A Prize Purse: Right after making my last Dawn Patrol post, I received a complimentary e-mail from a glamorous stranger, fellow blogger Christy, who spotted this page on Blogger's list of recently updated blogs. She dug my link to the flattery generator. Of course, I had to check out her own blog in turn. It's filled with entertaining timewasters, my favorite being the Starbucks Oracle, plus many lighthearted attempts at self-analysis. At one point, she even describes the contents of her purse and wastebasket, asking readers to tell her what they say about her. Seeing that her purse must weigh 10 lbs.—it contains a folding umbrella, among other things—I say that she either works out, has a sore shoulder and back, or both.

As for the contents of my purse, I'll save that for sometime when you and I have a lot of time on our hands. (No folding umbrella, but plenty of small little things like stray business cards and a Fab Faux guitar pick. [I always carry a guitar pick, in case some handsome retro musician needs one—it's a relic of the days when a Lennon '65 haircut and pointy boots were enough to send me into a tizzy.]) For now, I'll just say that my purse currently contains an all-time low number of lipsticks—six (including one gloss). That will probably surprise people who don't usually see me wearing lipstick, but the answer should be simple to any femme worth her fatale: When I do wear lipstick, I like having a choice.
2:10 AM