For all of you spiritual girls living in this material world, for all of you who want to know what it really means to be truly wealthy, take a look at this short clip of my 97 year old grandmother, Sylvia Cooper — sculptress, speaker, philanthropist, mother, grandmother, and consummate spiritual girl living in a material world. She is my hero, my teacher, my lifeblood. I am truly blessed.
But do not be fooled, this is a woman who never leaves the house—even to make a visit to Cedars for a doctor appointment—without dressing to the nines. She always "puts on her face"—as she likes to say about doing her makeup—and wears a most thought-out ensemble, accessories included. She believes in the beauty of our world, in art, in books, in experiencing life to its fullest. But she also firmly believes that "everything we do for others, we ultimately are doing for ourselves." In other words, giving is truly receiving. And she would know: she has given and received so much in her near century of life.
And speaking of giving and receiving, over Thanksgiving, my Nanny took me back into her closet and showered me with old gowns — dresses she wore to dine with Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe (my Poppy, Frank Cooper, was the baseball great's manager), dance to the musical stylings of Frank Sinatra (another of my grandfather's clients), and dream about all of the ways in which she might save the world. Then she gave me her most treasured pair of shoes — heels she hadn't worn in decades. And although we both wear a perfect size 6, I just can't imagine that I will ever be able to fill such large shoes....
