What Would Carrie Do?

Let's take a different angle on all this Covid-19 perspective today. While watching my favorite go-to on TV, I decided to think about what this apocalyptic world would look like for the girls from Sex and the City. How would they handle this Social Distancing when their entire existence is centered around Sex...in the city? And just like that, I had my blog post.

I'm going to start with Miranda.

She's the sometimes angry corporate lawyer who is a cynical spit fire with a soft side. Steve, her husband and Brady, her son complete her world. But what about Miranda pre-marriage? I wondered what would this NYC lock down look like for her?

Miranda, I think, would be spending her quarantine days at her well appointed dining room table covered with legal briefs, zoom conferencing with her partners and clients. She'd be calling Carrie, after a long day of work and possibly meeting her for a clandestine walk, six feet apart, down the deserted streets of New York. While all of her possible suitors would be contacting her for booty calls, something tells me that Miranda would cautiously selective, or practicing abstinence for the good of all.

Then there's Charlotte

She is the gorgeous WASP with the Cinderella complex. Charlotte did get her fairy tale ending when she fell in love with her divorce lawyer Harry and had two beautiful little girls; one adopted and one conceived after a struggle with infertility. But what would Charlotte be like pre-fairy tale? Charlotte never gave up on the prospect of true love so what would she do if her all important search was suddenly put on pause?

Charlotte, I think, would spend her days, since her gallery is closed, cleaning out her closet of her Lilly Pulitzer and matching headbands, organizing her designer purses, by color, and watching romantic old movies on TV. Charlotte would not be meeting up with the ladies for a 6 foot walk. No, Charlotte and her Rabbit would be spending quiet nights home  alone.

The one and only Samantha

She is a true original. Samantha the sex-obsessed, brash and straight forward successful PR agent, moved out to the West Coast with her love Smith. She then moved back to the city because she "loved herself more" and we could all use a little more of that in our lives. Samantha was never one to shy away from confrontation, so what would a little self-isolation do to Samantha's never satiated sex drive?

Samantha, I think, would not take this Covid-19 crisis lying down, or maybe she would? Literally. Samantha would be forced to keep her sex line up to a select few. Preferably the ones with a house in the Hamptons and the ones she deemed "clean", because there is no way Samantha would stop having sex. With the prospect of no premiers, restaurants and parties to dress fabulously for, Samantha would be breaking the rules and having safe sex parties in her fabulous apartment in the meat packing district. And that handsome stranger she met while picking up her takeout? Oh Samantha, she may not be able to abstain. " Honey, it's all about the phermones We are all just reacting to each other's smell."

And our girl Carrie

She is our protagonist. Her nervous and self-deprecating personality belies her true intelligence. She is the supremely insightful author of her newspaper column "Sex and The City", and fiercely loyal to her girlfriends.  Carrie finally got her man, and she and John Preston, aka "Big" made it legal. But pre-wedding days, I found myself wondering what a self-quarantine would look like for Carrie?

Since sex is her business, I think Carrie would be spending her days Face-timing her friends and sources looking for leads and delving into what happens when sex is not an option. Then she would be spinning the tale of what Sex in The City looks like without the prospect of sex and the city.

She would be publishing her column daily, and since she was still working, she would definitely be shopping online. A lot. Sales on couture and sales on shoes all with free shipping, Carrie might find herself in a financial frenzy. After long days of writing and scouring unique sex stories, she might possibly invite the girls over to defy the shelter-in-place order to eat take-out and drink cosmos around her circular coffee table at least six feet apart. As for sex, I'm quite confident that during this unusual time in the history of our world, Carrie would be comfortable being an observer, chronicling the trials and tribulations of being a single in the new social-distancing age.

One thing is for sure, with all this uncertainty out there today it's unnerving to have to consider whether having single sex today is safe. Better we tune into our girls from Sex and The City to contemplate the meaning of our sex lives in this new normal.

While the world we live in has changed dramatically, I couldn't help but wonder, "What would Carrie do?"

I Was Just Thinking....

It was twenty years ago today....June 17th 1994.

It will always be a "where were you?" moment. And when you think about it..it was nothing short of crazy. Every time you see a white Ford Bronco, you have to think of that historic moment. ( the Ford Motor Company discontinued the line of cars two years after that infamous day) All the major networks cut into their regular programming to give credence to the madness that was unfolding in front of us. And the birth of a Kardashian on reality TV happened...

