. For me, I had to think amongst Hillary, Condoleeza and Martha Stewart and in the end, I voted for Martha. She did go to jail and even if it wasn’t considered “hard time” it was a form of humiliation that a less confident person might not have come back from, let alone continued on in the public eye.