Kristin Phelps
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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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Ask a CDC Scientist: Dr. Terrence Tumpey and the Reconstruction of the 1918 Pandemic Virus Español
In 2005, microbiologist Dr. Terrence Tumpey was approved by then-CDC director Dr. Julie Gerberding to use reverse genetics to reconstruct the 1918 influenza virus, which had been lost to history following the devastating pandemic of 1918. The decision to recreate the 1918 virus was made very carefully by senior government officials and then carried out…
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Help From a Familiar (and revamped) Government Resource: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Resources For Consumers During Covid-19 Pandemic
“During this difficult time, the Bureau is doing everything it can to facilitate the work of responsible financial companies supporting their customers and borrowers. We want consumers facing hardships to be are aware of this posture and encourage them to discuss their specific circumstances with their lenders. As a backstop, the CFPB stands ready to…
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Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Homes and Residential Communities
Household members, intimate partners, and caregivers in a nonhealthcare setting may have close contact with a person with symptomatic, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 or a person under investigation. Close contacts should monitor their health; they should call their healthcare provider right away if they develop symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, shortness of breath) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/risk-assessment.html
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And Now For Something Completely Different: Daddy Long-Legs — A Weird and Wonderful Railway
Construction started in 1894 and the railway was opened in November 1896. Passengers were carried in a large tramcar-like carriage on a deck mounted on long stilts. It was named ‘Pioneer’ but popularly known as ‘daddy long-legs’. It was equipped with a lifeboat and lifebelts, and had to be operated by a qualified sea captain.…
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Two Berkeley Professors: Targeted Intervention on COVID-19 Must Support Businesses, Workers
Absent government actions, and many businesses and workers do not have enough liquidity to weather dramatic shortfalls in demand causing mass redundancies. Keeping businesses alive through this crisis and making sure workers continue to receive their wages is essential. The most direct way to provide this insurance is to have governments act as payers of…
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Deaconess Health System Face Mask Sewing Instructions: How to Make a Face Mask and Boston Globe Opinion Piece on Covering Your Face
From a Deaconess Health System Nurse: “Prior to modern disposable masks, washable fabric masks were standard use for hospitals,” said Dawn Rogers, MSN, RN, FNP-C, Patient Safety & Infection Prevention Office. “We will be able to sterilize these masks and use them repeatedly as needed. While it’s less than ideal, we want to do our…
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What? You Have Nothing to Do? Explore Some Museums Collections Online
Editor’s Note: We’ve been going to Museums for all of our lives … from the East Coast to the West Coast. Some museums are very open to the public (you don’t have to be a member) to explore their collections and exhibits. Let us know if you’d like to recommend some museums and galleries whose…
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From the National Institutes of Health (NIH): New Coronavirus Stable for Hours on Surfaces Including Copper, Cardboard, Plastics and Stainless Steel
The scientists found that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. The results provide key information about the stability of SARS-CoV-2, which…
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Weekly Legislative Update March 9-13, 2020: Bills For Paid Sick Leave, Perinatal Workforce, Public Health Emergency, Maternity Care Coordination by Dept of Veterans Affairs
A bill to establish the Leadership Institute for Transatlantic Engagement to develop a diverse community of transatlantic leaders at all levels of government, including emerging leaders, committed to democratic institutions; A bill to provide improved care and protection to incarcerated mothers, and for other purposes.; A bill to accept a statue depicting Harriet Tubman from…
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Automatic Stabilizers: What Are They and Do They Help Workers Who Stay Home Due to the Corona Virus?
“The governments of most European countries are offsetting the cost of emergency sick leave for employers an aiding smaller companies that are scrambling to survive. Most European governments require business to grant employees some form of paid sick leave. Germany, France, Denmark and The Netherlands are among the countries where workers have a right to…
