Why is it that people our age want to prove to our kids that we're cool and hip? Since when did behaving like a parent become such a terrible thing?

OK, I don't have kids, but if I did, I wouldn't be going with them to concerts.

When I was growing up, going to concerts waited until you could at least drive and then you go with friends. I would have died if I went to a concert with my parents.

Besides, for young people, going to a concert is a sign of independence, proving that you're old enough to start enjoying grown-up stuff, not hanging out with your parents who can't quite give up their lost youth.

It's cool that you enjoy the same music. I think that is important.

While I wouldn't let a 13-year-old go alone to a concert, I think it detracts from a young person's ability to enjoy independence by going to concerts with mom and dad.

I think Sarah's situation is very common. While she may not have the staggering, traffic-stopping debt some posters have mentioned, it is still worthwhile to read about her situation. I think she represents the norm, not the extreme, which is why her story is easy to relate to.

That said, shame on the fact-checkers for missing this one: it's not "Funk Soul Brother."

It's "The Rockafeller Skank."

Not that we need to get this extreme, but I have seen families of four aboard a Chinese one-speed in Cuba. I have seen giant, frosted birthday cakes, a refrigerator and dead animals (it's what's for dinner) strapped on the backs of these bikes.

I have also seen skinny men whip past me on big hills aboard one-speeds, while I struggled to manage my "fancy" 12-speeder.

When I was in graduate school (at age 40), I had to ride my bike two miles each way, every day. This meant riding in pouring, cold rains, brisk cold winds (17 degrees...and this was central Florida!) and incredible humidity. I strapped a dozen Krispy Kremes on the back of my bike, rode in heels and a skirt in order to teach my classes.

What I'm trying to say is you CAN live a life and get places aboard a bike. It might not be pretty or easy, but it is possible. Invest in a good Gore-Tex raincoat, a good rain hat and some rain pants and it helps during the rainy season...

And, ladies, don't wear long skirts because they get caught in the chain. I learned this the hard way.

Save the car for serious outings, not everyday treks.

Hey, maybe this could combat some of that obesity problem we have in this country....

If this site leads with one more Palin story, I'm canceling my subscription.

I can't stand the woman either. But I don't need to keep reading these pseudo-obsessive pieces every gosh darn day. I realize Salon spent a lot of dough sending David Talbot to Alaska.

But it doesn't have to publish every darn thing he unearths.

Just.let.it.go.please.

OK, Maybe this isn't new, but I really hate the seat stealers.

Several Christmases ago, I was booked on an aisle seat and when I arrived at the appointed aisle, discovered The Biggest Man in the World sitting in my seat. (By big, I mean obese) If that wasn't bad enough, in the window seat was The Biggest Woman in the World. I don't even think they were related.

I helplessly looked at the flight attendants, indicating I was supposed to be on the aisle and they just expected me to deal with it. Worse, it was a full flight, so there was nowhere else to go. The nice girl in me figured it would be awful to have two obese people stuck next to each other.

I spent 2 1/2 hours as the skinny center of a pair of bookends who needed seatbelt extenders. I had to sit with my hands on my lap, with their thighs touching mine on either side.

Yesterday, on a flight to Houston, I was assigned a seat on the aisle of the bulkhead (I refer to this as Hillbilly First Class)

I booked the seat because I had a 30-minute connection and needed to hoof it.

Well, I got to my seat, and there was a man and his companion sitting in the aisle and center seats, respectively. I told them I was in seat D, the aisle and they said they were in E and F, to which I pointed out was the center and window. They just looked at me, blankly.

With people piling up behind me, I just took the window seat and felt frustrated that people can be so obstinate.

I used to read Camille's column with great eagerness because I think she writes with intelligence and honesty.

But she's lost me in the last few columns with her platitudes about Palin. It's like that part of her brain got hijacked by a right-wing terrorist group.

Palin cannot put two sentences together that make sense. I am not an elitist snob, but someone who prefers to hear people -- especially one with a journalism degree -- be able to speak with syntax.

Enough of your defense of this woman!