Tis The Season to Gift A Teen Earth Hates Me.

Well, it’s Thanksgiving Eve. For me, I stick to tradition. I head to our friend’s house for Balloon Night, an “event” that is a New York City Thing. It is the night that the Macy’s Day Parade floats are inflated, along the East West traverse of the Museum of Natural History block. In my twenties, I used to go on Balloon Night dates or with a few friends. As a parent, I took my daughter and her wonder was worth the crush of the crowd. Now, as the mother of a teen, I feel nostalgic about Balloon Night. We are lucky in that we have friends who live on West 77th Street and West 81st, friends whose home overlook the inflating of the Macy’s Day Parade Floats, which means, as friends of a resident, I get to walk along the residential–and ergo, non-busy–side of the street. Yes, even on Balloon Night, there is a class schism; tourists get to walk on the over crowded side of West 77th and West 81st, to observe the floats that they will see tomorrow, in a state of transition.

Still, despite the crowds and the segregation, and the police presence, and having to prove to an on-duty cop I am a friend of a resident by showing my invitation to their Balloon Night party, I love this night. I get to see and speak to friends I haven’t seen in a while. And it’s not the  kind of small talk I dread, it’s actual catch up of the soul. All good. Because, I need a dollop of that right now. Plus a sunset. I can always use a sunset.

I’ll be back on Monday. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Hold up! While my teenage sweet dream David Cassidy has passed away, Aretha Franklin is still very much alive!

Tracee Ellis Ross: “I’ve built a really incredible life, and I have become a woman that I am very proud to be. And then someone just walks up to you and is like, ‘You know, a friend of mine adopted at 52. It is never too late for your life to have meaning, sweetie!’ And my worth just gets diminished as I am reminded that I have failed on the marriage and the carriage counts.”

Jennifer Weiner: “It’s absurd to feel grateful to men just for exercising basic decency. No woman, whether she’s a chief executive or cleaning hotel rooms, should have to feel thankful to the guys who didn’t grope or grab or leer. There shouldn’t be cookies and back pats for men who did not confuse inebriation with consent or assume that their personal assistants’ most cherished dream was to see them emerge, naked, from the shower. Women shouldn’t have to be grateful for any of this. We should take it for granted.”

L7. Yes.

A Closer Look takes on Charlie Rose, and an array of grabby losers.

American food on American thighs is mighty fine.

Hire me, based on my epic photo. 😉

Blotkake recipe, by my good friend Maren Waxenberg.

And now have a laugh with Amber Says What genius, Amber Ruffin.