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Susan Young's avatar

Your mom's comment just cracks me up!

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Joyce Wadler's avatar

Joyce Wadler

just now

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Susan,

Thank you! My mother was a wild woman. Even after a stroke destroyed part of her brain, she kept her hoodlum attitude. Here's a story I did about her when she was in a nursing home and had become interested in a man there. I knew something was up when she asked me if I knew of any reasonable hotels in Manhattan. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/nyregion/my-mothers-make-believe-boyfriend.html

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Susan Young's avatar

That one takes me back to my mother's final months. She died January 2020 (pre pandemic), sharp as a tack til a series of mini strokes changed her personality. She was NOT a wild woman but became quite outspoken during those months. When celebrating Veterans' Day at "the home", the group was asked if any were Veterans. She raised her hand and I said, "Mom, you're not a Veteran!" (obviously, a major mistake with dementia). She whipped around and stated, "I was married to the same man for almost 70 years, I put in my time!" Whatever was happening in that brain of hers released the Kraken!

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Joyce Wadler's avatar

Whoa!! That’s fantastic.

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Christina Johnson's avatar

It took awhile to get beyond...”the days they paid me to write.” The good old days when we actually were paid for whatever work. Now the government has taken over my remuneration, in the form of Social Security. I’m so glad I saved something from those good old days to supplement my government’s “gift!”

One more thing, if you’ve given birth several times, by 39, it’s less than PRIMO!

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Joyce Wadler's avatar

Christina,

I'd argue that if you've given birth several times, somebody thinks it's primo.

-J.

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Christina Johnson's avatar

Indeed Joyce. But as many of the “parts and pieces” seemed to have rearranged themselves by that time, and had been sleep deprived for years, I didn’t feel very primo.

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Teresa carpenter's avatar

I too had Weitzman pumps though I never wore them to interviews. Clearly, I missed a good bet.

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Teresa carpenter's avatar

Sling backs? Is there any other kind of Weitzman?

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Joyce Wadler's avatar

These were classic pumps. They also worked well with the British lawyer whose client had tried to blow up an El Al jet, using his unknowing pregnant girlfriend to get the bomb on the plane. I opened the lawyer's door and he slowly looked me over, starting with the shoes, then checking out my black tweed suit. He spent a while on the shoes. Then he let me in. But that's another story.

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Lucian K. Truscott IV's avatar

I had a plum colored velvet jacket I wore for a couple of special interviews. Wore it interviewing Murdoch. It worked.

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Roz Warren's avatar

With friends like that...

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Roz Warren's avatar

At 39, it is indeed all primo.

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Linda Lee's avatar

It was even better at 29.

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Sylvia Rabiner's avatar

Great story Joyce. Those were the days when a crime boss could stroll into a neighborhood bakery and head for the back room while customers ( myself among them) are shooed out. I didn't try to interview him though.

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Leslie Fry's avatar

Oh Joyce, you've had quite the life and happily for us, the wit to write about it . . . THANK YOU!!!

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