I really second this … sending in suggestions or topics seems to go nowhere, and also, it would be nice to see what others are suggesting (even if not to double up too much) … “A democratic posting of reader’s voices” … thanks, Dorothy

Hi Phyllis … quick Wikipedia definition below; Om also just looks beautiful in Sanskrit or Tibetan script (hence making a nice tattoo…) Om mani padme hum From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Om mani padme hum[1] (Derived from the Sanskrit, Devanagari ॐ मणि पद्मे हूँ, IAST oṃ maṇi padme huṃ) is probably the most famous mantra in Buddhism, the six syllabled mantra of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan Chenrezig, Chinese Guanyin). … The Dalai Lama is said to be an incarnation of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara, so the mantra is especially revered by his devotees and it is commonly carved onto rocks and written on paper which is then inserted into prayer wheels to increase its effects. Mantras may be interpreted by practitioners in many ways, or even as mere sequences of sound whose effects lie beyond strict meaning. The middle part of the mantra, maṇi padme, is often interpreted as “jewel in the lotus,” Sanskrit maṇí “jewel, gem, cintamani” and the locative of padma “lotus”, but according to Donald Lopez it is much more likely that Maṇipadme is in fact a vocative, not a locative, addressing a bodhisattva called Maṇipadma, “Jewel-Lotus”- an alternate epithet of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.[2] The oṃ is straightforward as the sacred syllable prefixed to many mantras, and the hūṃ is an exclamation or interjection frequently employed in mantras.”

Hi Dora, I am so with you on this … I also never ever thought about getting a tattoo … and believe me, living in the East Village of NYC, I do see a lot of them (some awful, even scary and some very intriguing …) and now I feel drawn to getting one too (at 56 …) - and I am thinking about a tiny black OM on my left ankle … why? no idea … but it must be in the air then … I have been meditating a lot and the OM mantra has been a rather constant in my life lately, so that’s why it would feel right … but I am also not sure if I’ll go through with it … like a kid, I’ve been playing around with little temporary ones, just to try it out … maybe that’s it, just having fun and being free to express … and wouldn’t it be fun, all these ‘old’, ‘grey’ wise women sporting colorful Om Mani Padme Hum ….

… just unpacked from a short trip, and found this topic here… so here I am looking at what always goes along (which is definitely more than three…) a ‘Buddha bag’ (ie. a small pretty bag with my little travel altar items), a ‘book-bag’ (at least two or three books and a notebook …) and an old-fashioned gold-braided bracelet my mother wore and that after 28 years still makes me feel close to her (and like taking her along on my journeys) - and to add another always-needed item: a well stocked toiletry bag, incl. lots of vitamins, rescue remedy, aspirin and arnica gel … (only after that, the basic black-and-white, jeans and sneakers travel outfits, easily dressed up or down, and finally pared down for simple packing … took me years to get there, and the loss of a suitcase that contained all my very ‘good clothes’ after a month-long job in L.A.… and the shock of how little of that was reimbursed by the airline … ) PS. Kelly Kelly: absolutely loved your ‘mother’s ashes on the motorcycle into the mountains’ story !

PS. … of course, if I had Cynthia M’s luck to look up and find a gorgeous stranger in the next seat …! well, hasn’t happened … yet …

No … And I agree with Donna H., I try not to be unfriendly, but I am usually so tired by the time I make it to a flight (always too late packing and doing last-minute things … like, actually just now … off tomorrow, but not by plane… still need to pack though… ) so, once seated, I want to go right to sleep or listen to some soothing music … And I also like the in-between-time of being in nowhere-land, to sort myself out and get ready for the other place/time/situation I am flying into …

… same here, ladies, and I think so far that’s the worst part of being post-menopausal: this memory thing … Faces, always … Names, only some times … Phone Numbers, forget it … and I too used to have this great ability to memorize names and numbers … at the first large production office I managed, people simply took it for granted that they could walk by my desk and ask anyone’s name and number, from the director to the drivers and caterers … of course we didn’t have programable phones and no computers either … now I really see actually no need to memorize numbers, but I would love to remember names better without twisting my brain … btw. Maurine, I love your new term “TMJIB (too much junk in brain)” …

.. an actor, an icon … I have always greatly admired Katharine Hepburn, the actress and the icon (loved her books too) … Cynthia, thanks for this remembrance! … and what a nice moment it must have been for you …”And I was lucky enough to be standing in the right place at the right time and became that company” …

… sending you good wishes for strength and peace

.. that Peabody clan sure is bunch of witty (and cute) girls …

oh, it’s you my dear! (getting confused with the name changes, am not on here enough to keep track…) … glad you like the IMDb (gossipy place, but great for research…) btw: hope this finds you well? things going alright?

Dear Duchess you are welcome … see now what you meant about the week, checked in on the more political topics …

N P … thanks for suggesting this lovely topic! And your info here is great … am very curious about the Guerlain ‘test’, love anything Guerlain (when I am flush …) - Shalimar, Pamplelune (a divine grapefruit scent), the colognes As Candice (and many others) said … scents so go with certain times of life and memories …, and I think it’s a sweet compliment when someone says ‘you smell so nice’ … I get that a lot when I just wear a simple Rose fragrance, which now is my everyday scent … the current special occasion one is Penhaligon’s Bluebell I may go back to Annick Goutal’s Eau d’ Hadrien (couldn’t believe there was a scent to go with my favorite book, and used that for a while), and I love the sample I recently got of Jo Malone’s new Dark Amber & Ginger Lily … it’s a bit of a ‘hippie’ scent memory (which I usually now relegate just to incense…) - there are other Jo Malone and Penhaligon’s scents I want to try (seem to like those British perfumers) And, oh yes, early on I couldn’t stand ‘girl’s perfume’ and wore Eau Sauvage or Grey Flannel … probably thought that went well with wearing all black and carrying around Beauvoir and Sartre … ah, to be so seriously young again … :) … still wearing mostly black though …

:) … that’s cute, star person, … what a job, to monitor these postings (have a feeling we can be a rather rambling bunch …) - never really thought too much about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of a web-site … interesting! keep up the good work!

Joan, you are so funny/smart/delightful … always appreciate your posts, many thanks!