Jane Shortall

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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
And That’s the Way It Is

Instead of telling the other guy everything he’s doing wrong, we can do what we know is right and see if we can find a way to work with those whose viewpoints differ from ours.We can do it without editorializing, without pointing fingers. We can deal with facts instead of opinions. We can do it…
Shop at the Glass Market, Revel in the Corning Exhibits

The gift selection includes flowers that look amazingly ‘live:’Tiger lilies, irises, daffodils. Pages of glass fruits, lamps, artists and designer collections are on the site as well as glassmakng tools, ornaments, Serengetti sunglasses, Pyrex kitchenware, a Portland Vase watch and paperweights. Glass jewelry might dazzle on its own as done the revelation about glass instruments.
The Decision to Remove an Obese Child From His Mother: A Lawyer Differs

Sherry Kolb, a lawyer, Cornell professor and law clerk to former Justice Harry Blackmun, voices her views on the recent decision by a South Carolina court to remove a child from his mother’s custody. Here are a few paragraphs from her FindLaw column:…
Book Review of We Had Sneakers, They Had Guns: The Kids Who Fought for Civil Rights in Mississippi

Tracy Sugarman describes the roads different people in the summer project took after 1964, including his own, that of the white couple, local blacks, SNCC and summer workers. In 1978 Sugarman and his wife began a documentary on Fannie Lou Hamer, who had died the year before. Never Turn Back: The Life of Fannie Lou…
Is a Beatles Song Dated? Or Could It Be Us?

Respondents older than age 30 lean more toward the age of 70 and above as when someone becomes old.
More or Less

Taking the SAT verbal section was a cinch, as was placing out of bonehead English in college. My earliest bosses, too, appreciated my ability to clean up their lousy grammar when I quietly re-wrote their letters. At least I think they did.
Council of Economic Advisors: Future Employment Trends

Jobs in health care support occupations are projected to experience even faster growth. The increased demand in this area stems largely from an aging population that will require care at home, at nursing care facilities, and in inpatient and outpatient settings. Support occupations that will likely grow in importance are physical therapists, physical therapist assistants,…
Best Books About Science

The University of California, Berkeley, has published yet another annual list of best books, the 2009 list being designated as the best books about science. We’ve selected a few here from the University’s list and reviews: Why People Believe Weird Th…
A New Minimum Wage Fact Sheet

The Economic Policy Institute released an Economic Snapshot regarding the new minimum wage: On July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage will increase to $7.25 per hour. This is the final step of a three-step increase passed in 2007 when the minimum wa…
Withholding Data: Cellphones Deadly Distraction

“By withholding this data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) led consumers to believe that it was safe to talk on their cell phones while driving if they kept both hands on the wheel”