Good friends are the rare jewels of life: Difficult to find and impossible to replace

Contributed by Nancy Gladfelter

Time passes
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do .
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........
Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you.
A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim,cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you...Or come in and carry you out. Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, andextended family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of theincredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how muchwe would need each other.

Truth in advertising

This ad, no joke, was submitted via our online site for publication. Unfortunately, it was caught and did not run.

Cool Chick endorsements for president

The ink is dry on the Des Moines Register endorsements for president, written by our friend and fellow CC, Carol Hunter. She (they) endorsed Hillary Clinton and John McCain. If you want to read the endorsments you can get to them through this link. So I'm curious of the other CCs agree with Carol's picks (keeping in mind, of course, that she is only one voice on the Register's editorial board - so they aren't really her picks).

Please add comments about your thoughts. I myself - yes, a democrat - am still undecided.

The Golden Compass and Don't Kill Nibbles

OK - My sons, J.P. and Paul Jr., and I read all three books of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy - the first one being The Golden Compass. So naturally we were very excited about seeing the movie when it came out. On opening day I bought three tickets on-line for the 5:05 showing, the first showing after my younger son's bus get's home - usually around 3:45 pm.

Well, I get a call at 3:20ish that Paul Jr could not take the bus home because he was having an "episode" and it wouldn’t be safe. They tell me I have to pick him up. So I grabbed my older son, J.P., who had just barely walked in the door - hopped in the car and drove like a maniac to go pick him up at the school. The reason I grabbed J.P., was so that I could jump on 66 which was at that time HOV. So now I have J.P. mad at me. I leave J.P. in the car and run inside the school. Then I grabbed Paul Jr. (after thoughtfully listening to the teacher’s long and predictable story, blah, blah, blah) but he was still having an "episode.” So I drive like a maniac, again, and get him back home and in his room. To even get him in his room (he was still having an "episode") I literally had take his Guinea Pig, Nibbles, out of his room (cage and all) as a threat that I was going to sell his ass on e-bay! My son finally complies, screaming the whole time “Please don’t kill Nibbles!” Not having easy access to a mirror – I had to wonder what my face looked like to make him think I had murder on my mind.

So, obviously none of us were able to go to the movie on opening night. I lost $30 on the cost of the tickets, because by now, it is too late to try to get a refund.

By the way, ultimately we did see the movie and I am sorry to say I can not recommend it. It is crap. However, I strongly recommend reading the books. They are very dark, very anti-religion, very creative, and very well written.

Nancy got runover by a reindeer

Nancy Gladfelter, new cool chick here in Greenville, has poor Harley trussed up like a reindeer. What a patient pooch! Nancy and her husband, Chuck, who has been through his own cancer journey this year, own a Fast Frame near our house. I like to go over there, hang out and play with Harley (sans antlers).

Cool Chick Carol hits the big time

The item below is an excerpt of Howard Kurtz' media column in The Washington Post today. Yes, THE Washington Post. I am tickled pink just to know you, Carol! You go!

Carol Hunter was impressed with her glimpse behind what she calls "the hard-knocks-sculpted political facade" of Hillary Clinton.

When Clinton, in Iowa, talked about loving long nature walks with her husband, "it was not the answer so much as her body language that reflected her genuineness," Hunter says.

Hunter may be the state's most important undecided voter. She is editorial page editor of the Des Moines Register, where six out of seven members of the editorial board -- including Publisher Laura Hollingsworth -- are women. And in the next couple of weeks, they will decide whether to back Clinton or one of her Democratic rivals in the Jan. 3 caucuses.

Although newspaper endorsements matter little in presidential politics, the Register's nod is a powerful exception. In 2004, its endorsement of John Edwards helped propel him to a strong second-place finish, transforming him into John Kerry's chief challenger.

That was a different editorial board, though, and political insiders are chattering about whether today's predominantly female lineup will give the former first lady an edge.

"It will cause all sorts of second-guessing," Hunter says. "We can't win. If we endorse her, it will be 'Well, of course.' If we don't, there will be all sorts of questions raised about why."

Perhaps we can look for clues, such as Hunter's column on Clinton's professed love for strolling the hilly green areas around her suburban New York home. Hunter, who grew up on a Kansas farm, writes that America needs a president "committed to leading a green-energy revolution," and that the key is "how much he or she talks about conservation." Hunter has complained that most politicians have "quit talking about poverty" and noted approvingly that Edwards calls poverty "the great moral issue of our time," adding that "a presidential election is no time to think small."

Giving up wine

My mother, the world's biggest spammer, sent this one. And I had to admit it was a hoot. One out of 100 has to be a winner!

I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner.

I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, "If I give you this money, will you buy wine with it instead of dinner?"

"No, I had to stop drinking years ago", the homeless woman told me.

"Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?" I asked.

"No, I don't waste time shopping," the homeless woman said. "I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive."

"Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?" I asked.

"Are you NUTS !" replied the homeless woman. " I haven't had my hair done in 20 years!"

"Well," I said, "I'm not going to give you the money. Instead, I'm going to take you out for dinner with my husband and me tonight."

The homeless Woman was shocked. "Won't your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting."

I said, "That's okay. It's important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and wine."

Let's compare days!

Terri called me about 9 p.m. Thursday night to wish me a happy birthday. She's had a lousy day at work and, I guess by way of thinking she'll cheer herself up, asks me about my day.

So, here goes... Got up at 6:30 (which is VERY early for me!) so I could have Sable (our 7 1/2 year old lab mix) to the veterinary surgeon by 7:30. She's torn the cruciate ligament in her right leg and that required a procedure called a TPLO. She'd been limping badly for the couple of days prior to the surgery and would hardly put any weight on her right leg at all. We sat in the waiting room -- me clutching my American Express card; Sable with her head on my knee. That's Sable today after getting home from the vet with Bogey (who just 10 days ago had emergency surgery to remove a rock from his intestine!) watching over her.

After leaving her there (I admit with a couple of tears in my eyes), it was off to the next stop -- the cancer center for steve's chemotherapy. It was relatively uneventful - that's a good thing - and so far, he's feeling pretty good. I am just crossing my fingers that he tolerates it better this round than the first one.

Then - off to work! ('Nuff said about that).

Because I'd lost several hours of the day, I didn't get home until about 7:15 or so. And was touched to find a fire in the fireplace, fresh flowers on the table, a birthday card and a "bauble" box. It made me feel guilty for being late getting home, but it was a great homecoming. The bauble was a black pearl pendant - very lovely.

So I recounted all this to Terri, who said in hindsight, her day wasn't so bad! When is 2008 coming????