Where were you during those three weeks in October when two men held the DC area hostage, killing ten and injuring three others?

I remember it vividly. A year after 9/11, things were just getting back to normal, when all heck broke lose. I lived in Montgomery County, Maryland, a county that typically had 15 murders a year. Everyone knew immediately that something was amiss when we had 5 murders in 1 day. For the next three weeks, life was anything but normal. Every trip outside the house was tense.

I worked, but I pulled my children out of school when a young man was shot at school. I've always said that 9/11 was the single most terrifying day that I'd ever lived through. The Beltway Sniper crisis was 3 weeks of terror. Friends checking on friends. Family checking on family. Neighbors checking on neighbors.

We were so relived when it all ended. I was also saddened when it was revealed that one of the snipers was so young, and had lived such a tragic life. I know that he killed without regard, but my heart still breaks when I think about him. I also think of Conrad Johnson, the last victim, who I knew from the neighborhood. He was murdered in the early morning on this very day, seven years ago. I think of all the victims and their families, especially this time of year. And I think of our police chief, Charles Moose, who was thrust into the national spotlight. Many folks didn't care for him, but he was always TOPS in my book...

I wonder if we'll ever understand what it was all about?

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Now, of course I have an opinion. My opinion is that someone should be punished. I mean, really? Seriously? The whole country watched your child floating over Colorado for 2 hours in a giant Jiffy Pop package and he was at home the whole time?

There are some loose ends though. Why did you build this contraption? Why would you let your children near it? Why did your son, just purely by coincidence, decide to film the "accidental" takeoff? And my main question--How do you all support yourselves and your penchant for building giant Jiffy Pop thingies??

As I stated yesterday, the yearn for celebrity-ism is not pretty. Obviously these parents don't read my blog.

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I'm a fan of Rick Sanchez. He has a show on CNN every afternoon. I'm usually in agreement with him. On Wednesday, he took on the Roman Polanski issue. He took offense with many of the Hollywood elite who were in defense of Mr Polanski. He specifically called out Whoopi Goldberg for comments on The View. Here's the video.

Now, I like Whoopi, but I couldn't stand with her on this. Well, apparently, Whoopi got way upset. Rick revisited the issue yesterday. Whoopi said she was misunderstood. She meant that he wasn't charged with rape. But like Rick says on yesterday's show (here)--what the original crime is and what u end up being charged with are sometimes way far apart, depending on how good your attorney is.

I gotta stick with Rick on this one. Sorry Whoopi!

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What's your take on Roman Polanski? Sure, he's a great film maker. Sure, his wife was brutally murdered. Sure, some probably think he's a great person. But I'm sorry. I just can't get past the fact that he coerced a CHILD into sex.

I've heard the argument that it was so long ago. So what? The only reason that all this time has elapsed is because he fled the country.

I've also heard that the victim does not want him punished. But again, the victim was a child. Recently, a monster was caught after kidnapping, and holding a child captive for 18 years. He even fathered her children. She was with him longer than she was with her family. She, too, doesn't want him punished. But I don't think the child victim can make that decision.

There is no place in civil society for adults that prey on children. I do, however, believe in the power of PRAYER. I just prefer to pray for him while he's behind bars.

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I post daily. So that you don't miss any of my randomness, you might want to subscribe by email.

So, we've bailed out the banking industry, we've invested millions into the auto industry--including cash for clunkers, we're helping homeowners. But why is it that in the world's most powerful country, our education system is far inferior to our European and Asian counterparts?

When are we going to dump some cash into educating our youth? Why can't our kids compete in the areas of math and science? Why are public school budgets being slashed to bare bones all across the country? Why aren't we holding our elected officials accountable for these decisions?

What message does it send to the students--are cars and banks more important than them? Are they truly our most precious resource? Do we have "jacked up" priorities?

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What qualifies someone to give you advice? Do they need to have experience with the given subject? Must they have significant success in that area. Often, I hear people say that they wouldn't take relationship advise from someone that wasn't in a good relationship. Or that they wouldn't take parenting advise from someone who didn't have children, etc.

