R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Last night, I saw a whole lot of interesting women, including Meryl Streep, Martha Stewart, Candice Bergen, Brooke Shields, Bette Midler, Nora Ephron, Marlo Thomas, Jane Alexander, Marlee Matlin, and Liz Smith. I also saw Hilary Duff and Jessica Simpson. They were all on stage at City Center to salute Good Housekeeping's 125th anniversary at a fundraiser for the National Women's History Museum.

But I was really there to see one whole lot of interesting woman: Aretha Franklin. Wearing a bridal-dress factory's worth of white chiffon and copious quantities of curls, singing to track with four backup singers, she belted out one song to close the show - of course it was "Respect" - and brought down the house.

Because that's what it was all about. And she was - there's no other way to say it - TCB.