I fear it’s not only males, but females as well, who derive their self-definition from loyal adherence to their men’s brutality. I noticed in newsreels the half-soused wives with their cotton-candy hair and grog blossoms, bringing along the hampers of fried chicken and booze for their fascist Mexican-hunting mates in…

I feel the same way, and I do believe he killed her in a murderous rage, which would, I think, be second degree murder. But this ability to override even the charging of a crime after the crime has been tried and adjudicated seems to me to verge on cruel and unusual punishment. I too am glad our system doesn’t permit…

Oh yes —- in fact, a rather well-known psychiatrist diagnosed her as borderline. She spent years cutting herself and lost a great job that would have showcased her talent. I recall that even as a very small child, she was a tempest, and we cousins (we were a very large family with cousins all about the same age) were…

Please treat yourself gently and be your own good mother. You are so right that this pain will pass, and you will be there for your son when he needs you and turns to you, as he absolutely will. I hit a very low place when my daughter was small and her father and a new wife took custody away from me, but I hung on,…

That describes my very beautiful and talented cousin to a T. She seems to hate everyone in our family, including her own mother and sister for a litany of grievances dating back decades. Everyone wants to try to address her issues (some grudges are baseless; on others she has a point). But she is volatile and…

That’s a fine tattoo, all right. I have nothing against manual typewriters BTW. some of them are downright beautiful. A Selectric was the original marriage of electricity and brain, though.

The Selectric was a fine machine, and an amazing piece of technology. I can still hear its clattering song and see its tireless type ball magically twisting and turning. Seriously, anybody who typed for a living on a manual knew the agony of those cuts that opened up under the nail after hours of pounding. You had no…

Well, if you don’t have sympathy, you don’t. But people don’t set out to injure themselves; in fact, the less experienced a person is, the more likely they are to come to harm. And once somebody’s judgment is impaired, whether with booze or drugs, they lose the ability to make a reasoned decision on dosage and…

Oh God, kicked in the head? Major concussion? Inflicting traumatic loss of consciousness is the goal of this "sport?" What are we, Caligula? How can we accept people doing this to each other?

It’s so catastrophic for everyone involved, especially him, of course, that I can’t even get my head around it. Your brain is Everything. Of all the reckless, stupid things I did when I was young, I was lucky that (apparently) I didn’t damage my brain. Being mentally acute is a gift and a luxury. I always took it for…

Me too. Although the animals are so fascinating and beautiful. As long as they have a well-thought-out environment versus nasty little smelly cages, I try to console myself. My daughter loved them, but when she got old enough we discussed the issues around holding animals captive, breeding programs and pros and cons.…

Ewg! That lady has an anger problem. Why would anybody respond to a compliment with that sort of bitchery. She must have other issues going on like secretly jealous of you for some reason.

As a kid, I grew up in an era when I basically entertained myself and stayed occupied with bikes, books, and buddies —- from the time I was 4 or 5, my own mother was free from breakfast on (unless needed for bandaging duty).

That’s the crux of it. If your child is 15 months old, a big elaborate party is not going to be remembered, so why put yourself through it? In fact, until your kid is old enough to participate in making party favors and food and has some idea of the meaning of the holiday, save your strength. (Unless it's just an…

The worst thing about our prisons is the way they are now overwhelmingly occupied by minorities, often for offenses that whites —- particularly wealthy whites —- are given slaps on the wrist for. The incredible unfairness of the “justice” system goes unaddressed decade after decade as politicians battle to hornswoggle…

Oh lordy. When I had my daughter, they were not giving any meds at all at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz —- it was "all-natural" childbirth. They said you could have one shot of Demerol if you insisted, but that was it, and they’d prefer you do without it. So I did without it: 13th century style childbirth. I was in…

Yes to that. I took a shower while they were footprinting and registering my baby and blew my hair dry and put on my makeup. When they brought my baby back, my husband and a stream of relatives and co-workers and friends were flooding into my room; there was no stopping them. Don’t feel guilty about wanting to refresh…

Menopause is so wonderful. I feel like a child again. Absolutely no cycling, no PMS, no nothing. No having to count days or remember to buy supplies. I rarely got hot flashes, no dryness for me. I am just set free.

Laura Scudder. Crunchy. Just peanuts and salt. I don’t like when they add a bunch of sugar and flavoring and stabilizers and all that; who needs it?

I’m Jewish, and this doesn’t bother me a bit. One thing I love about Judaism is the irreverent, self-mocking humor. In my family, nothing is sacred except not crossing a picket line. I’ll take my family over the pious variety, but it takes all kinds. I like the idea that Franco is comfortable with his Judaism, and I…