The prime suspect in his former wife's brutal murder 5 days earlier, OJ Simpson was expected to turn himself in to police. Instead he decided to run. We all know how that turned out. He and his friend Al Cowlings took to the California freeway. Cowlings was driving and OJ was supposedly in the back with a gun to his head. It was surreal how the events unfolded that day. We watched with rapt attention, an estimated 95 million of us, as Robert Kardashian, the now deceased patriarch of those crazy Kardashians, read a note on live television that OJ penned for "the people". Today it would be the equivalent to "going viral" except we didn't have as many social media outlets as we do today. It was like a live TV show. It was meant to be a suicide note, but Simpson was too cowardice to take his own life. Instead he turned all of ours into a circus.

At that moment we all knew the truth. He did it. He killed her and Ron Goldman in a brutal and unbelievably violent manner. He was the culprit and he was running. The chase began when police charged Simpson on June 17th with two counts of murder with special circumstance. Simpson was supposed to surrender himself, but he does not. Instead he remains at large and at 6:45PM police are tipped off to a white Bronco, reportedly belonging to Al Cowlings, on the freeway with Simpson in the back with a gun. The police then pursue the Bronco on a 60 MPH chase through LA which ends up at Simpson's Brentwood mansion at 8PM.

And we watched it happen in real time...

I was sitting in my condo with some friends playing cards. The TV was on, but we weren't really watching it, when the news broke in with the story. We were riveted. It was an amazing thing, and I remember thinking we are watching history in the making.

 Because if the glove don't fit, karma won't acquit! It will chase you down a California freeway or follow you around for the rest of your life until it catches your ass!
Karma has a really great way of catching up with you, doesn't it?

I Am Boston

The Daily Dandy is back up!
Due to a password error, Google locked me out of my account.

And of all days???

Things here in Massachusetts today are best described as "intense".
I awoke to police warning residents of a community no more than 10 miles from my home, to "stay indoors". I posted on Facebook at 10;30 this am:

""The Commonwealth watches and waits" We are literally witnessing the largest police operation in the state's history in real time. I am unable to walk away from my TV , not quite sure if life should go on as usual just outside my front door. The threat so real, the communities are under lock down no more than 10 miles around me."


Today we are all Boston.

• My high school and college friends continue to text. 
• My family, we have been keeping tight grip on each other. 
• My blogger friends reach out via Facebook to make sure I am ok.

Today I am Boston:

• I am the mother of a daughter named Crystal: 29 year old Krystle Campbell.
• I am a Boston University graduate student; class of 2000: Lu Lingzi age 23, BU graduate student.
• I am the the mother of a young man who was once an 8 year old boy: Martin Richard of Dorchester.

May their innocent souls rest in peace.

At 2:07 pm, April 19th, 2013,I sit in my store and I wait, watch and listen to the TV news. Unable to do anything to help.

Just a witness to a bizarre piece of history.

Ignorance Is A Hail Mary

Truth be told, I've been a bit busy with a project that I'm working on, but imagine my surprise when I leaned LAST NIGHT, on the evening news about what will probably go down in history as the worst blown call in professional football.

It was everywhere. On the internet, one the news, on the radio, on almost every football fan's topic of conversation, yet I. a football fan myself and complete media junkie, managed to miss it. Embarrassed but determined, I immediately educated myself on the facts. I couldn't believe it.

In a last ditch effort to win the Monday Night Football game, Settle launched one of the most exciting, when successful, plays in football, "The Hail Mary". What happened next is now history. Blatant offensive interference was committed by Seahawk's receiver Golden Tate and it looked to me like Green Bay safety M. D. Dennings had possession of the ball which is an interception, not a TD in my book. The facts are the facts and the ruling on the field, a touch down, was made by the inexperienced, replacement officials. The NFL has backed the scabs and the sporting world and sports fans alike are in a tizzy.

Twitter immediately blew up, and freedom of Tweet was thoroughly exercised. Even Mr. President weighed in on the call by tweeting, "@BarackObama NFL fans on both sides of the aisle hope the refs' lockout is settled soon"

Ya think?

PGA Professional took the opportunity to pounce on the competition and tweeted. "@bubbawatson All @nfl fans watch the Ryder Cup this week, we got no refs. #USA"

Good point Bubba.

Imagine being one of those two refs? Here's hoping they both have a job today and a trench coat and dark glasses.

NFL QB Drew Brees said it best when he tweeted, "@I love this league and love the game of football, but tonight's debacle hurts me greatly. This is NOT the league we're supposed to represent."

I'm sure Seattle fans will always disagree that this was a bad call and the debates between those few who agree with it and those who don't will be legendary. If it were my beloved Pats' I might have six thousand arguments as to why it was the right call, but somehow, in the midst of all the craziness after I watched the replay over and over, I was left thinking one thing that was completely unrelated. I was left thinking that this is a prime example of how good old Pete Carroll managed to dodge another bullet.

