Maria, my girl

It makes me smile to see Maria Shriver with her phone to her ear while driving. It's always good to see someone so lofty behaving like the rest of us. Oh, don't shake your head, you know you drive and talk on the phone. I happen to like the First Lady of California, although I was truly bummed when she married Arnold, this child of my childhood political heroes, the Kennedy Clan. But she did something once that made me know she was still a Kennedy and that blood is thicker than a wedding ring. It was during a Rethuglican gathering and she was sitting close by while the talking heads were talking and she had her young children seated with her. When whoever was speaking said something particularly unpleasant about Uncle Teddy and the cameras swung right on her tight. People were applauding and her child started to join in the applause. She put her hand on the child's shoulder, whispered something in the ear and the kid stopped. I can't help but think she said something along the lines of 'remember you are a Kennedy too." Of course I don't know if that's what really happened, but that's what I read into it. I also like Maria for her tireless work on behalf of women. She really reinvented the California Congress on Women, it's a big thing now. She reflects her family's habits of doing good for children and I gotta tell you when Arnold endorsed John McCain and she came out blazing for Barack Obama at that party at her cousin Caroline Kennedy's house, I laughed and cheered at the same time. She married him, but she is very much her own woman. Go ahead and talk on, Maria. I'm Ruth Adkins Robinson