And while I have MORE than a little resentment against the despicable ex, who made it abundantly clear he did not care if I lived or died (hence the “ex”), my comment didn’t need to be viewed in the, er, negative …

And I refuse to explain more than that!

Here is another acronym: RAIDS, or Recently Acquired Income Deficiency Syndrome. It afflicts businesses whose owner is going through a divorce. Lesser forms of RAIDS include one party (usually the male) closing joint accounts or working for cash. An MRS is no defense against RAIDS or any of its variants. To treat symptoms, you need CDs (cash); curing RAIDS requires an attorney and a CPA. Severe cases, however, cannot be cured. So regardless of how much money her husband makes, a woman needs the ability to get a J-O-B.

[Aaaaaghhh! I SO did not say that!]

At the age of 48, I can sit here in my chair and touch either foot to either shoulder without stretching first, and I still have chronic pain. C’est la guerre. And weightlifting, which I still do, also helps ward off osteoporosis (and I wish that my parents hadn’t fought so much against my having my own weights these many years gone by). Part of the problem, though, is a LOT of kids don’t have any place where they can GO to do cartwheels, backflips, or even somersaults. They may not have backyards, or even an accessible safe playground. (That doesn’t keep my stomach from knotting when I see ads for VIDEOGAMES for playing football, baseball, etc., when it was something people actually DID when I was growing up.)

I’m actually in favor of software being designed specifically to appeal to GIRLS. Why is it worse for them to learn managerial skills planning weddings while their brothers hone theirs building sportsteams or universes on male-oriented software? Maybe the girls will hone their CEO skills with that kind of practice. Maybe they’ll grow up to be accountants. I would like to see MORE specific games: Frankenhusband! Build your ideal! Like Mr. Potatohead … only you can’t fry him when you get bored with him. Let them do some kind of SIMS activity with it, so they can then see how Frankenhusband behaves in different situations; it might give them a chance to re-think what they find important.

The good balance has stayed with me, but I did have some joint problems a few years ago: two pinched nerves in my spine that put me in agony. So I started doing yoga for about 10 minutes every morning (neck and back stretches), and it solved the problem. I have almost as much flexibility as I did when I was a kid.