The Ultimate History Lesson

My son left yesterday for Washington, DC with his school on the big Washington school trip. They will be gone for an entire week and will be touring all the major sites. Yesterday they went to Philly and saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and today they will tour the White House, the Holocaust Museum and the Air and Space museum. My kid told me excitedly last night that he bought an actual copy of The Declaration of Independence for $5 bucks at the gift shop. I was amazed he spent money on anything that didn't involve a stick and a ball.

Frack was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He loves American history to begin with and he almost squealed with delight as we packed him up and looked over his itinerary. And now he is in the beautiful city where history is everywhere he looks. They will tour all the memorials, Lincoln and Jefferson, the US Capitol, Library of Congress and the Smithsonian, of course. It's funny though, because most of these places are already familiar to him. Though not because of his history books. They are familiar from the movies. Movies like "Night at the Museum" and "National Treasure" have made our DC landmarks regular "celebrities" in the minds of our kids.

Arlington Cemetery, Iwo Jima Memorial and the WWII Memorial visits are scheduled, and I know my son will be fascinated by the stunning symbols of respect and courage at the beautiful, somber places. This year they have added a visit to the infamous Ford's Theatre, where Lincoln met his fate one night. The kids are proud to be the first class to be touring the theatre and I'm sure will have all kinds of macabre questions about where and why our beloved President Lincoln was shot. Kids are good for that.

Their assignment while there is to take pictures and journal all that they do and see while they are there. Upon their return they have one week to produce a scrapbook detailing their Washington journey. It will count for two major grades, one English, one History; so it is a major part of the curriculum.

Nothing could prepare him for this experience about the history of our nation and he knew that when he excitedly left yesterday. I wish I were with him, to see his face as he experiences these treasures, but someday we will return to the city together. For now, he is exactly where he should be, and I wait each night for the phone call explaining the days events.

Sometimes I'm not sure who is more excited; him or I.

Long Live Rock

Right now I'm thinking that this guy could be 1000, and I'd still rock out at a Bon Jovi concert. That's probably because I'd be 1000 too, but that's not the point.

The point is that beside the fact that Jon Bon Jovi is a smokin' hot, stone cold fox (and I know I say that about a lot of my faves, but Bon Jovi ranks right up there next to My Tommy Brady) the dude STILL rocks. Hard. And tours, and makes new music, and deserves his place in Rock and Roll history. Dead or Alive. (a little Bon Jovi humor there)

The fact that Bon Jovi will turn 48 on March 2 means nothing to the rock gods in heaven. He's still sexy as HELL, rocks hard, fills stadiums, churns out hits regularly and his music still sounds hot. Heck, Bon Jovi even crossed over into another genre (country) and had a huge hit a few years ago. That's what I call staying power. The boys are still relevant.

So what's all the hub bub about aging rockers?

Look at The Rolling Stones. Mick and Keith and the boys just finished touring and wrapping up a Martin Scorsese documentary about the band and Mick is 66 and Keith is 65. Neither of them look bad for being dead, but you can't deny, the dude's still have it. Let's face it the Stones still rock, and the abundance of hot young ass thrown at their feet, to this day prove it. They don't even need to make any new music, their catalog of hits from decades ago stands alone and still has relevance. Because it's the music of many generations. It's the music we measured key moments in our lives by and it plays in the soundtrack of our memories. The Rolling Stones may just be untouchable.

So why was The Who's performance at the Super Bowl halftime show so greatly criticized?

Steven, (the dude looks like a lady), Tyler of Aerosmith is 62 and possesses arguably one of the greatest singing voices of all time. Lately, Tyler has seen better days. Rumored to be battling drugs and alcohol after a twenty five year period of sobriety, Tyler reportedly quit Aerosmith in November.

"On November 10, 2009, Joe Perry confirmed that Steven Tyler had quit Aerosmith to pursue a solo career and was unsure whether the move was indefinite"

Yet right up until that time, Tyler and Aerosmith were churning out hits and selling out stadiums all over the world. Dare I say, Aerosmith may be more relevant now than ever in their forty year spanned career.

So what was it about The Who's performance at Sunday's Super Bowl that sparked this "when should old rockers say when" debate? Was it 65 year old Roger Daltry's short hair and bespectacled appearance? Was 64 year old Pete Townsend's sound not inspiring? Were they just not good?

I don't see how it's possible. Beside the fact that they "sold out" some of their music catalog to CBS for their Crown jewel CSI series, their music still stands alone. This Hall Of Fame band still has the chops and the music and is considered one of the most influential rock bands of all time. And if you were wondering, The Who has plans to release an new album in 2010 and a World Tour.

Say what you will about Green Day and rest, I give them props too. But I like my rock and roll served up with a heaping side helping of Rock and Roll Royalty.