Articles
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Rose Madeline Mula: If You Can’t Stand the Heat
Rose Madeline Mula Writes: “It was with considerable trepidation, therefore, that I entered the kitchen of my hostess, the legendary actress, Joan Fontaine, one long-ago Thanksgiving morning, to offer my assistance. Acting was not Miss Fontaine’s only talent. Not by a long shot. She was also a hole-in-one golfer, a prize-winning fisherwoman, a hot air…
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An Undocumented Childhood by Rose Madeline Mula
Rose Mula Writes: Some people never leave home without their American Express card; I never leave home without a camera. Digitized pictures of the twenty-five countries and forty-plus states of America that I’ve visited since my first tour of exotic New Hampshire constantly flash on my computer monitors and digital frames throughout my home, helping…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: Love Your Library
Julia Sneden Wrote: My mind’s eye can still see the face of the Children’s Librarian, although I have long since forgotten her name. We will be wise to continue to back up our knowledge of history and literature and art and science with hard copy. She kept up with my reading level, suggesting writers and…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: If The Shoe Fits … You Can Bet It’s Not Fashionable
Julia Sneden Wrote: My mother was a mini Imelda Marcos. She kept upwards of 40 pairs of shoes well into her 80’s, and was crushed when she had to give up high heels following a heart attack at the age of 89. Her sole criterion in buying shoes was style, not comfort, and she was…
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Joan L.Cannon Wrote: A Family Inheritance: More Than ‘Things’ … Emblems of Our Lives
Joan Cannon wrote: As one advances in years, one accumulates possessions the way a caddis fly larva accumulates grit. The glue that makes us carry it all along with us is in a way self-secreted as well. However, it’s psychic rather than physical — emotional rather than material. Perhaps the most obvious example is a…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: Old Dogs, New Tricks
Julia Sneden wrote: At the age of 37, I started a new career as a kindergarten teacher. My first day on the job, the lead teacher, who was in her 70’s and scared me every bit as much as she scared the children, watched me writing a note. “You’ll have to change the way you…
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Joan Cannon Writes: Finding the Right Excuse; Committing Words to Paper Because …
Joan Cannon Writes: Think of the poets and novelists and playwrights whose words sink into the consciousness of thousands and even millions and remain there, as emblems, guides, beacons of hope or warnings of disasters, and the excuse (as if one is needed) presents itself. Maybe there’s information or a revelation for some unknown viewer…
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Joan Cannon Asked: What is a Book Club? An Old-Fashioned Book Report? A Program Given By an Author? What Is the Accepted Practice?
Joan L. Cannnon wrote: A year or so ago, I was invited to attend a tea given by the combined membership of all the book clubs in the town where I now live. A presentation was scheduled for the proprietor of the much-loved local independent book store cum gift shop. She is a legend in…
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Why Millions Won’t Get Help From Big Mortgage Settlement
The administration recently tried to encourage Fannie and Freddie by offering to triple incentives for principal reduction. So far, the companies and their federal overseer have declined to do so. An FHFA spokesperson said that the agency is “not a party to the agreement”
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A Decorated Woman Fighter Pilot Competes to Fill Gabby Giffords Seat
Martha McSally has announced her candidacy for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, one that has been held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords until her recent resignation. David Westheimer first introduced us to Lt. Col. Martha McSally in the first of three articles we are bringing to our readers.
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7 Ways to Survive While Julia Child’s Kitchen is Closed for 7 Months
The Smithsonian staff and volunteers packed tools, utensils, appliances, and gadgets in the Bon Appetit exhibit kitchen; everything was stored while a larger gallery space is prepared and goes on view again. The museum team offers suggestions on how to cope for a few months sans Julia Child’s kitchen.
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The Look of Love: Eye Miniatures Jewelry in Birmingham
Clandestine lovers exchanged these customized tokens depicting one another’s eyes, as such a feature might only be recognized by persons of the most intimate familiarity. Behind the skilled artistry with which each of these tiny portraits was painted, lie the enchanting stories of secret romance and love lost
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The Sunlight Foundation Shows Who Drove the Super Pac Contributions in 2011
Sunlight’s Reporting Group combed through the filings, looking to see who’s writing six- and seven-figure checks to the super PACs that are trying to influence voters in the Republican primaries — and beyond
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Small Worlds: Artworks That Create an Intimate Spaces
The Toledo Museum of Art challenges us to look at the world from new perspectives through its exhibition: “We may feel oversized when peering at Gregory Euclide’s miniature ecosystems, yet small and disoriented when we are surrounded by the video installation by Tabaimo”
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The Silent Disease: How Often Should Women Have Bone Tests?
A study of nearly 5,000 women reports that patients with healthy bone density on their first test might safely wait 15 years before getting rescreened. “Our study found it would take about 15 years for 10% of women in the highest bone density ranges to develop osteoporosis. That was longer than we expected, and it’s…
