I know it’s Un-American, but . . . I hate shopping.I loathe mallsEven Saks gives me hives if I’m not in the mood. The thing is, I like things. The things you get if you actually Go Shopping. Which I hate. But there’s one kind of shopping. I love: on the beach. In Italy, men in straw heats come around to your beach chair with fancy purses bearing...

 Hey! It’s summer. Time for a quick, refreshing rerun. I’m running this post again because . . . I can.  Listen, fall will be here soon enough. Too soon. Meanwhile, read this and see if you can’t feel the sun on your face and the sand beneath your toes, or vice versa, if that works for you. . . Life’s a Beach I love the beach,...

Taken With My iPhone! Did you ever win a contest? Spoiler Alert: You actually have to enter one to be a contender. But assuming that you were you’d want to win, right? We all do. It doesn’t matter if it’s only a game of Monoply (with or without Jail) or a scratch-off Lotto ticket for 2 bucks. Sure, the big time lottery would be nice, but winning...

Yes, yes, I know. Grief has only seven stages. But this is more complicated.Stage 1: Regret: Why am I taking this trip?Why? Because it’s a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 (a dream of mine), that’s why, and it leaves from Brooklyn, a cab ride away. No plane! No security lines! No being trapped in a flying sardine can with people who mess up the bathroom in...

No matter how colorful they are—and they are very colorful this year—buying a bathing suit will give you the blues. What can I say? A few adjectives do spring to mind: Dreaded, humiliating, humbling (not exactly the same as humiliating), life-negating, tiring, stressful.(Please feel free to join in!) And then there are the nouns:Disaster, failure, disappointment,...