But suppose that person has an advanced degree in children's psychology, but are childless? Would you discount the advice of such a person? Would a woman with several children be a better source of information?

What do you think? When you seek out advice from family, friends, or even professionals--what criteria do you use? Should they have experience the problem first hand? Or do they simply have to have your best interests in mind? Let me know what you think..

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Please help me settle a 40 year old family argument! It all revolves around Porky Pig. You youngsters may not know who Porky Pig is, but the oldheads know. Porky Pig was an animated Warner Brothers cartoon character. His most distinguishing features were his severe stutter and his lack of pants(repeated later in Chuck E. Cheese).

Now, some of you may know that I have brothers. They are 14 months younger than me (which means that they, too, are OLD!) and they are twins. Anyhow, when we were all toddlers, our family "acquired" 3 children's plates. I haven't been able to determine how they came to the family, but they were in our kitchen as far back as I can remember. So, we got THREE plates. (THIS IS SIGNIFICANT). We had 3 children in the family. (THIS, TOO, IS SIGNIFICANT). Two of the plates had a huge Bugs Bunny in the center, and the third had Porky Pig. So, let's examine this. THREE PLATES. THREE KIDS. TWO BUGS. TWINS. ONE PORKY PIG. ME.

Well, at EVERY meal, and I do mean EVERY, there was a huge fight about which of us would get to eat from the plate with the big Porky Pig. It was like whatever meal that was on it tasted so much better. Whoever ended up with it gloated while the other 2 glared. For years, we argued about that plate. There were tears, fighting, slaps, punches, punishments, and it usually ended up with everybody being sent to bed early, sometimes without eating at all.

Anyhow, the plate was MINE. The Porky Pig was MINE. The boys had the Bugs Bunny plates. Porky was MINE!!!!! But noooo, do you think my parents would back me on this???? NOPE! We had to rotate Porky at every meal because they claimed they didn't know who rightfully owned Porky. They knew. They knew. It was MINE! And this lack of support, so early in my formative years, probably contributed heavily to the neurosis I suffer from today. But I digress--

S0metimes now, years later, when we get together as a family, someone will bring up the big Porky Pig plate and it will start a fierce debate. Both of my brothers still claim that the plate was theirs. My parents still claim that the plate didn't have a rightful owner, but was rather a "community" plate. Hmmph!! Ok, so I've told my side the story. Please tell me--WHOSE plate do YOU think it was??

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Today marks the 3 year anniversary of the death of someone who helped shape my childhood--Aaron Spelling. He worked on some of my favorite television shows from the 70s and 80s, including: Charlie's Angels, Family, Starsky & Hutch, The Mod Squad, Dynasty, Fantasy Island, Beverly Hills 90210, S.W.A.T, etc. There are more than 200 shows where Aaron is credited with being either the Producer or Executive Producer.

He seemed to have a gift for creating hit series, as well as made for tv movies, and though I'm sure that I wasn't his target audience, I am a great fan of his work. Looking back, it seems that I watched an awful lot of television as a child, and I'm sure it helped shape me into who I am today.

What were your favorite shows of your childhood? Why? What do you think they taught you?

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Yesterday, at a shopping center in Miami, yet another baby was forgotten in an automobile, and died tragically. The mother worked there and simply drove to work, got out, and never thought of the baby again for 6 hours. The temperature in the car is thought to have gotten up to about 130 degrees. How very tragic...

I'm sure she will never be the same. While the news didn't show her on camera, you could hear her wails of anguish, someplace just off camera. It was heartwrenching.

While some might question this mother's ability to parent, I immediately thought of something else. Suppose the woman was simply sleep deprived, working around the clock to pay her bills. Suppose she's short on rent this month, and consumed with thoughts of homelessness. While I have no idea if this was indeed the case, it is certainly a possibility.

I'm just not sure if I'm in a position to judge her, especially as she plans a funeral for her toddler. I'll reserve judgement until all the facts have come to light.

