I suppose there’s something to be said for the provocative headline, even if it’s inaccurate, if it gets your attention.
A recent headline from a random publicist trying to get a byline on my site certainly …

He looks around among his friends and sees only a few women in green. It was inevitable that the question would come up.
“Mommy, why aren’t there many girls in the Army?” Big Guy asked.
There are …

Three things that amuse me about the whole “was Ines Sainz harassed by the New York Jets” controversy:
1. The number of people who start out by saying “I don’t think anyone should be harassed” …

So did you learn anything during sparring today, I asked Big Guy after karate class.
“No, not really,” Big Guy replied.
He was lying through his mouth guard.
He’d gone up against The Girl again. The Girl who …

It used to happen every time I went to the salon:  The stylist would manhandle my unruly mop into a sleek, fashionable ‘do. She’d lament that I never fix it that way myself, assuring me …

They’re unquestionably talented and undeniably cute – or they would be if they were wearing clothes. They also pretty much rock Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.”
But Oh. My. God. They’re 7. About Big Guy’s age, and they …

C’mon, princess! Did ya forget your crown? Can’t you throw harder than that? You’re not even trying.
Seconds later, “princess” – a gangly ballcap-wearing pre-teen boy – did indeed throw harder. Accurately, too, and his heckler …

I don’t follow celebrity news, not because I’m a snob about it but because I rarely get to watch anything that’s not animated.
I know who Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston are because “Friends” was one …

Good for Army Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III for backing off his threat to court martial any soldier who gets pregnant – or who assists in putting another soldier in a family way – while …

For years, decades even, we’ve heard the pious preaching: Children should stay at home with a parent instead of being palmed off on a day care. Except no one ever said “parent” – they …

I get what you’re saying, Mike Leach. I also get why you’re saying it.
Your rear’s so sore you probably still can’t sit after last weekend’s 52-30 butt-whoopin’ from in-state rival Texas A&M. A loss at …

Why is it that President Barack Obama can’t nominate a woman – particularly a woman of color – for anything without someone creating a big hoo-ha over nothing?
First we had to debate Supreme Court nominee …

What kind of dolt, having been caught in an adulterous affair after he leaves a love letter to his mistress lying around, returns to the scene of the crime six months later?
A dolt like South …

Sexy is the man who’s man enough to sidle up to his beloved and whisper the hottest words in the English language in her ear: “I’ll take care of the kids, honey.”
Works on me every …

The salesman where I bought my Blackberry cost himself a bit of extra commission last week when he included a hot pink cover in the pile of accessories he was pushing on me.
Even Big Guy …

Suddenly, it’s crystal clear why Big Guy declared recently that when he grows up and becomes a pilot, Dad will be his air marshal and I’ll serve the snacks. No word on what role Boots …

Six months into this work at home gig, I have to confess a renewed appreciation for my sweats.
Not that I haven’t always been infatuated, but before it was a love affair consummated only on weekends. …

She takes care of Boots, fights off Swiper, loves her abuela and can fend for herself quite nicely, thank you very much.
Ay, but just as dragons live forever but not so little boys, it seems …

Confession: I love Barbie.
When I was a kid, my friends and I would play for hours, creating elaborate houses and villages. Set-up time actually took longer than play.
I have two dozen or so pristine in-the-box …

Anyone remember the Hanes commercials back in the late 80s? That campaign was so revealing that appearing in it motivated NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason to tone up. Even my mother made note. “I’m tired of …

Except for a nasty habit of laying people off by phone, Cleveland Plain Dealer Editor Susan Goldberg always has struck me as a savvy businesswoman.
I heard her speak at a luncheon for women in journalism …

I never met her, but I’m preoccupied with wondering what her life was like.
I have no idea who she was, but I can’t let go of the puzzle of her habits.
And all because of Little …

Want to make your mama mad? Ask her what the hell she did all day.
Mine lives 3,000 miles away and not within striking distance, so I might risk it.
The question’s been on my mind since …

It’s early in Big Guy’s soccer season — only three practices so far and the first game’s not until Saturday — and I hate to rush to judgment, but I’m ready to declare my team …

Of all the things said today about Sarah Palin, what amused me most was the surprise, not that a mother is running for vice president, but that a woman with a 4-month-old is on the Republican ticket.

“”What kind of mother is she?”"

Well, one who’s roaring back after giving birth, in sharp contrast to every woman who’s returned to the office to see herself marginalized after maternity leave.

Then came critics honing in on her appearance and her long-ago status as runner-up in the Miss Alaska Pageant. “”John McCain knows how important it is to have a trophy wife Veep on his arm,”" an America OnLine blogger wrote. “”Pinup girl for the right wing,”" snorted another blogger.Did anyone call Dan Quayle a trophy 20 years ago?

McCain came

Sometimes, the oddest things can send me on 20-year jogs down memory lane.

Today, a story about Carme Chacón launched the trip. Chacón, 37, recently became the first woman to serve as Spain’s defense minister. She’s also seven months pregnant. Yesterday’s photo op included images of Chacón and her baby bump inspecting troops.

Which reminded me of Liz Martin, a lady I crossed paths with a lifetime ago.

Back in Liz’s child-bearing days, a baby bump wasn’t shown off. A gym teacher at the time she became pregnant with her first child, she was forced to resign the second she started showing. Not take a leave of absence, but resign. Liz was so slight, she was out the door shortly after her third month ended.

Liz – and she was always just plain Liz, never Delegate Martin – was in her 50s and her second career when I ran across her. She’d gone to law school and settled with her growing family in Morgantown, W.Va. Once the children were reared, she turned her attention to politics, winning election several times to the state Legislature.

I was a nervous 19-year-old student reporter covering a subcommittee she served on when I met her. One by one, the political hotshots blew past. No time for a snot-nosed college kid.

Most days, I think I’m raising fairly enlightened males. Both love to help with laundry and dishes – it likely has something to do with getting to play in water, but I’ll take it.

Big Guy always picks up his socks, carries his dishes to the sink after meals and never leaves his underwear on the bathroom floor. Oh, and he remembers to puts down the toilet seat. Loves chick flicks as well.

He went through a recent two weeks when “The Little Mermaid” was his favorite movie, though he’s moved on, to “Mulan.” Even better!

But just as all the self-congratulatory back-patting was about to dislocate my shoulder, lightening struck.

During the drive to work one morning, as we headed into downtown, we were talking about my office and bosses.

“Do you have a boss? Big Guy asked.

“Yes, I have a boss, but I am a boss, too,” I replied.

“You can’t be a boss. You’re a girl.”