The Last Mother’s Day

It’s been 29 years since I celebrated Mother’s Day. I was a high school senior, weeks away from graduation and none the wiser to the fact that, in four months, my mother would die in a hospital in Houston, Texas.

I don’t have any recollection of that last Mother’s Day. I’m sure it was like most of the others we’d celebrated: A family soiree with my grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousins held in the early afternoon after my father had returned from playing golf. Maybe Dad threw something on the grill. Maybe we brought in some “Jew food”—bagels, lox and all the fixings. Read the rest of this entry »

My Womb Has a View

Dear Republicans:

Please get out of my vagina. For a party that claims to want less government, you sure are trying to stick your business where it doesn’t belong. Even my gynecologist doesn’t talk about my vagina and uterus as much as you guys do. Read the rest of this entry »

I (pre)exist … and it ain’t cheap!

This is a copy of a letter sent to BlueCross BlueShield of Florida, after receiving notice that they were increasing my monthly premium (single) for health insurance from $831 to $1,038.

Dear Chuck (VP, Consumer Membership):

Thank you for the kind letter dated February 9, 2012 letting me know that the new premium for my conversion coverage will increase from $831 a month to $1,038 a month as of April 1st.

To be honest, the $831 I had been paying as a single, 46-year old self-employed woman trying to start a business kept me fiscally disciplined and prevented me from making any crazy discretionary purchases, like cable TV or telephone service. But there was still just enough wiggle room that I found myself throwing away my money on things like a car lease, electricity, and rent. I needed some sort of intervention to reign in this out-of-control-spending … and BlueCross BlueShield of Florida came to the rescue. Thank you!

Read the rest of this entry »

Always a Jersey Girl

I think I was born to run. I always had my head in the clouds, imagining myself on a flight to someplace different. Somewhere exotic. As a girl growing up in the suburbs of Northern New Jersey, I always dreamt of visiting far-off lands. Though I sometimes went through the motions, I only pretended to want a suburban life with a husband, 2.2 kids, a dog and a mortgage.

In the almost 28 years since graduating high school, life has taken me out of New Jersey and into the world. I have, for the last 13 years, lived outside the United States, in Miami. Laugh if you will, but this city is in no way, shape or form an American city. It is, in fact, the northernmost tip of Latin America. It is a metropolitan banana republic, largely governed by Cubans and financed by South Americans. Spanish is the primary language here, followed by Spanglish and then English.

I also spend quite a bit of time in Paris (France, not Texas), and will likely be moving my derriere there full-time within the next year. It’s become home to me and serves as a wonderful home base for my further explorations into Europe, Africa and Asia. Travel is my addiction, you see, and I’ve come to think of myself as a citizen of the world, as clichéd as that sounds.

But no matter how far I get from my hometown of Livingston – a bedroom community of New York City – I have always remained a proud Jersey girl. And, tonight, with the passing of Clarence Clemons, I find myself reflecting on just what that means. Read the rest of this entry »

Thought of the Moment

It’s been obvious for a long time that the Democrats in Washington don’t have any balls. As of today, they don’t have a Weiner, either.

© Copyright 2011 by Linda Donahue. All rights reserved.

Today’s Random Musings

Epiphany du jour:

I finally figured out why people get crotchety as they get older. It’s because as they get wiser, everyone else just gets more stupid. Read the rest of this entry »

Warning: Don’t Read the Fine Print

Warning: Reading the product literature that comes with prescription medicine may cause anxiety, dizziness, dry mouth, sweating, nausea, diarrhea, palpitations, sleeplessness, psychosis, vomiting, headaches, depression, paranoia and bouts of hypochondria. You may wish to avoid Googling, alcohol and the actual reading of warning labels.

I got a bladder infection. I hadn’t had one of these since the early 90s, but here I was, spending some time in Paris, and … poof … I got a bladder infection. I opted not to do a thing about it while I was still in Paris (except for drink a little more champagne), and even when I got back to Miami, I thought I’d see if it would go away on its own. I thought it had, until one day, I found myself awake at 5:30 in the morning having to pee like a racehorse. The next morning, I made it to 6:15am before I found myself awake and rushing toward the bathroom. I knew I had to draw my line in the sand and head to the doctor.

So I did and, long story short, she prescribed Cipro, which I picked up from the pharmacy later that evening. I got home, prepared to take my first daily dose, keeping in mind my doctor’s advice to take the drug with a full meal and to drink lots and lots of water. Read the rest of this entry »

Is Anybody Out There?

What, you say? Another website? Now before you go judging me, let me just say this: Yes.

It turns out that I have a lot to say, which probably will come as no surprise to those who know me. But despite running three websites (ParisienSalon.com, shop.parisiensalon.com and PSPrive.com) … and still working on building my photography portfolio website … I haven’t found myself with a forum where I can share my thoughts. Except, you know, in face-to-face conversations. But I’m finding those very limiting, and in a desire to reach a wider audience, I have started my very first blog. Read the rest of this entry »