Roberta McReynolds

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…
Those New Car Shopping Blues

three days later, the air conditioner (which sounded like it should have been able to cool the Grand Canyon) gave up the fight. It emitted one last, terrible groan, threw up its fluid all over the floor, and died. I drove straight to the dealer. They were not happy to see me. Gone were the…
Chile Is Hot: Good-Value, Familiar-Varietal Wines Grab Consumers’ Attention

There are many reasons for the strength and appeal of Chile’s wines. For one thing, conditions for grape growing in many regions are just about perfect. Chile is often called a winemakers paradise. Central Chile is blessed with a Mediterranean climate — with no summer rain and warm sunny days — that allows slow, continual…
Crossing the Line

Broad lines painted in the brilliant color of a yellow school bus sectioned off areas on the warehouse floor. The reception area was on one side of the cautionary line and the work area was on the opposite side. My face reddened with embarrassment: I had stepped across a clearly defined boundary. I broke the…
Does Screening for Partner Abuse Reduce Violence?

‘The results of the [current study] should dispel any illusions that universal screening with passive referrals to community services is an adequate response to violence in intimate relationships.’
Mastering the Art of Julia

Julia kept meticulous notes and spent months perfecting recipes for one ingredient. She made so many egg dishes that she finally wrote to Simca, “I’ve just poached two more eggs and throw them down the toilet.”
New Link: Wolfram

I don’t pretend to be able to define Wolfram’s goals, talents and offerings, so I’ll let the site speak for itself, and perhaps most easily in its FAQs. An aspect that might be intriguing for seniors is the fact that you can contribute materials and sugg…
A White House Health Reform Reality Check, Hiking health insurance premiums 95 percent? Surgery vs. Abortions? Counseling to Die?

The White House Reality Check for Health Insurance Reform. FactCheck.org: The latest ad from the group Conservatives for Patients’ Rights claims that ‘new rules could hike your health insurance premiums 95 percent.’ That’s misleading.Bills pending in Congress – at least those that have made it through the committee level – don’t mention abortion at all.…
Horse, Horse, Tiger, Tiger

armed with our new linguistic knowledge, we headed off on our own into the shops that lined Nanjing Road, a major shopping area in Shanghai. In one shop, we pointed to a fan. The clerk took it from its case to show to us. We looked it over and carefully said in our best Mandarin,…
CultureWatch: My Father’s Tears and Other Stories

Divorce is a part in a surprising number of them, and usually the reader cannot imagine any other outcome for the situation described, but sometimes it seems an oddly self-serving decision, with little or no hope of improving the emotional lot of those involved.
Following The Puppy Diaries

“Puppies tie you down, drag you out for a walk even when it’s sleeting and sink their tiny teeth into your favorite shoes. They offer boundless love, granted unconditionally. They also provide their share of frustrations.”