Porcelain Menagerie

Wifey always loved Amanda Wingfield's character. Her friends Rosie and Eileen both had Southern mothers, and said they always reminded her of that great Williams creation. I guess Wifey's growing up in Brooklyn, surrounded by the less than melodic NY, Yiddish accents, she always loved the sound of Southern belles.

Of course, Amanda's line to her emotionally crippled daughter was to hope for "gentlemen callers," chivalrous young men who would come and spirit young Laura away from the malaise of her sad existence.

Well, we've had a couple of fine young men sniffing around our Ds lately. Wifey and I like both of them, and are thrilled our Ds seem to have great taste in men.

Our girls have heard us talk, ad nauseum, about the poor consequences of choosing the wrong life partners, and it seems they have heeded our advice. Neither D has brought home a date that caused me to think about summoning my inner Tony Soprano. I hope this continues. I'm pretty sure it will.

This morning was a particularly pleasant one. I went out and got bagels, nova, and some French pastries. Wifey, the Ds, and their two fine young men and I sat around, laughing and telling tales. I had DirecTV's "Rat Pack" station playing in the background. The two large dogs slept on the dining room rug; the spoiled puppy slept on Wifey's lap.

I toasted D1's graduation and the upcoming graduations of D2 and her boyfriend. Wifey shared that she had just read an article that said that a key to a happy family is toasting and acknowledging the positive milestones that come along. I've always thought this was crucial.

The four younguns have plans tonight. D1 and Thomas are headed to a UF graduation party; D2 and Michael are headed to a friend's theme party: "CEOs and Office Hos." Wifey smirked at this until we reminded her that "CEO" was gender neutral...

Wifey and I? Maybe we'll go see the new Michael Caine movie --a British "Gran Torino," apparently.

In the meantime, we'll bask a bit in the glow of our girls' fine choices.