Editor's Note

The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.
—Don Williams, Jr., American Novelist

When I was pregnant with my daughter a decade ago, I had my heart set on a ridiculously expensive designer crib. I’m usually a frugal person, but this crib spoke to me.

Let me tell you about my first step aerobics class.

I was in my twenties and, like all 20-somethings, I was thin. Problem was, I lived in Los Angeles, where any woman who weighs more than 100 pounds automatically qualifies for a spot in the hippo exhibit at the L.A. Zoo. So I decided to get fit.

My company offered all employees a health-club benefit: $50 a month paid directly to the gym of our choice. This was a long time ago, when nobody except people in L.A. went to gyms. It was also a heap of cash, so I could join the fancy-schmancy Gym-To-The-Stars only 15-minutes (and a world) away from my (crummy) apartment.

I promptly went shopping and bought a pile of aerobics outfits—those little thong things that looked so good on Jane Fonda (note: I do not now nor have I ever looked like Jane Fonda)—and a pair of pink sneakers.

I was ready.

I just found out that my daughter’s school isn’t making Adequate Yearly Progress as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act.
This is somewhat of a shock, given that the school routinely ranks among the top in the state.
Confused, and more than a little concerned, I started digging for information. What I found was, frankly, even more puzzling.
It seems that, overall, the school’s students did just fine on the test—indeed, they scored roughly15% above the state average on all standards. So how in the world did they end-up sanctioned by the feds?

“We have met the enemy and he is us.”
—Pogo comic strip, 1971

“Show respect for those who have served. Most important of all, show your gratitude by enjoying the freedoms and rights that so many have fought and died for. Don't let their deaths be in vain.

Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve...

The deafening cacophony of our political landscape, coupled with the innumerable problems in the world, has blinded many of us to an incredible reality: most things actually are better today than th

OK, I shouldn't have to say this but I'm gonna anyway:

Go vote!

If you're a woman reading this-and you probably are, since 97% of the folks who read this magazine are women-you may think it's pretty silly of me telling you to go vote, given that women tend to show up at the polls in larger numbers than men. In fact, back in 2000, 61% of eligible women voters cast a ballot, whereas just 58% of eligible male voters did, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.