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We all make mistakes. Ideally, we learn from our blunders rather than merely getting better at making them. After all, good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment. Or, as Charles Grodin so aptly put it, "If you don't get wiser as you get older, then you just get older." In this vein, Mr. Grumpy proceeded to compile a passel of confessions by celebrities of their memorable bloopers and featuring highly edifying oops-imonials by Carol Burnett, Goldie Hawn, Peter Falk, Shirley MacLaine, Gene Wilder, Peggy Siegal, Phil Mushnick, Rosie O’Donnell, Pete Hamill, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Robert Redford, and scores of other seasoned flubsmiths.
Benefitting Help USA, a national not-for-profit organization geared towards fostering empowerment and self-reliance of the needy, Maria Cuomo Cole joined author Grodin in hosting his book release party for “If I only Knew Then … Learning from Our Mistakes” at Le Cirque Restaurant. Since showing up clearly was no mistake, the potential to learn from the event was naturally limited, but among those who had a great time were Alan Alda, Richard Belzer, Gayle King, Joy and Regis Philbin, Elke and Ben Gazzara, Governor Cuomo, and Kenneth Cole.
Of course, the intriguing paradox arises whether one could learn more from buying the book or from making the mistake of not buying it. What say you, Charles Grodin?
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