When I got divorced a few years ago, I thought long and hard about what was ahead — financially, romantically, etc. One thing I just didn't realize is how people would judge me and my kid, even if they weren't aware that they were doing it.

It's been a rocky road for married couples lately, what with the Eliot Spitzer hooker revelations, the confessions by his replacement, David Paterson, of his extramarital affairs, the 20-something dalliances of Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow's hubby and the rumors that long-married 55-year-old Russia President Vladimir Putin has been hanging with gymnast babe Alina Kabaeva, 24. You have to wonder, just what the heck is going on?

I've watched with interest the swirl of controversy surrounding the revelations that Republican presidential candidate John McCain had an "inappropriate relationship" with a female lobbyist — one who has been described in the media as "fetching" and who is 30 years his junior. Putting aside how Vicki Iseman's position may or may not have influenced McCain politically, the question of what is considered "inappropriate" is one that intrigues me.

When Will and Kathryn met, it was like a fairy tale; well, a modern-day one, because Aesop and the Grimm brothers probably couldn't even imagine a story like this. They spotted each other online, attracted not only by their thoughtful profiles but by their alluring pictures. Who knew fortysomethings could be so hot — and could spell and be so grammatically correct, too?

There's been some talk of the world down under, and I don't mean Australia. I'm talking about vaginas — or, as some now call it, vajayjay. Vajayjay? According to last Sunday's New York Times, vajayay — first heard on "Grey's Anatomy" last year — has been embraced by Oprah, who declared: “I think vajayjay is a nice word, don’t you?"