Born in Akron, Indiana, (and raised in nearby Zionsville), Martha Clayton LaBorie was born on June 7, 1920, with stars in her eyes and an innate zest for life.

Forever dreaming of glamour and adventure, Martha took a train to New York City in her early 20s and never looked back — although she cried all the way there.

With vibrant chestnut hair, bright blue eyes, and a megawatt smile, she charmed everyone she met with her confidence and charisma. 

She a great sense of style, and she was known for looking smart in anything she wore. Her daughter Susan recalls watching her get dressed for a night out and thinking she had the world’s most beautiful mother. 

Over the years, she and her family lived in cities from east to west, and in many countries overseas. She took joy in every single place she landed, excluding only Carmel, California, where she could never reconcile herself to life in the “precious little village” that others described.

Martha was full of emotion, with a superb sense of humor and a penchant for tears. She was stubborn, quirky, and forever retained her down to earth sensibilities, even when socializing in the most highbrow of circles with her husband, Walter. 

Superstitious to the last, an eclipse or glimpse of the Northern Lights were a sure sign to Martha that the end of the world was nigh. 

Forever generous, she was never petty, and always upbeat — a true Gemini. People most often described her as “marvelous.” They remembered her laugh, her cooking, her famous parties. 

Broadway musicals, her friends, her family, nature, reading, hostessing, and food were her greatest passions. She believed milkshakes were the answer to everything from an upset stomach to utter heartbreak.

Indignant about injustice, in her older years she once whacked the side of the Exxon Valdez with her cane. 

Her family fondly recalls many offbeat moments with Martha, from the time she took off her red shoes and gave them to an admiring Maasai chief in Africa, to roller skating with her stepson Karl on the top of her apartment building in NYC. 

She was fond of Campari, wine, and singing off-key to Frank Sinatra. 

Martha passed away in San Diego, California, on February 25, 1996, survived by her three children — Daniel, Bernard, and Susan; her stepchildren Kathryn, Karl and Karen; and sundry grandchildren.

She was remarkable, and no one who knew her will ever forget the spark and spirit she brought into their lives.

As Billie Holiday once sang: “I’ll be seeing you/In every lovely summer’s day/In everything that’s light and gay/I’ll always think of you that way.” 💖

Slaving over a hot stove is all well and good — if you’ve got oodles of vacation time and a penchant for forearm burns.

For the rest of us, however, pre-made food and delicious mixes are what get us through the gauntlet of holiday dinners and picky relatives.

To make your life easier this season, here are seven vegan products from Trader Joe’s — all delicious, all hassle-free.

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If you’ve got a vegan, vegetarian, or other plant-based personage attending your holiday dinner, you might be freaking out right about now. After all, if you and the rest of your invitees are omnivores, you can’t rearrange your entire menu to accommodate the odd man (or woman) out.

Luckily, there’s no need to abandon your plans and opt only for Tofurkey. There are a few easy tweaks you can make to your normal cooking routine that’ll make it easy for the herbivore to get plenty to eat.

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There’s no better way to describe our aquatic metropolis than in the words of the ancient mariner: “Water, water every where.” Here in Miami, water is kind of our thing. It washes up on our shores, soaks us from above, floods businesses on Alton Road. And eventually,we’ll be under it altogether.

But in the meantime, water is our best asset. And according to the author, conservationist, and marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols, its influence on the human mind and heart is pretty astounding. His New York Times bestselling book, Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do, outlines the myriad ways water can improve our lives. We caught up with Wallace while he was in town to speak with him about water’s ability to reduce stress, red mind versus blue mind, and why Miamians don’t seem to be reaping the rewards of our waterlogged locale.

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Unfortunately for everyone ever, crises are unpredictable bastards. Despite our oh-so-advanced society, even the best of us can’t prognosticate tomorrow’s screw-up, act of God or criminal disaster. Such is the nature of a crisis. Those suckers are crafty.

There are, however, wise ways of dealing with these nasty events once they happen. Ignoring them is not one of those ways. Far too many DMOs and CVBs choose to look the other way when s*** goes down in their tourism destination.

Click to read on.