Sure, actually there was more than one. Yo der!

That is the best part phyllis Pepe, we learn from each other. I am constantly surprized the things the other WOWers say that teaches me something or gives me permission to do what I do anyway. Tank you ladies.

Lordy, we got two Marks. AWKKKKKKKKK!

The clean underwear thingi. My Mom had a piddliepoo when she discovered that I was hiking up my nightie and putting on my longest coat to trot over to the chapel in the nearby hospital for the early, 5:00a.m. mass for lent. Did this for 6 weeks. But the nightie was always clean!

Thank U Mugsy! We do have too many people and no one is talking about it. Said that above. AND, is anyone else getting sick of the word “rights”. The word ‘reesponsibility’ is never tacked onto the word ‘rights’. Just doesn’t add up!

I agree with Mary Lou and Maggie. Also get a bit perturbed when people say the Chinese are dreadful for their one child policy. VAT IN THE HECK is they supposed to do?????? We are getting too many people for Earth to sustain them all as of now. Nobody noplace talks about this. Drives me nuts. Heard the other day that here in Marin County where I live, that having a third child was a status symbol because it commented on your wealth — in other words, you could afford a third child. YIKES! Hope that isn’t true, but not so sure. Saw a couple jogging with their babies the other day. Dad had two baby stroller; Mom had one baby stroller — each with appropriate number of babies. ?????? Barack Obama said the other day: “That if China became the top economic nation in the near future, the military would be right behind. And they have a lotaz Chinese military people with all the ‘one child families’ wanting a boy. All that young male testosterone running around????? YO DER!

My cell phone. Poo Poohed the idea of getting one until about three years ago when Mark and I got into a minor accident in the boonies. The other driver happily had a cell phone and I decided I should get one too, as Mark was wandering all over the road while I was trying to get all the information I needed from the other driver. NOW I LOVE MY CELL PHONE —it’s usseful, fun and marvelous. I am just now learning how to text message and it, too, is mighty useful. Makes keeping up with my 19 year old grandson easier. I don’t think he knows about telephones, never seems to call. laffin

My very first ‘kiss’ was somewhere between 4 and 5. After my father was killed, my mother went to work full time and sent me to a Montessori boarding school where I was always getting into trouble. I can’t remember the boy’s name, but I do remember what he looked like — light blondish/red hair in kind of a bowl cut with lots of freckles. I can still see his face. He and I would go behind one of the garages and kiss. I really don’t remember that much about it except that we were quite pleased with ourselves. My first “grown up” kiss (if you will) came when I was 16. His name was Troy. I liked him because he was 6’6” to my 5’8”. Bonnie, my best friend, would sit on the grass with me at lunch time to eat outside the building from which I knew Troy would step after his last morning class. He invited me out that summer. When he took me home, he reached over, pulled me in and bent down to kiss me. I ducked! Go figure! :):):):)

Speaking of children. Mark, my grown son who has a traumatic brain injury, and I went out to dinner tonight. We went to one of the fish restaurants near the water in San Rafael. Dinner was lovely save for the healthy price. But Mark and I had fun. We don’t always have a lot of fun; think that is mostly my fault. I should just say, ‘to hell with it’ more often and I am learning/trying to do that. I like everything ‘perfect’, but everything just isn’t perfect all the time — house clean, kitchen and all rooms and dresser drawers in order; floors vaccumed and polished with summer wardrobes put together properly in the closets. Part of the fun was that somehow we got on the subject of ‘dollars’ and Mark said — “or yen, or francs or pesos. In context it was a very funny joke. Sometimes he astonishes me. I had no idea he knew the different kinds of money. He can be so mature and clear at unexpected times and so unsure, scared and mighty grumpy at other times. Actually, he’s full of humor these days. The other day I was appologizing for something I had not done that affected him and he said, “I know” and I said, “How do you know?” He laffed and said, “from years of experience.” I really broke up with that. We both had a good laff, as, of course, he was absolutely right. Incidentally, the reason I mention Mark and his traumatic brain injury (TBI) so often is that until the military started sending so many soldiers home from Iraq with TBIs, most people had never heard of such a thing, had no idea what it meant. I remember when they told me that Mark had a serious brain injury in the Emergency Room at San Francisco General Hospital where he was taken — along with the drunk kid who hit him whose blood alcohol level was being tested. Anyway, they said ‘brain injury’ and I thought, ‘what in heavens name are they talking about.’ Of course, I found out soon enough. But what I am trying to say is that I am trying to tell you WOW ladies about it, so you will, hopefully, know and understand and tell others as appropriate. Civilian TBI survivors, like Mark, have had a heck of a time getting services. It has been one battle after another and the services are still inadequate. Part of the problem is that Mark was hurt in July, 1973. Before 1972-73, people with injuries as serious as Mark’s just died, so they were not around to need post-injury care. Now they are, but no one has yet had the time, interest or energy to fight the wars that need to be fought. I suspect the military injuries will be helpful to our civilians, but what a way to gain recognition. Most of the time family members are too worn out from caregiving to be able to sustain a useful and suitable war and very few TBI survivors are able to wage the war for themselves. All in all, it has been one heck of a ball game so far. Hope u’all don’t mind that I am sort of taking advantage of a captive audience. But, thanx for listening!

Oh, Frannie Em. I have been sending out strings of light to soldiers in Iraq all weekend. I will pray for your wonderful child — yes, grown and almost grown sons can still be your child.

Hey ki b, we gotta go play with these other ladies. They seem to be doing a better job than we are. I put an anthology of women poets together a few years back (not published yet) and one of the poets was, clearly, a very wise woman who had decided in life that she would not be able to provide herself with both ‘things’ and ‘adventure’, that she would have to choolse. She chose ‘adventure’. And, WOW, did she have some adventures. Strangest part, she was a very shy, reticient human being, sort of an Emily Dickinson kind of person. In fact, she looked a bit like Emily. Have to look at her poems again, gather a few new pieces from the younger generation and get that durn book published. My criteria was: the poems be well-crafted about women’s lives with emotional impact. That was an amazing time in my life. I put out flyers and ads in poetry circles and started getting all these amazing poems from all these women in Northern California I had never met. Gathered quite a book. I still like it.

Nice list, Lady Gator. Is that Gator as in Gatoraide or as in alligator????? te hee!

Oh Maurine, I listened to that program too. I am reading Karen Armstrong’s book, “The History of God” and it is magnificent, one of the best books (it’s right up there at the top of that list)I’ve ever read. Maybe it is just that I am reading it at a time when I am trying to put my spiritual/religious beliefs together and I am a firm believer in evolution, thinking what more elegant way to create anything than smidgen by smidgen, trying out one thing after another. I’m almost finished with the book, reading the section on ‘The Mystics’ just now, but recommend this book to EVERYONE. Doncha think, Maurine. I’m going to read her other books after this. Oh, while I am recommending books, David McCullough’s 1776 was amazing. Every American should read it. Most of us have no idea what our country was truly built from — a lot of guts and courage.

I yam jus jealous, Mugsy Peabody!

O, Alessan, barring a danger to your health, GO! GO! GO!