The best thing about being 45 is not taking myself so seriously.

Seriously, our nation is never going to be on the same page on issues like gun control, welfare, the economy, the environment, etc. I doubt we'll ever come to terms on tastes great or less filling and hybrids versus Hummers, and there will always be Yankees fans and Red Sox fans, and never the 'twain shall meet. Fortunately, all it takes for us to be of one mind is some buttercream frosting.

Maybe I've moved to the dark side, but it's clean and nice and we never run out of toilet paper.

I've always been able to cook Italian food. That's in my blood because I'm half Sicilian.

For the record? I have never been her baby. In fact, I reject the notion of coming out of her body. I prefer to believe I was hatched, or perhaps purchased.

The best thing about being 45 is not taking myself so seriously.

Expressing political opinion can be a powerful way to establish a character's voice when writing fiction.