Mary Carillo Won't Ask About Nails or Hemlines

I saw Mary Carillo speak at a WISE breakfast. No TV weather bunny, she defines smart, straight talking. Listening to her speak is like standing in a brisk breeze--refreshing and invigorating. Two things she talked about particularly struck me.

One--she's lived her life very much following the first rule of improv--always say "yes." (A rule I learned recently in an acting class I decided to take on a whim.) When asked why she had done such an incredibly wide range of broadcasting, Mary answered, "Because I say yes!"

Note to self--the right answer is "yes."

The second thing I loved was her attitude on women's sports. She detests, for example, that women tennis players, but not men, are now allowed to be coached mid-game. Worse still, a lot of those coaches are the players' "daddy." "The men don't do that," Mary says. (And can you even imagine some male tennis player's mother getting in on his game?) "A lot of the women tennis players need to take their sport more seriously. We only have our athletic bodies for so long. We ought to use them to the fullest while we can. I am not going ask Serena about her nails or hemlines. I want her to play more tennis!"

Oh yes.

If we don't take ourselves seriously, why should others?