One of my childhood memories is a time at my cousin's 12th birthday party when I thoughtfully said, "Twelve is such a ripe old age." I don't know what led to that pronouncement, but I remember it often, even several multiples of 12 later. Age is like that. Each milestone seems far away, then one day you realize that a lot of them are behind you. It's not a bad thing — older really is better — it's just surprising. A few weeks ago, one of America's favorite children reached one of those milestones when Caroline Kennedy turned 50.

Kennedy certainly has accomplished a lot in her adulthood, but to many of us, she always will be JFK's little girl. And "Sweet Caroline." … continue reading

In 1980, we learned who shot J.R. In 2005, we learned the identity of “Deep Throat.” And this week, we learned the secret behind another of the great mysteries of the ages: It seems that Neil Diamond's song “Sweet Caroline” was inspired by young Caroline Kennedy.

Neil Diamond has been carrying this secret around for almost 40 years. However, last week he had the opportunity to tell Caroline Kennedy that a photograph of her had been his muse. And this week, he told the world.

"It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony ... It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there." … continue reading