Free Republic

Check all the boxes, then chuck it all aside at forty to follow your muse. Play by the rules and win, only to decide that you don’t want the prize. Most of the rebellions were minor. The devoted housewife informed her husband that she would not be cooking dinner for the family on Tuesday and Thursday nights, as she was finally taking the art class she had always dreamed of. The cliché for men was the red convertible. But some people set off explosions: quitting jobs, filing for divorce, engaging in affairs. For Baby Boomers, the midlife crisis was very...

The term "midlife crisis" was coined by psychoanalyst Elliott Jaques in 1965. The English language somehow made do without that phrase for the previous six hundred years, yet today, could we get along without it? In 1900, the average American male life expectancy was 47. In 1965, it was 67. An additional two decades of existence: More time to ruminate about your time running out. In this as in so many instances, art preceded (social) science: The then-nameless male midlife crisis had been explored before, through farce (1955's The Seven Year Itch), then high-brow literature (John Cheever's classic 1964 story...

In her sexy, stormy, spiritual memoir, Honey in the River, Marsha Scarbrough explores the contemporary relevance of ancient African wisdom teachings, wrapped around a love affair with a married African shaman. The mythology and metaphysics of Ifa, the indigenous religion of the Yoruba people of West Africa, is woven throughout her fast-paced tale that combines spiritual text with descriptions of her experiences in rhythm, dance and deep trance. As she blends archetypal drama and epic soap opera, Marsha reveals and befriends her personal shadow. I interviewed Marsha about her book and what it was like become so deeply involved with...

Sometimes it is best to err on the side of caution. This, however, has not always been my practice down through the years. In fact, I am not very good when it comes to practicing anything, just ask the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. As of late, though, I have been practicing caution like I was going to Carnegie Hall. I am not very good at it yet, but my goal is to come to the point of perfection in the area of caution as it touches my person, particularly my health and well-being. This may be because I have...

Given his credentials, few expected Jeff Yu-Kuang Lin's life to take such a drastic turn, veering off into a seamy world of prostitution. A Chinese immigrant who grew up in Houston, Lin got his degree in chemical engineering at Rice and a master's from the University of Houston. For 10 years, he spent up to 100 hours a week as a software programmer for a Houston start-up. Over the years of sitting in front of a computer screen, Lin made few friends and only talked to co-workers for an hour a day. Eventually, his wife left him and moved to...

Are you glad you got married when you did, or do you wished you waited?

I have finally hit upon a misdeed by the Bush Administration so outrageous, so appalling, so egregious, I am calling for a bipartisan commission with subpoena power to investigate: Who told the President to nominate Harriet Miers? The commission should also be charged with getting an answer to this question: Who was his second choice? Things are so bad, the best option for Karl Rove now would be to get himself indicted. Then at least he'd have a colorable claim to having no involvement in the Miers nomination. This week's Miers update is: (1) Miers is a good bowler (New...

I'd like to know what freepers think of the idea of moving to the Phillippines (or a similar country) to take a break from the rat race and use the low cost of living to be able to work on my own projects. This is not retirement, in other words, but it's not precisely holding a job. I want to do something with my life that I create and am in charge of instead of working for others. My best guess is that this would be a web-based business that could be run from anywhere in the world. If I...

Cruise escaped bike crash unscathed Hollywood hunk Tom Cruise escaped unharmed when he crashed his brand new motorcycle. The Collateral heart-throb was riding his turbo-charged Ducati in Beverly Hills, California, when he skidded on a patch of oil. The 42-year-old ended up sprawled on the road but was able to give concerned onlookers autographs before re-mounting his mean machine.

JASPER, Texas (AP) - For some drivers, even a Hummer may not be enough. At a curb weight of more than 3.5 tons, the Humvee-inspired Hummer H1 is no skinny guy who gets sand kicked in his face. But the Bad Boy Heavy Muscle Truck, a dressed-up military vehicle more than twice as heavy, is being billed as bigger, badder and more bodacious. "It's the rugged Bubba," said Daniel Ayres, president and CEO of Homeland Defense Vehicles LLC and its division Bad Boy Trucks. The East Texas company aims to market the machine to civilians with disposable cash and a...

Do pictures of John Kerry in his Lycra cycling suit make you wonder if he's running for the right reasons? WHEN JOHN KERRY took a spill from his bike this past weekend, it triggered thoughts of Jimmy Carter's collapse in a road race, Gerald Ford's much-mocked stumbles, and of Kerry's own misadventures on the ski slopes earlier this year. But it wasn't until the pictures of Kerry on his bike appeared that the real damage was done. The electric-lemon Lycra look probably won't play well outside the metrosexual caucus, and it can't be particularly inspiring to the troops living in...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryFebruary 7, 2004 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. The past few weeks have confirmed that America's economy is strong, and growing stronger. The nation's unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent in January, the fourth consecutive monthly decline, and we added 112,000 new jobs, the largest single month increase since December of 2000. Overall, the nation has added 366,000 jobs in the past five months. There's more evidence of a strengthening economy. Manufacturers report new orders. GDP rose at a 6.1 percent in the second half of 2003, the fastest pace in...

PRAIRIEVILLE, La. -- Lauren Roberts was riding in a car with her aunt, Daina Sancho, to Blockbuster one day last summer when Sancho said, "Lauren, I have something to tell you. I'm in love with I.V." Daina was a 41-year-old mother of two. I.V., the nickname for Irwin Vincent O'Rourke III, was only 13 years old. It was a good thing, Roberts said, that she wasn't driving, because the news came as a shock. "I told her to be careful," said Roberts, a slender 17-year-old redhead and mother of a 1-year-old baby girl. "I didn't want her to get in...