Joan, thank you for your beautiful story, so eloquently told.

I am lucky enough to have had quite a few of these experiences through two different psychics I have known. I have also been in a position to observe others having the same experience, many, many times. There is no question in my mind that this stuff is for real. But you can’t convince people who don’t believe in it, and I don’t try to. A lot of people I love have died, and I feel their presence around me all the time.

I respect that this is your truth. It is not true for me, and for many others. My experiences hearing from people I know who had died actually got me going back to church, as life after death now made sense to me.

This is such a great topic. What fun to see all the contents of the purses. Because I live in New York and walk most places, I clean out my bag nightly. I recently gave up my cell phone and now rely entirely on my BlackBerry. I don’t wear makeup and my hair is short, so the only beauty supplies I need are cuticle cream and an emery board. But, still, my bag weighs a ton! Julia, I carry my grandmother’s handkerchiefs, too. They don’t weigh anything. And I love them so much.

A babysitter!

I do agree that the constant toting around of that poor Palin baby on one public stage after another is highly inappropriate. He is a BABY and he does not need to be hauled out at 11 o’clock at night. It’s tacky, and it’s manipulative.

I am one of the people who donated to Barack Obama during Sarah Palin’s speech. I thought I would go crazy if I didn’t do something, and I hope my little contribution helps get him elected.

Hah! That video made me laugh out loud. Thanks, Suzanne, I needed that.

It’s very disturbing that this election seems to have turned into a contest based on The Cult of Personality, at this late date. But so goes modern life, isn’t that true? It is horrifying to me, and I don’t know what to do about that.

Whoopi, thank you for your post. I couldn’t agree with you more. This week has been horrifying. I used to think I liked McCain but disliked the Republican Party. No more — they are one and the same now.

Dona, you are right on the money! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you one hundred percent.

I have a friend who grew up in New Orleans who said right after Katrina, “You just know that some guy on the Levee Board was having lunch at Galatoire’s instead of inspecting the plans.” And I’m sure that is true. But there was more than enough blame to go all the way around after that horror. When George Bush said that no one could have predicted that the levees would fail, I found myself thinking, why would I — little old me in New York City watching CNN — know more than THE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.? I will never forget staying up all night, looking at the weather reports, nauseous with horror and fear at what was to come for that great city and its people, while this nitwit was playing his guitar at somebody’s birthday party. He really should be strung up for his arrogance and stupidity.

Thanks, Kitty! No, I don’t know the owner of Snug Harbor (wish I did) but I still have many friends in New Orleans. Since I lived there between the ages of 18 to 27, and those years were 1966 to 1975, I had some legendary good times (and learned some Major Life Lessons) and I’m glad to have survived my shenanigans. But it was fun, and as I have said, I love those people. Yes, my friends are taking the “so far, so good” attitude toward this hurricane as well. Fingers crossed.

Hi Other Kitty, I lived mostly Uptown during college (at Tulane) and afterward, but my favorite apartment was in the French Quarter. I lived on St. Peter Street between Bourbon and Royal, and the Quarter was like a small town. Everybody knew everybody, and if someone stopped by to see me and I wasn’t home, the bouncer at Pat O’Brien’s would give me the message (this was in the early seventies, way before answering machines and cell phones). I did my grocery shopping at the A&P down the street and I had beignets and cafe au lait every morning at Cafe du Monde. I had some of the happiest years of my life in that wonderful city. My friends there are still struggling to get back to “normal” life, and they have many advantages that others do not, so my heart goes out to those less fortunate. The greatest thing about New Orleans is its rich gumbo of all kinds of different people. I hope that is not gone for good. That film I mentioned above gave me a lot of hope that those incredible people in the neighborhoods of New Orleans are still there. I have not been back to New Orleans since Katrina, and I have asked myself many times why not. I don’t know why. I love that city more than anywhere. It may be that it was so tough to be a New Yorker after 9/11, that I couldn’t bear to see another city I loved so much be destroyed. But that is not a very good reason. Thanks for asking.

I lived in New Orleans for many years and I love that city. The ineptitude of the federal, state, and local government during and after Katrina was mind-boggling. Coincidentally, I saw an extraordinary documentary about Katrina and its aftermath about a week ago. TROUBLE THE WATER is one of the most heartbreaking yet uplifting films I have ever seen. As the filmmakers say, “It’s not about a hurricane, it’s about America.” This movie brought a theatre filled with jaded New Yorkers to tears and applause last weekend. And every person who sees it will be inspired by the redemptive tale of the woman who is the film’s focus. I hope that everyone who reads this post will take a moment to view the trailer: http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com Let us all keep the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in our prayers this weekend.