The World
A mother picking up her child from a playdate once said to me, “I just came across your website and didn’t know you had a long career on television or traveled anywhere. And here I thought you were some Fairfield County shut-in Mom because you’re always with the kids and bake & craft and they come back home with cookies & stuff.”
I seriously had no comeback.
I just politely ushered her and her sweet daughter out the door, brownies & artwork in hand. It’s important to note here that this woman is an executive whose nanny usually picks up the little girl who’s been coming over for years. The Mom blurted her judgmental comment of which she certainly knew nothing about…ah, yes, one should never assume.
True, I’ve had an illustrious career distinguished by multiple journalism awards, blah, blah, blah. But being a mother has
been & always will be my most important job. And true, I don’t send kids back home with their homemade goodies on a paper plate saying, “Susie was such a good girl and did you know I’ve been to more than 60 countries over 150 times on 5 continents? Have a nice night.”
What riled me was that any Mom would think any other Mom was a “shut-in” just because she liked being home with the kids. All the kids, their friends and friends of their friends. Yeah, I like that! I like being home with my family & my pets. I’ve been fortunate enough to choose to stay home because I wish to. I’m grateful for it. I like that I only have to go to the radio station once a week & can write from home when the kids are in school. I don’t mind if a Mom works in an office, works from home, doesn’t have a job or doesn’t choose to keep working. Moms should not judge one another, they should support each other & their choices.
That night, memories of my travels flitted through my mind… trains, ships & air on countless flights & logging tens of thousands of miles sailing through the Adriatic Sea, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, Pacific Ocean, Andaman Sea, Denmark Strait, Red Sea, English Channel, Sea of Marmara, East & South China Seas, Gulf of Alaska, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Aden, Suez Canal, Sea of Crete, Ionian Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, crossing the International Date Line via ship, learning preventive pirate safety measures through the Suez Canal, and giving a big thumbs up to our US Air Force pilots during a fly-by over our vessel in the Red Sea. Enjoying cool places like Malaysia, Egypt, China, Russia, India, Japan, Ireland, Turkey, Venezuela, Scotland, the Philippines, Germany, former Yugoslavia, Taiwan, England, Mexico, Hong Kong, Denmark, Spain, Guatemala, Sweden, islands throughout the Caribbean, and most of our own beautiful States from the top of the Haleakala Volcano in Hawaii to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, to snowy Killington Peak in Vermont and sunny San Diego, California & most everything in between.
Coming from a large multicultural family, I eagerly welcome different traditions, different people, different views, and my travel experiences are packed with wonderful memories & world lessons … with a handful I’d like to forget. Sure, those are the best stories but for another time…
I’ve been a dinner guest at Parliament, a special guest at a Royal wedding, and a Thanksgiving guest in Turkey. I’ve enjoyed divine spa treatments on the beaches of Malaysia and wretched at the sight of travel friends drinking snake blood in Taiwan for a dare. Ewww! (Yes, they became very ill!)
I’ve been to Tianamen Square before the ’89 crisis, to Berlin before the wall came down, to Sarajevo before the war, and to Cancun before President Reagan attended an economic summit there making that once-quiet getaway in Mexico a carousing hub for partying tourists.
I’ve been stuck at the top of a pyramid in Chichen Itza & stuck in a remote beach bathroom in the dark in Marbella Costa del Sol when the door handle broke…and so did the light!
I’ve kissed the great-great-great-great-great…on-and-on direct descendant of Christopher Columbus, a duke, and a well-known European prince who kisses like a lizard. Yuck! Traveling can be good and not so good!
I purchased my 1st major piece of jewelry in Hong Kong along with 100 rolls of film. Yup, took a lot of pictures then, too! I’ve been traveling to Europe & around the world since I was just a few weeks old. So let’s take a little photo journey throughout the years: GERMANY with Mom
GIBRALTAR BARBADOS
MALAYSIA – apparently I liked stripes!
BERLIN WALL
JAPAN
INDIA
Stark contrasts in India, just a walk away
Beautiful Taj Mahal mausoleum on the Yamuna River, commissioned 1632. Sweet monkey.
And below is the Red Fort, Palace of the Mughal Emperors, AGRA, INDIA
Great Wall of CHINA – Odd that we don’t notice these things when we’re younger but why am I standing over that mountainous edge just for a photo!?
Autumnal view through the Wall’s window, Graffiti on the Wall, and LOOK at those STEEP steps!!
