esterday afternoon in Beverly Hills, with a clear blue sky supplanting the rain of the past ten days, the shoppers came out to gaze and buy. It was just closing time when I stepped in to a favorite store to spend some time seeking an appropriate birthday gift for my wife. There was one other customer at the time, Katie Curic. She was there, I gather, to borrow magnificent jewels to wear at the Oscar awards. She was charming, effusive and delighted with her task at hand. She had no make-up on and looked so much prettier that way. I always thought they paid the people of her stature a sufficient amount that they had their own baubles. Not to worry, the staff was awaiting the arrival of one last customer; Oprah Winfrey. Now, you know she can afford whatever her heart desires. I gather though it is more in keeping with the event, the red carpet and the media coverage to borrow a queen's ransom, just for the night of so many stars. I got the chance to speak and swap pleasantries with Katie. I, unfortunately, left before Oprah arrived.
Maybe I should have borrowed some jewels for Alana's birthday.
Speaking of women, I got to interview two very different and significant women yesterday and the conversations will be aired some time this week on KNX (a.m. 1070).
First call was arranged by the Department of Defense and was, I gather, a unique opportunity for me and my audience. It was with Joyce Rumsfeld who has managed to let the spotlight fall solely on her husband; a man who has served his country in many capacities going back to the days of President Eisenhower, the current Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. She has a mission which, I think, almost all Americans share and support. It is on behalf of our forces wherever they may be serving, at home and abroad, with the emphasis on Iraq and Afghanistan. She spoke of their need to have public support. To which I responded that all Americans support our men and women in uniform. I added that we obviously don't all support this current war in Iraq, but these are our sons and daughters, Democrat and Republican alike and they surely have our prayers and our backing. She agreed. Our conversation was quite broad-ranging, at times touching on the personal, which gave me the opportunity to pose the undiplomatic question, "does your husband sleep well." We'd been speaking of the wounded she'd visited at Walter Reed hospital in a war which has already endured well over 10,000 U.S casualties and approaching 1,500 dead. "Mrs. Rumsfeld, as concerned as you are, it must weigh heavily on the Sec of Defense, does he sleep well?" She responded immediately with a one-word answer "Yes." She added that he slept very well because he knew he was doing what needed to be done. She was very supportive of her Donald. I said, "Mrs. Rumsfeld, do you ever say to your husband ...honey, you've worked for so long, served so many presidents in various capacities, you are a husband since 1954, a father of three, grandfather of five...come home, you've done enough." Her "no" was most emphatic and said that she would be alongside him with whatever undertaking he was involved ...or words to that effect.
She placed her call to me from the great ski resort of Vail, Colorado, where she was watching amputee veterans skiing and in some cases, learning to ski. I was there last month and also witnessed amputee veterans tackling with considerable success, the intermediate slopes at Vail and Beaver Creek.
Regularly troops are coming home to a changed world. Tens of thousands will be returning wounded and others will be psychologically scarred, requiring, possibly, decades of support. One must hope that now, when Johnnie comes marching home, it will be to a far more supportive population that greets them than was the case during the Vietnam years, when the veteran felt that he was ignored, deprived and accused. It mustn't happen that way, again.
Next, I would like to have a conversation... long and probing ...with the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. That seems unlikely ...unless he has a book to plug.
The other woman! Her name Mireille Guiliano an extraordinarily successful businesswoman from France; she's the CEO of the French Champagne house of Verve Cliquot. She has currently caused quite a stir with a small book she has written titled, "French Women Don't Get Fat." Those are really fighting words, but she believes that the statement is accurate. I think that if you asked a cross-section of people, whether they are experienced travelers or not, where-in-the-world one would find the finest foods, the majority would respond "France." They always appear to be eating...in cafes...in restaurants and at home. They take time to eat and relish it. By contrast, watching TV and reading the diet books, you'd swear that food is our enemy. We are becoming heavier and heavier as a nation, and more and more concerned about it.
They eat cheese, pates, breads, pastries, butter, eggs, sausages... an unending list of calorie infused foods, all accompanied by wines. It isn't fair. "French women don't get fat", perhaps because they eat everything in moderation, without preservatives and imbibe their wines slowly. They take time to enjoy. Perhaps it is summed up in a time-honored French expression which speaks of "Bien dans sa peau"- - being comfortable in ones own skin.