This is my wonderful neighbor Ruth, and her beautiful Thoroughbred horse, 'Bea', short for Beatrice, which was also my mothers' name. A comical coincidence because I was actually home the Thanksgiving when my Mother and her friend Rose were bending over the hot oven side by side, when Roses' husband Ben mumbled philosophically, staring at their bottoms, "Kinda reminds me of the horses that pulled the big seltzer wagons in NY when I was a kid".

Well pandamonium broke out in the tiny little kitchen, and he headed for the hills, with Rose in hot pursuit. They did have sizeable back ends but for some reason they were ignored. I don't think until that moment did I know my mother was 'fat'. Or that Rose was either. It was an awful awakening.