I’m a crybaby. I cry at commercials, songs, and sporting events. I used to be embarrassed about it but now my philosophy is Cry me a river! If I had an Indian name it would be Great Cry.

One of my great models for behavior is Oprah. Granted, she’s not bitter, but she has shown us time and again that it’s ok to cry, most recently during Barbara Streisand’s performance of “Evergreen”, during which Oprah let loose the waterworks.

Recently during a discussion with a male friend I found my self getting very emotional. He looked at me really strangely and said,” you know when you cry it makes me think your unstable”. Wow! Welcome to the new emotional ice age.

We are so pent up and plugged in that we are afraid to show an actual real emotion for fear of being called “unstable”. I’ve had friends tell me they could never cry in front of people because they don’t want them think they are weak. Weak as opposed to what, passive aggressive. Yea. Better to send a break up email. Why confront when you can just delete.

Have you ever seen a guy start to cry and when you go to comfort them they raise their arm like, Stop! Do not reward me for crying!

Smile though your heart is breaking? 
Have a nervous breakdown when your heart is breaking! That’s my motto.

You know what makes me bitter. The only time people cry these days is when a celebrity dies.  I had people calling me during Michael Jackson’s funeral just weeping. “It’s so sad, the children, waaaaa, Janet’s hat is so tasteful”.

Yes, There’s nothing like the passing of a celebrity to make it acceptable for all of us to have a good collective cry. Makes you wonder about all that pent up emotion everyone is carrying around.

Try to talk about your own sorrow though and your accused of being a downer- Get misty eyed on a date and you’ll get a “Check please!”

It’s funny because in the movies couple’s are depicted opening up to each other as a way of getting closer. He lost his wife, she had an unhappy marriage-their shared emotion and intimacy brings them closer. I remember breaking up with someone because he didn’t cry at Harold and Maude. I considered that “unstable”.

“I made myself a promise”, said a man on 60 minutes the other night.” I promised myself I would not get emotional.” Considering he had stolen millions of dollars a few crocodile tears would have probably meant something to the innocent victims he had stolen from. It would have made him human — and these days that’s the last thing anyone wants to be accused of.