The Dreaded Word: Race

Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Health, Politics | 11 Comments

The latest news about healthcare and race has Carine Fabius pulling out her passport.

Coming up with something devastatingly original and fun to write about would have made me feel edgy and special but it turns out I am not so outré. Alas I am just like many who write about the issues of our times—I can’t stop thinking about the pervasive issue of RACE. Ever since the healthcare debate began I have felt like one giant sigh. A sigh grown so outsized that it now drives my most desperate desire: to leave the United States for other shores.

On one hand, I am in the very attractive position of having dual citizenship—American and European Union—so it would be easier for me than most. But the bigger, more annoying question is always: What country doesn’t have gaping issues? None, I suppose; it’s just that I always expect more from America, foolish, foolish woman that I am.

Tales abound about how during the Civil Rights Era, officials in towns across the South chose to fill municipal pools with cement rather than share them with blacks, thus denying all their citizens the refreshing merriment provided by the pools on hot summer days. With Obama in the House, we thought we’d come a long way, but no, baby, things are so the same it makes me want to sigh some more. Read more

My Exploding Head

Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Health, Politics, Rants | 17 Comments

Carine Fabius is experiencing strange symptoms—her blood is boiling and her poor head…

Last month a photo in the Los Angeles Times showed a bunch of North Carolina protesters lying in wait for Obama as he headed to a town hall meeting on healthcare. Their handwritten signs shouted the following inanities:

“Free Market not Free Loaders”
“Obama-Care is Not For Us”
“No to Socialism”
“Government is Not the Solution to our Problems”

No wonder my head wants to explode. Read more

A Scary Proposition

Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Relationships | 12 Comments

The strange behavior of some so-called “close friends” has Carine Fabius rethinking the concept.

A very close friend of mine vanished out of my life without so much as a goodbye. That experience forever seared its mark into my “open to all newcomers” disposition. Another intimate of mine decided after 15 years that she no longer wanted to be friends, but she refused to tell me why. She tried the silent treatment, but I kept hounding her until she finally sent me a cryptic email that said, “Give me some time to sort it out.” That was in 2002. I stopped waiting a long time ago.

A woman I was friends with went through a difficult time, economically, and no matter how much I helped (by referring business contacts her way) it was never enough, and she never stopped reminding me of it. I walked away from her, but I let her know why. Read more

A Classy Lady

Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Family | 12 Comments

Carine Fabius takes a good look at the person behind the role of mom.

It was my father’s birthday recently, and when I called to wish him a happy birthday, he went into a long and detailed account of why he and my mother are so lucky at this time in their lives. It mostly had to do with the great bunch of kids they had. (My father loves to make long, dramatic speeches with well-timed pauses for effect, and this was no different.) As he talked, I kept thinking about how lucky we kids are to have such great parents. And since I once wrote on this site about my father, I’ve been thinking about the classy lady who gave me life. You should meet her sometime!

My mother is physically gorgeous; always has been. Her signature scent is “Le” de Givenchy. She makes great cocktails. She is political, vociferously so. She thinks Haitian Vodou is for the uneducated masses, but she believes in spirit entities and channeled communication. She can cook up a mean batch of rice and beans. She belongs to a gourmet club. She is generous, generous, generous. Read more

Booming Egos

Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Media, Pop Culture, Politics | 10 Comments

Carine Fabius reflects on boomers, overinflated egos and signs of the times.

In what might have been George Carlin’s last stand-up gig, he aimed his razor-sharp verbal AK-47 on baby boomers, and I’m still trying to recover from all those small, bleeding slits he left on my body. Okay, so he came off just a teeny bit angry, as in The Angriest Dog in the World; but boy, did he hit the bull’s eye on our generation’s outsized egos.

Just the other night, I, the one who turned off the TV set at age 15, happened onto an Anderson Cooper special that made me remember why I hit the power button and chucked the boob tube all those years ago (no offense to all the TV lovers out there; I’m sure there’s a ton of great stuff I’ve missed out on). In this perfect demonstration of 24-hour cable presenting crap and calling it something else, like “Special,” financial guru Suze Orman was interviewed, and here’s what she said about herself: “I am the personal financial expert to the world!”

In a choreographed moment, my husband, my brother-in-law and I turned toward one other, raised our eyebrows and smiled in shock. But there was more to come. She then said, “There is nothing I don’t know about money!” The woman interviewing her did not say, “Don’t you feel ridiculous making such silly statements?” No. Although she couldn’t hide her disbelief, she smiled, and said NOTHING. That in itself deserves analysis, but that’s for another day. Read more

Thoughts on Passion

Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Relationships | 9 Comments

Carine Fabius recently watched a romantic comedy in which two smart women behaved like “dimwits” as they searched for love and passion. That got her thinking, once more, on the topic of passion. Here’s an excerpt from her book, currently in progress.

I never recovered from Body Heat, the movie. I’ve seen it 50 times. I love everything about it—the music, the dialogue, the mood. It was all that passion—that hissing, heated, flame orange emotion. Matty Walker snared Ned Racine with it; in no time the man was hooked. His obsession led to murder. The whole thing left me reeling. I like that in a movie.

At the tender age of 18, I’d already been through the wash cycle on hot with passion, and wrung out in a dryer set on high; but that was just a preview. Soon, I’d be dancing on hot coals all over again. And again.

Why?

That’s the question I asked myself back then, and now, Read more

One More Thing

Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Politics | 4 Comments

I think Obama’s not busy enough.

Really, choosing which dog will make his kids and the entire nation happy; whether Michelle should plant arugula or potatoes on the south lawn of the White House; and while he’s at it, trying to convince Michelle that she really doesn’t need any more shoes (I actually read this in the New York Times. He’s really like any other husband, girls.)

There’s still one very serious issue he needs to add to his plate right now: the ongoing rape of female soldiers in the military. You thought I was going to suggest something silly, right? It’s just that it feels so idiotic to suggest the president take on one more issue when he’s already being accused, by some, of heaping too much on his plate. But, even though I feel like writing are you crazy? letters to any interest group that rears its head with a special issue that should not be forgotten, I figure I may as well throw this one at him, too. Kind of like throwing multiple strings of linguine ideas at a wall just to see what sticks! Read more

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