Great response, Bonnie.

Sorry for the duplication, but I posted this under Liz Smith in error. My unsolicited advice would be: Be true to yourself, but stay focused on the goal. Your loftiest public aspirations, your words - no matter how brilliant, your passion and energy, will never be recognized as clearly as when coming from you in the White House. And love that man with all you’ve got.

You’re right of course Meg, and I’m sorry my comment was insensitive - more than I meant it to be. I just get so angry that all things female are seen under a microscope which magnifies a women’s flaws while minimizing a man’s. And most upsetting of all, is it is coming from other women.

Be true to yourself, but stay focused on the goal. Your loftiest public aspirations, your words - no matter how brilliant, your passion and energy, will never be recognized as clearly as when coming from you in the White House. And love that man with all you’ve got.

Be true to yourself, but stay focused on the goal. Your loftiest public aspirations, your words - no matter how brilliant, your passion and energy, will never be recognized as clearly as when coming from you in the White House. And love that man with all you’ve got.

Body language is so important isn’t it? Whenever I see John and Cindy McCain together, I feel sorry for her and angry at him. It took me a while to figure out why. Mr. M, never looks at her, or touches her, or seems to acknowledge her in any way - even when she is glaringly at his side lapping up all he is saying. I thought she was so Stepford until I saw her on the View; and although I didn’t believe much of what she said, she displayed a surprising warmth and youthfulness. On the other hand, Mr. and Mrs. Obama together just make me feel good. They touch, they play, they tease; their devotion to each other is palpable. BTW: Why are we always focused on the women and their looks? How come nobody’s mentioned that McCain looks like a chipmunk whose winter meal is safely stored?

Happy, happy birthday. You’re doing fine! Just try to burp the baby a little more to get the hot air out. The diversity is amazing, as are the contributors.

Well done! Your posts are always intelligent and enlightening.

Of course the couple is hypothetical. I think this question was presented brilliantly with the intention, as is always is the case with the topics offered, of making us feel and think. Kudos, Sheila! As for me, I would give the embryos to science, as a payback for little Meadow and all that science had given me.

Bella: Thank you so much for the Mama website; it’s one of the coolest I’ve ever seen. Now I know what I am going to do this weekend. Maui, here I come.

Oh my gosh, Josie. We’ve done so many. For the sake of brevity, I’ll give you just a couple of examples. Weirdest = A couple wanting to cater their divorce. A chance, they claimed, to civilly bid their joint friends adieu. BUT, all the food had to be black or green, black for mourning what once was, green for the new life they were embarking upon. I finally convinced them to let me use white also- for the purity of their intentions I told them. Boy! was that a challenge. Fun-est = A crunch party as a gigantic birthday bash for a bunch of six year olds…with very wealthy parents. The guest of honor was a 10 lb. Nestle Crunch Bar which I dressed up as King Crunch and surrounded it with its court of all things that crunch - Frito’s, Dorito’s, cereal, and other fun stuff. The kids loved it, especially at the end when with the help of their parents they got to chop old King Crunch up and pass the chunks around. We created all kind of games for them, and had the house decorated as a candy wonderland. The most impressive, there are two. 1. For a large corporate client, we took over Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, and threw a can-can sort of party that was a blast. 2. We catered the silver anniversary of the New Jersey Ballet. It was magnificent. A black tie affair, with 300+ guests including the Governor. “Imagine,” I kept thinking as I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, “Just a plain old kid from Brooklyn.” Oh well, so much for brevity. I hope I’ve held your interest.

FH- You and I should get together and prepare a virtual feast for all our friends on this site. Can you imagine the conversation? Lots of wine and cartons of boxing gloves should help us make it through. I love feeding people. In my opinion, the most sensuous thing you can do (in public) is share a really well made meal. Cooking for a living is terribly satisfying but really wrecks havoc with your body…legs, back, neck, shoulders. Although I had a large staff, I was a maniac and literally had my hands in every dish we served. And each item was homemade: the hors d’oeuvres, breads, desserts, and of course a bevy of entrees. It was not unusual for us to do 3-5 parties a weekend with the guest lists numbering in the hundreds. Eventually, when it became apparent the strength of youth is a fleeting thing, I sold out to my two partners and entered the cerebral end of the food world:writing, consulting, teaching. I love this part of it also, but nothing makes me happier than throwing a dinner party and hearing people moaning with each bite. I think I’m just a culinary voyeur at heart. Oh well, we all have our cross to bear!

Alas…the things that might have been.

Wow, Renata…You are so well informed and bright that whether I agree with you or not, your posts are always informative and enlightening. Thank you for your effort and passion.

WOW! Josie, Big heart, intelligence, and mega-talent, some people are truly blessed. Thanks for sharing.