LONDON Summer Ball
HONG KONG BOMBAY
CALIFORNIA
TAIWAN
Kinsale, County Cork, IRELAND
PHILIPPINES DUBROVNIK, YUGOSLAVIA (former)
ST. MAARTEN ROYAL THEATRE LONDON
SOUTH CHINA SEA
SPAIN
SEVILLA CADIZ
The GREAT EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS at sunset…breathtaking
GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA, sitting on the steps in a PALACE IN EGYPT
BEIJING UNIVERSITY
MONTREAL
St. Basil’s Cathedral. MOSCOW, RUSSIA
ST. PHILIP, ATLANTIC COAST
I was able to photograph the bride during their ceremony at CHIANG KAI-SHEK’s MEMORIAL
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA PENANG
BARBADOS
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
TURKEY
HUALIEN
JAMAICA
OSAKA Great Pyramid – oldest of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
GOETEBERG, SWEDEN
Beer from vending in KOBE….and 26 years later with my Hello Kitty backpack in SCOTLAND
CHICAGO
My Dad getting us on the helicopter to see the Haleakala Volcano in HAWAII & later the waterfalls
KYOTO
TAROKO GORGE, TAIWAN LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND
ISTANBUL
Getting stuck at the top of the CHICHEN ITZA Pyramid in MEXICO. Daddy saved me! And we left the arena immediately in tears in VENEZUELA!
PUERTO VALLARTA TIANANMEN SQUARE
MARBELLA, COSTA del SOL
TURKS & CAICOS
CARIBBEAN ISLANDS (my Mom snapped these shots)
Attended Trinity College, DUBLIN, IRELAND… And visiting a hilltop monument in Ireland
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, Archipelago, Pacific Ocean
KIEL with my Granddad
NARA, JAPAN
MT. KILLINGTON, VERMONT THE GRAND CANYON
BERLIN
ASCOT, EAST BERKSHIRE, UK
ROYAL ASCOT
GUATEMALA DENMARK
BRANDENBURG GATE, EAST/WEST GERMANY age 9
DALLAS
LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH, WALES Longest town name in the world!! This is the train station.
LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND
AMISH COUNTRY, PENNSYLVANIA
MARBELLA A. EINSTEIN MEMORIAL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
NEWPORT, R.I. ILLINOIS
WALES
IOWA KEY WEST
TEXAS
SOUTHEAST ASIA
ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS OUTER BANKS, NORTH CAROLINA
6 bucks for this hostel in EAST ASIA
ENGLAND IRELAND
KREMLIN, MOSCOW ADRIATIC SEA SUEZ CANAL
SULTANAHMET CAMII Blue Mosque, circa 1609
GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS, NYC PARK CITY, UTAH
If you know me, I’ve been snapping photos of kids or with kids for over 3 decades.
Look at these precious children from SARAJEVO & CHINA, simply beautiful!!!
MONGOLIAN barbecue in ASIA MILLENNIUM in EUROPE
NEW LONDON County
NEW YORK CITY ANDALUSIA
WESTERN ASIA with my Mom when I was 5. EAST GERMANY when I was 9.
MAUI
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SNOWBIRD, UTAH BERMUDA
DUSSELDORF, GERMANY for GRAND DEPART of TOUR de FRANCE
More CARIBBEAN Island pics with Mom eons ago
BEAR MOUNTAIN MEDITERRANEAN SEA CATSKILLS
BERLIN Zoo BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
SOUTH AMERICA NEW JERSEY
GREENWICH Polo
BALTIC SEA BAY OF KIEL
ARABIAN SEA ATLANTIC OCEAN
FLORIDA
Flying to MARTHA’S VINEYARD – our 9-year-old daughter co-pilots 🙂
DUTCH WONDERLAND
MEDITERRANEAN
VALLEY FORGE
VICTORIA & AUSTIN, TEXAS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Reagan’s Procession
NEAR EAST around age 5
THE PENNINES
LABOE MALAGA
CHEYENNE SPRING, COLORADO CANCUN
HAMBURG HADRIAN’S WALL built by the Romans 122 A.D.
TURKS & CAICOS GRACE BAY LANCASHIRE, UK
NEVADA
CORPUS CHRISTI LIME ROCK KIEL-WIK
CONNECTICUT PHILADELPHIA
INDIAN OCEAN NYC
VALLARTA return THE HAMPTONS SAN DIEGO
SUEZ CANAL, built circa 1860 YORK, ENGLAND
THE EVERGLADES Elvis’ home, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
NEW HAMPSHIRE SNOWBIRD in UTAH
Photo taken from our towel on a Caribbean beach, eeek
Chillin’ in OCHO RIOS
Old Capitol Building, WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA ILLINOIS
SCANDINAVIA SAN ANTONIO
THE KEYS, PROVIDENCIALES, KOBE & THE BAHAMAS
The Bright Spot – Home Sweet Home ~ As I’ve stated many times on-air, online and in person, my very favorite place to be in the whole world is home with my family & furbabies, feet up in my little white socks, a pony tail, Greek salad & a good family movie.
