Wife not ready for life alone

BY CLAIRE MITCHEL M y friend Samuel died on New Year's Eve. His whole family was shocked. When you live to age 84, people take you for granted and seem to think you'll live forever.

Modern women will reject Palin

BY CLAIRE MITCHEL You could feel the bolt of lightning when the news struck that Republican John McCain had named Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate in the 2008 presidential race. You could almost feel a numbness and aftershock as the news was being digested by an unbelieving public.

Birthday tea party for 6-0

When I received the invitation to a ''Sixtea'' birthday for my friend Linda Weissman, I was confused. But the invitation wasn't a mistake -- the whole event was creatively designed to be different, to be all-inclusive, to be fun. Nearly all of the 60 women invited to the party were there with a designated title. We were introduced, one by one, with an explanation of what meaning each guest had in Linda's life.

Hillary backers are vital

This week, all through the Democratic National Convention broadcasts, I kept seeing in my mind's eye the scene in the early 1990s when I first met Hillary Clinton. It was in a bar in Himmarshee Village in Fort Lauderdale and she was introducing her husband's campaign for president to the locals. It was a small gathering of maybe 25 feminists who cared to come out after work to hear not the candidate but his surrogate.

The Third Third

Lucky tot lands in loving home

Sometimes I pray. I'm not sure that praying has anything to do with the outcome, but just in case. Take last week, when I was expecting another great-grandchild. I prayed that my granddaughter would have an easy delivery and that the baby would be healthy.

The Third Third

Tale has a happy ending

I hadn't heard from my friend Nelly in quite a while. She lives in an adult living facility like mine and seemed quite discontented the last time I spoke with her. So I called her again last week. Usually over the years whenever I called, she was on the brink of sadness, but by the end of the conversation I felt she had perked up.

The Third Third

Healthy Americans Act sounds like a good idea

How quickly we forget! Those of us in the Third Third, cozy with our health insurance in the form of Medicare or health maintenance organization, don't remember -- or want to forget -- when we were not covered. We faced a dilemma of whether to spend the little money we had on health expenses or pay the rent.

Let voters have say on megaplan

When my husband and I arrived in South Florida in 1970, we came to find our fame and fortune here. We started a business while caring for our four parents, then in their Third Third. I took a bus ride to see the lay of the land in Miami, where we rented our first apartment. The scenic bus route took me to Miami-Dade Junior College where I met and then worked for Carrie Meek, before she became a U.S. representative. She insisted I treat myself to a degree. The first course I took focused on the General...