Let’s cast the movie in our minds. Shirley MacLaine could play Rebecca Willis, the dirty dancing granny. No, MacLaine is too old. Meryl Streep?

Rebecca Willis was back in the news last week after being awarded $275,000 in a settlement with the town of Marshall, North Carolina. That comes some seven years after being banned from the town community center for dancing in a "sexually provocative manner — gyrating and simulating sexual intercourse with her partner.”

She was suggestive. She was lewd.

She wore short skirts.

She exposed her panties, or worse!

The townspeople (the population is 831) said their children would be scarred for life. They didn’t just ban Mrs. Willis, they banned her “for life.”

Why? Because Rebecca Willis was a 56 year old divorced woman. And when the townsfolk asked her to tone it down, she just danced some more.

For her, it was a matter of freedom of speech. At least that’s what her lawyer, Jon Sasser, argued, after she found him through the ACLU. So the case was argued, appealed, argued, appealed. Up and down the courts for five years, during which time the dancing divorcee got married again.

Now 64, she gave a little dance of joy after the settlement (out of which she will have to pay her lawyer). She considers it a victory, even though she had to promise not to dance in the town center again. “It just tickles me to death,” she said.

The most recent decision came after her lawyer asked the town to prove she wasn’t being singled out. Jon Sasser told First Wives World that much of the town’s attention seemed focused on the fact that Mrs. Willis was divorced.

“Some witnesses testified that she was fine when she was married, but became wilder after her divorce,” he said. “There was definitely an undertone of jealousy.”

Getting divorced is an emotional experience – even if it happens in a virtual, online world. A Japanese woman got so angry when her virtual husband ditched her that she hacked the system to whack him.
 
According to Japanese police, the woman, who was jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used the man’s identification and password in mid-May to log onto the Korean interactive game Maple Story (right) to carry out the virtual hara kiri.

The woman was a 43-year-old piano teacher in Miyazaki, the man was a 33-year-old office worker in Sapporo. "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the virtual cougar told investigators.

Reality check. This did not happen in the real world. Her online avatar had met and “married” his online avatar, who then dumped her without warning. Any woman can understand the hurt. While the couple was happily “married,” he had told her his login and password, perhaps as a way of showing trust. Mistake!

She did not, officials said, plot any revenge in the real world. Still, if convicted, she could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.

As AP noted, players in Maple Story operate in a two-dimensional virtual world where they engage “in relationships, social activities and fighting against monsters and other obstacles."

Instead of remaining in the virtual world, and perhaps sending a monster after her avatar, the man went to the police when he discovered that his avatar was kaput.

Heather Mills is planning a seven-day divorce party for her and 25 of her closest friends. The cost? $500,000. Mills plans to fly the group to Necker Island, a private Caribbean spot, to the tune of $49,000 a night.

The interesting bit about this is the fact that Mills was extremely concerned with her public image during the divorce proceedings with ex Paul McCartney. She made a point of rebutting comments that she was only in it for the money, vehemently denying she was a "gold-digger," and emphasizing that she needed proper support to care for their daughter, Beatrice.

But the extravagance of this party seems to speak otherwise.

Don't get me wrong. It's her money now, fair and square. She entitled to do with it what she pleases. Not sure if it's sending the right message, which seems to be a little "in your face, Paul," doesn't it?

Click here for more.

First Wives World has a terrific column featured on About.com's Guide to Divorce Support. The Guide's coordinator, Cathy Meyer, graciously asked our own Debbie Nigro to write a guest column for a series she's running this week on "Moving On."

Well, guess what? No one has more experience with movin' on and movin' up than Debbie, who has successfully reinvented her personal and professional life, post-divorce, with incredible energy and verve. She's resilient, and so are you!

In fact, that's the message of her piece on About called "A Formula For Getting Back to Great." It's all about women being in control of their destiny and plodding ahead, putting one foot in front of the other to embrace the present and, of course, the future.

Cathy and her team of experts are providing valuable information and resources that can help get you through. In fact, About has everything from chat rooms where you can swap ideas and information, to advice columns on dating, legal and financial issues and tips on how to deal with your kids in a divorce. They've got everything!

So check it out...but stay tuned to FirstWivesWorld.com because we're on the cusp of some exciting plans that will help you navigate divorce no matter what stage you're in--in fact, we're going to get you through each phase not only with useful resources and support from other women, but you'll be there with a smile on your face because we've got some fun, new shows that will entertain and tickle you as you discover that your best self lies ahead...

Yes, stay tuned. We can't wait...! And, check out Debbie's column here.

Giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “foul ball,” H. Elizabeth King, a psychologist, accused her ex-husband of violating their 2002 divorce agreement over how to divvy up tickets to Atlanta Braves games.

Prior to her divorce, King says she had four tickets to 27 home games as part of a three-way, season-ticket partnership. Under her divorce agreement, her ex got the first home game, then each got 13 games. When one of the partners died last year, King’s ownership increased to a full third.

At a court hearing earlier this week King claimed that her ex, who distributed the tickets to the partners, offered her tickets to games that conflicted with her schedule—on purpose. She also suggested that he gave her tickets to day games because she had skin cancer.

King's ex testified that he distributed tickets sequentially, according to a mathematical formula which he adjusted when people made special requests or if there were conflicting schedules.

Superior Court Judge Melvin K. Westmoreland urged the baseball-loving exes to settle out of court.

For more on this story, click here: http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/06/07/exes_fight_over_atlan...

Everyone wants a little dish…. (no, not the kind from your bridal registry….) I mean behind the scenes, as in “back story.”

You’ve got to know – and I’m here to tell you-- the FWW team is a WOW group of peeps. Each one has vision, energy, enthusiasm, concern, caring and excitement. They’ve prepared and launched this site intended to reach women with various needs related to divorce.

For technogeeks or stat-peeps, in the four weeks since launching, readers are studding the US map, (no, not that kind….) and have already expanded internationally.

The best part? Whatever they do, whatever actions they take, plans they initiate, research they request, they have YOU in mind. In other words, they care are about YOU! Who?
Readers who’ve found FWW.
Readers yet to find FWW.
Women with divorce in mind, memory, imagination, and fact.
Men similarly interested.

The FWW team has limitless positive energy for meeting the needs of women who’ve been touched, flattened, or propelled by divorce. Readers will benefit from your experience, insight, specific suggestions, and success. Already, you’re not alone. I’m learning as well. For example, when I first considered writing a blog about divorce, I fell back on stereotypes--- loss, anger, and helplessness.

Divorce. In the game of Charades, (pulling on the earlobe), “sounds like” force, coarse, abortion, hoard, torture, mortgage. Yes, “divorce” fits with words that sound curt, blurting from the front of the mouth, generating images of hard-edged feelings, impact, and unforeseen fallout.

As I continued ruminating, I flashed on softer sounding words and phrases related to divorce, with open sounds, such as sing, dance, kiss, stroll, smile, celebrate, play, laugh.