Last Sunday, the New York Times magazine published an article by their Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd, an essay adapted from new book “Are Men Necessary: When Sexes Collide”.
Ms. Dowd, an accomplished woman in her early 50’s who wears her age extremely well, has written off and on for the past year about the personal lifestyle challenges of women who achieve success in their careers.
These direct quotes need no additional embellishment to illustrate her point: in the world of dating and marriage, there is no percentage in being Maureen Dowd. A woman is better off as a chambermaid.
Blessed Be
Samhain, one of the 8 great Shabbats of the Wiccan calendar, has been celebrated by the Celtic peoples for 3,000 years.
Alito
He’s qualified, he’s conservative but not a raving nut, and if he were a woman, I’d be quietly content with the decision to nominate Joseph Alito to the Supreme Court.
As it is, I can live with it.
And Speaking of James….
I meant to post this on Saturday following the afternoon spent with Emme(8) and James(5):
Alpha Centauri
Following their visit on Saturday to the Werner Schmidt Observatory, the grandkids were talking about the stars last night.
At first, they wanted to find Polaris, the “north star”, but the conversation quickly turned to Alpha Centauri, the triple star system closest to our own sun.
Celebrating Halloween
Within a short drive from here, there are still a number of beautiful private properties with charm and character, i.e., yards where developers haven’t cut down every tree and haven’t covered every square inch of ground with high-maintenance, nitrogen-leaching grass.
First snow…
…. witnessed on the way back from the Kennedy rink in Hyannis, prompting young master James to say, “I’ll bet Santa will be here in just a couple of days.”
There is something preternatural about seeing snow before all the leaves have turned. The weather persons predict up to an inch of it for us, with sunny, warmer weather tomorrow.
Gardener’s Diary
It’s October 29, and today’s big decision is when to dig up the dahlias, which are still happily blooming.
Per my friend Carolyn, who is a superb gardener, I should do it NOW, before there’s a hard frost.
Most of the mums have weathered the long period of rain that should banish any talk of water shortages for a good while, and roses are still blooming in other places, like the Fairgrounds.
Two Good Judges, Two Stories
Overriding a proposal for a lesser sentence, NH judge James O’Neill sentenced a Massachusetts man to 30-60 years for the repeated rape of a young relative. The girl was between 13 and 16 years old during her four-year ordeal.
Sock and a Shoe
One of the funniest bits from “All in the Family” was a goofy argument between Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), the blue collar patriarch, and his radical/intellectual son-in-law antagonist, Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner), about the order of putting on shoes and socks.