I'll Cry if I Want To

Lesley Gore, 1946-2015

Singer Lesley Gore died a couple of days ago. Brooklyn-born, Jewish, and 16 just like me, I related to her on many levels back when I was in high school. But she was a big star, with hit after hit on the radio. I can still hear her declaring,"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to." Now she's left the party and I'm still here. Her death came as a shock and got me thinking about the passage of time.

Years ago, when my now-grown son was just a tot, our kitchen was a playground where we bonded over baking. I tried to think outside the box but on snow days or sick days, the classic chocolate-chip Toll House, originated in 1936, was our go-to cookie. They were easy to make and always came out perfectly, even the burned ones. Plus, licking the mixing bowl and all the spoons made clean-up delicious and fun.

Eventually the wizards at Toll House devised a time-saver: prepared dough stuffed into a plastic wrapper like a giant sausage, so all you had to do was slice and bake. The wonderful aroma still wafted through the house, and there was at the very least a knife to lick, but to be honest, the whole experience was drained of almost all fun and offered little in the way of mother-child bonding.

Now modern moms are so busy that even making the slice-and-bake variety apparently takes too long. So Toll House devised a frozen bar of unbaked dough, pre-scored into cookie-sized squares. Just open the bag, break off the squares and bake. Wafting aroma and fresh-baked cookies, sure. But fun: not any.

Someone should tell those moms to take the extra time with their kids because it's all over in a flash.