There are loads more places & photos, but this pictorial refutation has clearly served its purpose. The real point here is don’t judge people especially if you’ve never gotten to know their background. As my friend, Sara, so succinctly put it regarding the woman’s comment – “Honestly, some nerve!!” We laugh because, seriously, one can only chuckle at the mother’s unapprised statement at this point.
Let me just say to that mother who assumed I was a “shut-in” because I like to craft with the kids & make their day magical – there is no greater job than raising the next generation of kindly world citizens, travelers & defenders of Earth & her gifts. That’s my gift back to this planet that’s been a joy to traverse, study, explore & relish!!
My Mom
Thrown off a Connecticut beach for wearing a bikini, my Mom still rolls her eyes at that story & declares the beach keeper a crazy man.
Coming from a country where they play volleyball topless on the beach, they were lucky she even wore the bikini!
My parents met one evening at a beach club & married 2 1/2 months later. So it was no shock when I announced I was getting married after 4 days. “You know when you know,” she said. Phillip & I married after only spending 46 days in each other’s company and she was right.
Mom loves to garden, paint, decorate & read, read, read! She’s like a walking encyclopedia.
She’s an incredible photographer, interior designer, writer & artist. I love her drawings, portrait paintings, and my favorite, this ceramic chess set she painted nearly 40 years ago.
Mom’s a fantastic cook and prepared wonderful, healthy meals for me the entire 9 months I was pregnant!! She made sure I had the best foods when I was a baby and did the same for my kids.
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Mom & me 1960s             Little Petal & me 40 years later
               and, of course, she gave me my 1st chocolates & Easter goodies…yum!
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Folks who’ve met my Mom totally love her. She’s funny, talks straight and is the life of the party. She smokes, drinks, swears and gambles. She doesn’t apologize for any of it. She lives life to the fullest beating to her own drum.
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When she lost my father 15 years ago, it devastated her. Their love and building a life together for their children was unsurpassed. They were a team in everything they did.
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My Mom’s parents absolutely adored her.
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Those were some smoochable cheeks!!
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            My mother grew up on the water (the Baltic Sea and with Aunties & her Mom above at their beach guest house in Pommern) and could out row anyone. When she was young, she liked to ice skate, bike, dance and travel.
           And she always loved animals!
Mom was always very close with her parents, as were we all.
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My mother & father taught me I could be anything I wanted to be. They supported my achievements in school, my activities,    my music, my whims & fancies, my travels, my moves around the country for my career, and my exciting year as Miss Connecticut & all the wonderful memories of representing my native state at the Miss America…
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…including helping me pack trunks & boxes & shoes and shoes and shoes for the 2 weeks in Atlantic City for Miss America.
My Mom traveled with me to Vancouver to put me on a ship that circumnavigated the globe for 4 months.Â
Mom – who saves everything – threw away my clothes after a week’s caving trip…they were really dirty for her to have thrown them out!
We traveled around Spain, Gibraltar, Barbados & Germany together & tons of other places. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (left with my sister)
Years later, Mom drove with my dog & me across the country & decorated a house I found for cheap…really cheap…only to find out it was a former drug depot…so I left the house a short while later along with all the painting, bordering, curtain-hanging and decorating she had done day & night the week she dropped me off for my new job.
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Mom sewed countless costumes (above) for me and for my sister & my sister’s students.
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Mom (her passport pic) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â me (headshot taken by Mom)
She took photographs of my wedding in England when the photographer there slacked off and almost ruined the day. Phillip gave him an earful and my mother took the photographs and she and my sister created a surprise wedding album for me when I returned from England.
My mother also saved hundreds of newspaper clippings, magazine articles and memorabilia from my Miss Connecticut year and painstakingly glued them into several beautiful scrapbooks to cherish always. She did it for a year and I never even knew it. Another wonderful surprise. You can view some of the clippings here: Miss CT in the News.
She’s always there to goof around  and she’s there for all the tears like when we just lost my Uncle recently. He is with Daddy now.  🙁  🙁
                                                     (pregnant with my sister)
Mom has always been great at photography and even gave me her precious long-lens Canon in the 80s on the ship trip. A treasured item, so I was, indeed, very grateful.
She’s developed her own photography and taken headshots for actors & personalities over the years. Definitely helped save a bundle on my own headshots for TV over the years! Here are some snaps from Mom:
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Thanks, Mom, for making my life great growing up. Thanks for all you have done for me. I love you!
In tribute to her, I hope I captured my mother’s life in this pictorial. Please say a prayer for her. She had heart fibrillations recently and was rushed to the hospital. It’s been constant testing every day.
Seeing her weak & tired is unnerving. Fragile is not a word I would ever use to describe my mother. Sweet but tough, robust & resilient, soft-hearted but strong-willed.
My mother prides herself on honesty and has never lied a day in her life. She is someone you can trust. She loves her daughters, grandchildren and animals. And we all love her.
The Bright SpotTM Â – I believe in the power of prayer. Please pray.