"failed to take into account her amorous feelings..."

Ahh. Well, maybe I'm projecting :)

Brilliant. And I think my elder cat would find it eminently relatable.

Weren't all those things before she had her kids?

It's a level of enlightenment, like 'going clear' :P

I get the feeling that part of her would like nothing more than to fade into obscurity and play with her kids. She strikes me as someone who has kind of a love-hate relationship with fame.

I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed that Rob Ford made it into that montage twice :P

I like this idea!

My husband is unemployed and so he bought me nothing. I bought myself presents instead.

I knew a woman whose name was pronounced that way, but hers was spelled "Thea".

I don't know...the fact that his face got plastered all over as a result of this may make the knowledge a lot more widespread than a criminal record.

Girls can't win.

Bee's rebellious phase, as I imagine it: Second-hand, oversized, off-brand, mismatched track suit, for a month.

It's amazing how death can set it off. I was diagnosed with OCD about ten years ago, and my parents died a few years after that, and after inheriting a lot of their things, I had to actively fight the impulse to keep every last thing. I was a packrat to begin with, but the emotional burden attached to those things…

I haven't, but I'll definitely look it up. American history fascinates me, but that's a period I haven't really looked at in much depth. Thanks!

That's the thing, isn't it? Ten years seems like forever when you're young, but when you're older and you have a sense of how time really moves, ten years isn't that long. And it was a real sea change.

I guess because I was born in the 70s (and not in the US), it never occurred to me that there would still have been resentment stewing that long after the Civil Rights movement. Your comment gives the 'welfare queen' trope a real political-historical context. Thank you.

I'm looking forward to reading the source with a pint. Sounds like a hell of a story. But to the main point, yeah. One person's bad acts are definitely not enough to draw a pattern. Awful that she's spoiled it for so many.

The Aging Pancreas: Put two mint Rolaids into a blender with ice, Baileys and MOAR WHISKY. Blend til smooth. Pour into a highball glass. Drink with a straw. Chase with regret and another Aging Pancreas.

I joke that I'm in training for an Olympic sleep marathon. Sleep is the best. Day off? I can sleep for 10-14 hours? DONE.