Margaret and Helen

I have a new favorite blog that I'm going to be checking in on, thanks to Sully. It's called "Margaret and Helen" by two women who met in college and have been friends for almost 60 years. Helen, who does most of the writing, puts it this way.

My name is Helen Philpot. I am 82 years old. My grandson taught me how to do this so that I could "blog" with my best friend Margaret Schmechtman who I met in college almost 60 years ago. I have three children with my husband Harold. Margaret has three dogs with her husband Howard. I live in Texas and Margaret lives in Maine.

This Thanksgiving Letter to the Family will give you an idea of Helen's writing style. I think thanksgiving dinner at Helen's house would be a lot of fun.

But Helen's fame has come about as a result of the 2008 campaign, specifically by McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate. Helen has some pretty concise opinions about Gov. Palin and she doesn't mince any words.

She is a weak, pathetic woman who thinks big hair, winking, baby talk and self deprecation is somehow becoming of a woman who wants to lead the free world. My god, where is Margaret Thatcher when you need her!

That's just a snippet from her first post on Palin and I'd add that Golda Meir and Indira Gandhi would have brushed Palin off their shoulders like the fluff she is.

If you've got the time I suggest that you go here and scroll to the bottom and read her posts in the order they were written starting with "Sarah Palin is a Bitch... there I said it." And do take the time to appreciate her choice of titles for specific posts. And I must add that Harold is a saint -- it's that or he has a great sense of humor. Maybe both.

I found myself laughing so hard I was afraid I'd wake other family members up. More bits of Helen's wisdom:

You just can't teach an old dog a new trick... even if you put lipstick on it. Change is needed. I know because I am a fat, old dog. For too many years I've been eating more pie than I should. Jenny Craig had me doing pretty good for a few years but eventually I started eating pie again. John McCain has been part of the Republican party in Washington for 26 years. It doesn't matter what he has been saying the last few months, eventually he's going to eat the party pie again. He's old. I'm old. That's what we do. We don't suddenly switch to salad.

On the final debate:

Well, I thought it was a good debate. My hats off to Bob Shieffer... and my blouse too if he plays his cards right. (Just don't tell my husband.) But who the hell is Joe the Plumber? Seriously. What the hell was that all about? Joe the Plumber? Joe Six Pack? The new McCain strategy seems to be banking on a lot of guys named Joe with a beer in one hand and a pipe wrench in the other. Is this a political campaign or a dating service for the Palin women?

Anderson Cooper has a fan:

I was just watching CNN and I couldn't believe what I heard. Even if McCain loses this election, many in the Republican party will see Governor Moose Meat as the candidate who almost saved McCain. In other words, it wasn't her fault - he would have been nothing without her. The reporter then took that to a horrifying conclusion - Palin in 2012.

Has everybody gone mad? Dear Lord she is like a cockroach. We'll never be rid of her! I tell you after the scare of that report my hair went from a lovely silver, just like that sweet Anderson Cooper's, to stark white... completely devoid of color (my hair not Anderson Cooper).

About those clothes:

What really gets my goat is that I could have put that same wardrobe together at JC Penny for about $300 with enough money left over for a piece of pie and coffee. Are you telling me THAT is the best they could do with $150,000?

Beverage alert -- swallow before reading. This one is in response to a letter she received asking advice on how to talk to the letter-writer's grandparents who are refusing to vote for an African-American.

But remember we grew up in a different time. We grew up during a time when this country didn't understand the depths of its hatred. Don't blame them. They don't know any better. It is a part of who they are. But if they ignore you, you have my permission to do what I do when Harold doesn't listen to me. Put laxatives in their pudding.

There's more. Do look for her "New Rules" and hang onto your panties. She said it first. And do be careful about drinking and eating while you're reading. You're likely to to burst out laughing unexpectedly. Don't say you weren't warned.

Helen, you're my new hero.