it’s life
a really big shoe
For those of us of a certain age, The Ed Sullivan Show was a Sunday-night institution. Airing at 8 pm on CBS, the show featured everyone’s favorite host (with his signature pronunciation of “show” as “shoe”) introducing us each week to a variety of entertainment. There was always a singer or two (big names at the […]
the care and feeding of (growing) boys
If you’re from a New York Jewish family like mine (and B.’s), you know the central role that food plays in life. From the moment you’re born throughout visits to parents in later life, “Have you eaten?” is one of the first questions asked. And in such families (my Italian friends claim it’s the same […]
horsefeathers
When God was handing out athletic grace, I was on the other line. And while I’m well aware of my strengths — including an imagination as active as any star athlete’s workout — when it comes to moving through life, let’s just say I’m kind of like Lucy in a Marx Brothers movie. There was […]
more stuff I don’t get, the sequel
Why Archie still can’t choose between Betty and Veronica Why the sound of a dental drill can’t be muted Why we secretly love Gordon Gekko even while we despise him What it was that Billy Joe MacCallister threw off the Tallahatchie Bridge How James Bond never ages Why everyone is so concerned about where Waldo […]
things I don’t get
Why there are restrictions on buying soda in NY but not on buying cigarettes Why a contestant on Wheel of Fortune who has this much of the puzzle solved — M_SS_SS_PP_ — insists on buying an “I” Why people dress their pets in doll clothes and bows Why some smokers think it’s ok to flick […]
dinner with (old) friends
One of life’s amazing quirks to me is the rubber band of old friends. Case in point: a recent dinner with college friends of ours who lived in LA for a few years but have since returned to the East Coast. We’ve gone from seeing them every one to two months to seeing them just […]
50 strands of grey
One of life’s unfair little jokes is that when a man’s hair goes grey, it looks kind of sexy (George, Denzel, Richard, Ben, Barack). When a woman’s hair turns grey, it looks like we better do something — stat. But — and here’s the question — do we really have to? Let’s see. Some women […]
only in LA
Every city has its own caricature — the tough-talking New Yorker, the uber-preppy Bostonian, the Houston debutante, the Portland granola guy. LA owns a very specific caricature too — namely, the “necessarily narcissist.” Cases in point (and believe me, if I hadn’t seen or heard these personally, I’d have to make them up): Number One: […]
you say neurotic, I say erotic, let’s call the whole thing off
I once had a friend say that the attraction between my husband and me was based on the fact that we tend to freak each other out. “What drew you to each other,” she painstakingly explained, “is that you work each other up and stress each other out. Your stress feeds off his and his […]
play it again, Ilsa
Our much beloved dog, Ilsa (arguably one of the world’s best dogs), had a glamorous namesake. She was named for Ilsa Lund, Ingrid Bergman’s character in Casablanca, who was the star-crossed lover of Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine. One day a few years ago, while B. and I were watching Casablanca, for the millionth time at […]
rice on your head 