Senior Women Web

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…
A White House Message: Women’s History Month and Paycheck Fairness Act

We held a science fair at the White House, where I met … Amy Chyao … 16 years old, … working on a treatment for cancer. She never thought, ‘Science isn’t for me.’ She never thought, ‘Girls can’t do that.’ She was just interested in solving a problem. And because someone was interested in giving…
HUD Sued For Illegal Reverse Mortgage Foreclosure Actions

“The case will have broad national implications, because the outcome will determine whether spouses will be able to stay in homes that are now “underwater” as a result of the housing downturn, a possibility that reverse mortgage borrowers have always paid insurance premiums to protect against.”
“The frown, the roughness of the traveller set me at my ease”; A New Jane Eyre Movie Version

“Something of daylight still lingered, and the moon was waxing bright: I could see him plainly … I felt no fear of him, and but little shyness. Had he been a handsome, heroic-looking young gentleman, I should not have dared to stand thus questioning him against his will, and offering my services unasked”
CRR: Do Parents Live It Up When Children Fly the Coop?

Parents maintain household-level and increase per-capita consumption when their children leave home. These findings challenge the idea that parents will automatically save more for retirement when their children are independent, indicating that more households are at risk of an unsatisfactory retirement.
An Attic Tragedy; Losing a Filmed History of Childhood

I’ll never forget when we opened a Sarasota, Florida attic after my father’s death. The humidity and heat had destroyed the 16mm film that recorded my first years and on into preteenhood.
Shopping and Sewing at B&J Fabrics

A well known New York City fabric store with a high end selection, international shipping and an online catalog that makes it difficult to choose for clothing and home decorating. Where did we find them? In our treasured Gourmet magazine!
Do You See Yourself as Inventive? Young Men and Women Don’t Seem to Think They Are

American women ages 16-25 possess many characteristics necessary to become inventors, such as creativity, interest in science and math, desire to develop altruistic inventions, and preference for working in groups or with mentors — yet they still do not see themselves as inventive
Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera

Working as a director, Rockwell carefully staged his photographs, selecting props and locations, choosing his models, and orchestrating every last detail. He created an abundance of photographs for each new subject, sometimes capturing complete compositions and other times combining separate pictures of individual elements.
ER: She Wore the Union Label; A Review of She Was One of Us

Even during wartime she spoke for the right of all workers to join unions.ER’s outspoken support gave labor unions what political scientists call “elite legitimation.” Labor unions had been around for a long time but only during FDR’s administration did they acquire mainstream respectability. To this, the first lady make a major contribution.
Costco: A Love Story in Four Acts

It’s still a great place to buy food I can freeze, cleaning products, and office supplies. And area rugs and tires. Oh, and swim goggles. Did I already mention mascara? And picture frames? Just those things, then grab some soup and a patio heater and head home! And a couple of dog beds. And oh…