Readers, we’ve enjoyed your great and plentiful comments of late. The site keeps us busy, but we love to make the time to sip a coffee and review some of your favorite reactions of recent days, in this case, the first feedback of our new 2012 year.
Marion Winik’s “Against Coming of Age” got plenty of viewer applause, with “Jen” noting that she admired the piece on the bittersweet challenges of raising a tween today, despite the fact that Jen’s not a mom. Naomi Nye bragged, “Marion, you are just a super wizard and I love your tenderness, your delightful evocation of your fabulous daughter, and all the eras we live through — you are the best!”
Sue wrote, “Love this one, Marion, especially the Ellen DeGeneres line. My advice, if you’re really afraid [Jane will] do things you did, is to give her the undetailed version of your stories. Daughters are driven to be the opposite of their mothers.”
Regarding “Against Coming of Age,” Summer said, “I can totally relate! I always was so blasé about buying the explicit versions of top 40 songs, liberally explaining that it’s art, and we shouldn’t buy altered versions and taught my kids not to say the obvious bad words at other kids’ houses. I thought it was cute when they thought ‘milk in my coco puffs’ was about cereal. Then my daughter hit puberty and suddenly every song and Glee episode became a lecture and I became some prudy conservative mom I didn’t recognize, with the urge to make sure my sordid teen years remain unknown.”
Stephanie Shapiro’s My Real Life Modern Family, “A History of Leavings,” garnered good vibes from two anonymous readers.
“This is brilliant. An award-winning work. More, please!” wrote the first. And the second: “Thanks for this piece, Stephanie. I’ve always seen my mother’s parents as anomalies — one a drifter, the other the madam of what was likely not the best little whorehouse in Texas. My mother was a madwoman, which I figured made sense under the circumstances. But the link to my own skittish tendencies wasn’t apparent until I read this.”
The latest Hot House, “Beaux Arts Victorian Mansion,” by Cynthia McIntyre got “Jo” typing away: “Am dying to read the ‘realtor blog’ you mentioned…guess you can’t list it and still remain fair and impartial? By the way, l.o.v.e. your Fishbowl column.”
“Lunch with Ina,” a post by Amy Langrehr proved a favorite quick read. Lisa offered some advice, “You should try her Baked Shrimp Scampi…one of the best dishes to serve at a party. I love her cookbooks and use them at least weekly! What a fabulous experience to have lunch with her.”
“Bending the Rules” by Joseph Martin looked at the commercialization of the ancient art of yoga. Isabella Binny shared this wisdom: “Yoga is an ancient, difficult practice that goes deep. Today we prefer a struggle-free, gleaming surface with minimal details. Not too hard, never too deep.”
“Why Maryland Grocery Stores Should Sell Wine,” a post by Rachel Monroe, had our Friends on Facebook commenting in total support. “Completely agree,” wrote Bob Villanueva. Contributor Leslie F. Miller did, too, using more colorful language than we tend to print at this site! LOL.
