ADELEINE ALBRIGHT, who was also our former ambassador to the UN and so resided in the Waldorf Towers, remarked, "And to think, John Bolton is sleeping in my bed!  I shudder to think what else he's getting up to!" 

Albright was among three women honored by the Center for the Advancement of Women at a rip-roaring dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria. The center celebrated its 10th anniversary and honored women who changed the landscape for women.

The other two honorees were Sherry Lansing, the first woman head of a major studio, and Gloria Steinem, one of the original powerhouses of the women's movement, and still a venerable leading light.

These are women of true distinction, who had broken all the glass ceilings, and raised so many bars for the rest of us.  It was total inspiration! 

With some 500 people on hand to cheer them on, these women found humor, pathos and inspiration in all they had to say...and many a chuckle. 

Sherry Lansing, inspiration behind the production of some 200 films and three academy awards, said, "When I became head of Paramount, the local trade paper noted, ‘Ex-Model to head Paramount!’  With so many women now heading major film and TV studios, that's an echo for the past!  

Emcee Joy Behar said that when Gloria Steinem came to the stage she'd reveal her age.  Gloria spoke, inspired, and then noted, "I have to reveal my age?  Well - it's 71!"  WOW! If that's not a reason to cheer on top of all the magnificent work she did!

The Chinese believe that women "hold up half the sky."  That is an enlightened theory in a world where women are forced to appear in public shrouded from head to toe.  As a woman I wonder what are these women behind those screens thinking? 

Do they yearn for freedom? Feel the sun warm their skins and hearts? How do they kiss their children to make them feel better?  Do they yearn for knowledge? Who do they talk to when they feel lumps, or are having a difficult pregnancy? How do they shape their ideas and beliefs?  It boggles my mind.

I thank God for the Center for the Advancement of Women, created by one of the most indefatigable fighters for women's rights, Faye Wattleton. 

UMMER in the Hamptons: Everything's different, nothing's changed, maybe only slightly rearranged. That's what happens in the Hamptons every summer.  People come, people go, people give large parties, small parties, beach parties, fancy galas, late-night dance parties.  Whatever the time of day or night, the emphasis is on partying.  Here are some of the best.