Dear Carolyn,
I was recently at the US Post Office on Murrow Boulevard. I was in line. There was a couple in line in front of me, and the man was hitting and pushing the woman and then laughing about it. She was obviously hurt and humiliated, but seemed unable to do anything about it. The woman had on a “hijab,” a Muslim head wrap. I didn’t do anything at the time, but I left thinking that maybe I should have done something?
– Concerned
Dear Carolyn,
Hi, how are you? I have a question, my wife and I wanted to spend time with my stepson this summer but the father won’t let her get him. Can he stop her visitation?
Carolyn Answers….
Dear Carolyn,
I have a strange question for you Carolyn. In fact, it is almost unbelievable. My ex-wife and the mother of my precious child constantly fabricates that the child is ill. The child is constantly taken to the doctor with the Mother saying that the child had a fever “last night.” The doctor cannot find a fever. Once the Mother said the child had blood in her urine, and the child had to undergo all these tests and nothing was found. The Mother tried to have the tonsils taken out indicating medical problems that did not exist. The list could go on for the whole page, but I’ll spare further details. The Mother is a nurse, and I don’t understand why she is getting all the medical items regarding my child wrong all the time. I was in a divorce therapy class and someone piped up when I mentioned this: “does she have Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy?” This Mother thrives on the attention she (the Mother) gets when our child is sick.
Signed: Crazy, isn’t it?
Dear Readers,
Today’s first Ask Carolyn question is a doozie on alimony. The second one starts a discussion on Revenge Porn in North Carolina.
Dear Carolyn,
Caviar has never been on my list of loves before now. But, I will still be skeptical of caviar that is not fresh and more than a day old. Choice fresh Russian caviar is beluga sturgeon from Volgograd on the Caspian Sea. Taliat Tarsinov grew up there, and he is quite the expert in caviar.
At the Beluga Restaurant in Moscow with an awesome view of Red Square, caviar is expected and lavishly served. Our table of five ordered two bowls of caviar: one beluga and one a more salted sturgeon. We ate the caviar on toast points with butter and on crepes. Of course, we used the tiny individual spoons for dipping the caviar and spreading it on the toast points or crepes. I don’t have a set of these tiny spoons in my kitchen, by the way.
We had a flight of vodka shots: Putkinya, lemon, courrant, cranberry, and one more like a whiskey. Vodka is great with the caviar, but bear meat jerky also accompanied the vodka shots. Bear meat jerky tastes a lot like deer jerky and is a great compliment to vodka. Of course, we had lots of pickles also. I think the vodka is wheat based, and the Beluga Restaurant has their own brand of vodka. The Putkinya vodka was in honor of President Putin.
Dwight and I have never been known for packing light. We just finished packing and we together are just under the allotted 200 pounds of checked luggage. So what weather did we pack for:
St. Petersburg, Russia 60 degrees F in June, with nights at 52 Degrees and days at 68 degrees. It also rains 16 out of 30 days.
Moscow is slightly warmer and averages 64 degrees F in June, 72 high of the day, and nights at 55 degrees. It rains 12 days out of 30.
As many of you may not know, May 23rd is World Turtle Day. This day was started 17 years ago by the American Tortoise Rescue Organization in hopes to raise awareness and protect the turtles!
Over Memorial Day weekend my husband and I were in Amelia Island, Florida when we came across the cutest sea turtles. As we watched the little guys in amazement, we wanted to know more. I am writing this post to show my support and create awareness for these sea turtles.
It saddens me to say that sea turtles are considered nearly extinct. They suffer from being poached and often times are captured in polluted water and overboard fishing gear. Climate change is another adverse effect on these sea creatures. For the baby sea turtle eggs to hatch, they must be in a secure climate controlled location. They often face predators that will likely the baby eggs, never giving them a chance of survival.
Muscovites in their forties are polished European dressers, and most dress codes at nice restaurants and clubs require upscale dressing and “no sports shoes.” There is quite a snobbery of sorts concerning sports shoes, and frequently you will see “no sports shoes” allowed. This directive seems almost directed at the tendency of American travelers to wear tennis shoes at every available opportunity. I saw no Russian in sport’s shoes or tennis shoes, but I would assume the Muscovite would wear sports shoes in the gym, although I did not actually visit a gym and I never saw one in our upscale hotel. I, however, didn’t search for the gym because every day was quite athletic without the gym—walking, dancing….
Polished Muscovites are into name branded shoes and purses. At the Bolshoi, I noted the lady sitting next to me carried a Channel Bag and wore the traditional Channel flat shoe, the one with the cap toe. I noticed all around me Valentino and Dior. It is easy to spot Valentino because of the studded detail and Dior because of the D. I believed they were authentically dressed, and these did not appear to be “knockoffs.” I also saw no stores or street vendors selling knock-offs. I don’t recall seeing Tory Burch or Kors in these groups, but Kors signs were everywhere.
Let’s face it; dressing in name brands is extremely expensive, so I feel these Muscovites were sending the message that they have arrived and are successful financially. Let’s turn a bit to the fashion of those not so middle aged and not yet established.
Ask Carolyn