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We have an analytical thinker in the house. My teenage daughter analyzes everything. She just sits and ponders the mysteries of the world. Last night, she had a revelation. It came to her that Dr Seuss' "Green Eggs & Ham" was not appropriate for small children. She announced her findings to me.

I am used to such proclamations. Before I let her explain, I reminded her that this book is critically acclaimed and one of the best selling children's titles ever. She was not swayed She insisted that this book encourages small children to give in to peer pressure.

According to her, the man in the story did not like green eggs and ham. Sam told him all the ways that he could have it--with a mouse in a house, in a box with a fox, etc. The man was firm in his decision. He did not want to try it. But Sam was relentless. He followed him around until finally the man agreed to try the meal.

My daughter says the man gave in to peer pressure. The green eggs and ham were street drugs--why else would the eggs have been green??? And after tasting the eggs, the man declared that he did, indeed, like green eggs and ham. When he made the announcement, he had a huge grin on his face. She says that this proves that he was high!

Where does she come up with this stuff?? Should I get help for her?

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I don't want to be a grownup anymore. Lately, I've been longing for the leisure and carelessness of my childhood. Back when I didn't have a job, bills, medical problems, and responsibilities. The worst stress in my life was whether the weather would be nice enough for me to go outside.

I long for hopscotch and Chico-o-Sticks. For skate keys and puppy love. For jacks and kickball. Being a adult is so over rated, yet it looks sooo desireable when you're a kid. I couldn't wait to be grown. Now I'm here and I wish I could give it all back. Peter Pan was definitely on to something...

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The Dance Theatre of Harlem is celebrating it's 40th anniversary. I saw a piece on Good Morning America. It took me back to my childhood, when I dreamed of becoming a ballerina.

My parents enrolled me at the Davis Center in Washington, DC. I'm sure that the tuition was a pretty penny. I was about 10 or so. My mom bought me the required black leotard and pink tights. But once enrolled, I quickly realized that one didn't become a ballerina overnight--that it would take years for me to master. So I started a pattern that continues even now--I dropped out and found something else that I thought I was interested in.

Over the years, I've started quite a few things that I never finished. I'm gung ho when I start it. I jump into it wholeheartedly. But then I realize that it will require time, effort, and committment and back away. Now that I think about it, there are few things that I actually saw through to the end. Why is that?

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For the last few days, the families of the 3 missing boaters have been in my thoughts and prayers. I can't imagine a more difficult circumstance to go through--a loved one missing and presumed dead.

I saw the father of one of the missing. He spoke so eloquently to reporters about his son and his resolve to find him. My heart broke for him and for all of the other family members. I can only hope that I could be so composed and courageous if I were in his place.

I've always told my children that if they were ever missing, that I would NEVER stop looking for them. I pray for comfort for these loved ones.

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I have always loved to read. As a child, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Louise Fitzhugh were my favorite authors. I became quite attached to the librarian at my elementary school. I went to visit her house on weekends. By the way, I've looked for her for about 10 years--I think she died. I wanted to tell her how much she shaped my life and express gratitude. But back to the story...

Almost 20 years ago, my oldest daughter started school in Montgomery County, Maryland. It was one of the best schools ever. Her principal, David Rotter, enacted something called DEAR time. It stood for DROP EVERYTHING AND READ. Once a week, he would go to the PA System and announce, "It's DEAR time." That meant that for the next 45 minutes, everyone in the school, from the janitors and cafeteria workers to the students and secretaries--even teachers, had to pick up something and read. It could be a magazine, newspaper, novel, or anything other reading material. But you had to read until he announced that DEAR time was over.

It was kind of weird the first couple times that I experienced it, seeing everyone flipping pages and engrossed in reading. But then, I got the hang of it and started bringing a book with me during my volunteer shifts, just in case Mr. Rotter called for DEAR time. After a few years, he retired and someone else took over. I'm not sure how or why, but DEAR time went away. I thought it was a great idea and I missed it. What could be better for our children than instilling a love of reading and learning?

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