Tam Gray

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…
The Freedom Trail: World War II Escape Route Over the Pyrenees

Consider then, the young men of the Second World War, fleeing from the enemy, who attempted an astonishing journey under cover of darkness. Without compasses or climbing boots they faced one of the most treacherous parts of the mountains; it was their only chance of freedom.
The Murdoch Issue: Resolution 1003 (1993) on the Ethics of Journalism

In the journalist’s profession the end does not justify the means; therefore information must be obtained by legal and ethical means.In journalism, controversial or sensational items must not be confused with subjects on which it is important to provide information… care must be taken not to broadcast programmes, messages or images glorifying violence, exploiting sex…
Grandparents Behind the Wheel: A Precious Cargo Driving Style

In the event of a crash, the risk of injury to children is significantly lower when driven by a grandparent versus a parent, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia CHOP) and published in the journal Pediatrics
The Benefits of Marriage on Men’s Health: Does It Extend to Their Wives?

“Men who are married or in common-law relationships seek medical care sooner for heart attacks compared with single, divorced or widowed men, found a new study in CMAJ…At the patient level, among patients with an exact time of onset of chest pain, the adjusted time saved was a remarkable half-hour.”
Michele Bachmann: Inching Women and the US Presidency Forward

To level the political playing field for women it is an imperative to have women candidates in every presidential election. Research shows that the more women who run for president the less that gender matters because women will not be seen as novelty candidates.
Waiting Room Poll Strikes a Nerve

When MedPage Today asked if patients who are kept waiting for scheduled appointments should get a discounted bill, almost half of the more than 3,200 respondents said Yes. The genesis of this poll was an article about patients who bill their doctors for time spent waiting.
Republican Political Mother

The author portrays the life of one dynamic woman during a period of major changes. Political campaigns went from relying heavily on volunteers, most of whom were women, to that of paid pollsters and political consultants, most of whom are not women.
Jane Austen: “A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of”

At the age of eleven, Jane Austen finished her formal education and returned home. It was in this environment, encouraged by her family — all enthusiastic readers themselves — that she began to write poems, stories, and plays for her family’s as well as her own amusement.
CultureWatch Reviews: Carthage Must Be Destroyed and The City of God

The author of Carthage Must Be Destroyed takes a close look at our preconceived notions of Carthage and Carthaginians, colored as they are by the accounts of Greek and Roman writers who had a vested interest in presenting Carthaginians as cruel and duplicitous. The City of God is as rich in lofty thinking, baroque writing,…
Seniors, Smartphones and the Pew Report on Adoption and Usage

In its first stand alone measure of smartphone ownership, the Pew Internet Project finds that one third of American adults – 35% – own smartphones. The Project’s May survey found that 83% of US adults have a cell phone of some kind, and that 42% of them o…