PREVIEW: Three powerful words

Posted by Catherine on Feb 7, 2012 in Add it to the List, Assholes, Education, Friends, Or Not Friends?, Politics

Lots of people believe “I love you” is the most powerful phrase in the English language, especially for the person saying it. This particular phrase can open our hearts and minds, begin journeys of emotional growth, and alter the very way in which we view the world. If “I love you” is the most [...]

FULL COLUMN: Misery loves company

Posted by Catherine on Sep 22, 2011 in Aging, Friends, Or Not Friends?

…from yesterday’s Tampa Tribune. We’ve all been warned about fair-weather friends. These are the types of acquaintances who want to enjoy and celebrate during good times, but have a tendency to disappear when times get tough. I’ve noticed the opposite trend as we get older. People flock, hover, and make meatloaf during economic disasters [...]

Silence is the New Black

Posted by Catherine on Apr 6, 2009 in Friends, Or Not Friends?, You Decide

Back in college, I had a good friend and we were quite close. When it became clear that we would not get romantically involved, or maybe he just tired of our platonic relationship, he said some awful things about me. All over campus, people repeated these lies. When I found out, I lost my mind. I [...]

Gather Round, Girls

Posted by Catherine on Apr 3, 2009 in Friends, Or Not Friends?, You Decide

Years ago, someone gave me a birthday card that said, toward the bottom: “You are the kind of person who only asks of others what you’re willing to give yourself.” I still have that card. I would never want to behave like a hypocrite, so it meant something to me that I was viewed in [...]

Is Revenge the Same as Justice? Can a Vendetta Ever Be Justified?

Posted by Catherine on Apr 2, 2009 in Friends, Or Not Friends?, You Decide

I’m just curious. Lemme tell you my story and then you decide. Check it. Three years ago, Husband had a job offer in Tampa, but took one in Colorado instead. The Colorado gig had more potential. So we paid for him to fly back and forth, dealt with separation issues, sold our house at a [...]