I brought my camera, but forgot to take a photo with Gayle for the blog so I'm using this one
I met Gayle King today, as in Oprah’s friend, Gayle King.
She invited me and my son, Colby, onto her radio show to talk about the new “Date My Single Kid” section of FOF because she liked the concept and wanted to hear our take on it; how it’s being received and whether I’m a meddling Jewish mom because I like to set up my son. She also wanted to know why Colby needed to have his mom involved in his dating life.
I could tell I would like Gayle because the young woman producer who works for her, J.J., was warm and friendly when we were communicating by email earlier in the week. And you can usually tell a person by the people she hires.
Anywho, Gayle was as real and unpretentious a FOF woman as you can get. She may be Oprah’s friend, which is how America met her in the first place, but her continued success has little to do with whose friend she is.
Gayle sits in a small room with J.J., headphones in her ears and a microphone in front of her. Guests sit across from her with the same setup. She interviewed Colby and me as if we were pals and she was genuinely interested in what we had to say, not as if she was a big media celeb and we were just another pair of bodies in her aura. She hardly wears makeup and she dresses coolly and comfortably.
Lois, the head of our PR agency, told us it was the best interview with us that she’s heard. I agree. Gayle didn’t overpower us or take over the interview by incessantly talking about herself, as many interviewers often do. I was thrilled to be on her show, not because she’s well known, but because she liked what we’re doing and helped give it even more credibility.
When a smart, successful FOF woman likes what another one is doing, she wants to share it. That’s what FOF is all about.
Thank you, Gayle and J.J., from the bottom of my matchmaking heart.
Listen to the interview now.
Rigby and I don't look like this, but it's a cute illustration
Walking Rigby in the evening gives me a chance to decompress and to focus on fun, interesting things in my neighborhood.
One evening I might pay particular attention to the penthouse terraces of grand old apartment buildings in my neighborhood. How cool it would be to have a big ole “backyard” in the sky overlooking Park Avenue or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Another evening I might be drawn to every shop window, even the displays in the CVS Pharmacy across the street from where we live.
Tonight my eyes met those of an elegant FOF woman, and we smiled to one another. She looked to be in her seventies, maybe close to eighty, and she had her arm linked with a man’s, perhaps her husband of many years. Her smile and her demeanor made me think she was a happy woman.
It warms my heart when I see couples like this. I am going to start looking for one every single day.
“Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.” ~Albert Einstein
Back in the day, when people disagreed with us, they told us to our face or on the phone, even through personal hand-written notes and letters. We’d argue over lunch, debate at parties, raise our voices via AT&T long distance and write pointed missives. If you took issue with an article in a magazine or newspaper, and sent an angry letter to the editor, you’d be required to include your name.
Technology has given rise to a brand new way to disagree: Anonymously commenting on the web. It’s hard to believe so many are spending so much time ranting about absolutely nothing. Intelligent disagreement and debate can be stimulating to the mind. Unrestrained anger is another thing entirely.
We have been overjoyed to see the incredibly enthusiastic reaction to the new feature on FOF, Date My Single Kid. FOF moms, aunts, grand moms and friends have been sending emails of joy, congratulations, encouragement and interest all day long, and so have their “kids.” Here’s a great example:
“Dearest Geri, Here in the South, mothers (both Jewish and Gentile) have crafted this skill of matchmaking to a fine art. You, my dear, have taken it to a new level of expertise. Proud to award you an honorary ‘Southern Mother’s’ award for going above and beyond your duty for the love of your son. Ya’ll take care, come see us sometimes and bless your heart!!!”
But every so often, we get a comment like this: “I would be afraid to get involved with your son if you are part of the package..you are a smother, not a mother..give this guy some freedom to find his own gal and butt out…..you are too much..” And this comment is mild, compared to some that claim I’m a disgrace to motherhood.
My son and the other young, cool people in the office tell me not to respond to comments like this because it only fuels the fire, so to speak.
I guess I agree.
Colby and me (photo by Jonathan Baskin for the New York Post)
This has been the craziest day of my FOF life. Starting at 6:30 a.m., producers from Today, Good Morning America, The Early Show, Fox & Friends, and numerous other shows, invited me and my son, Colby, to come on air to talk about Date My Single Kid, a new feature we launched today on FabOverFifty.com. They found out about the idea from an article that ran today in The New York Post.
The premise of DMSK is simple. Many FOF women aren’t embarrassed, afraid or shy about fixing up our single “kids” (Our “kids,” in most cases, are twenty, thirty, even forty something.) Why not act as “agents” for them, I thought. After all, isn’t that what all the dating sites do anyway?
FOF members can post photos of their single kids on DMSK and tell everyone why they’re so fab. FOF moms (or friends, aunts, grand mothers, etc.) do the prep work, connect with each other, and then decide if their “kids” might be compatible. Of course, the kids need to go along with our idea for this to work. By the way, my 31-year-old single son is running DMSK.
Apparently, the idea resonated around the globe. The New York Post story has been picked up by the French newspaper Le Figaro, a morning talk show in the UK wants to do a segment on DMSK, and on and on.
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