Tam Gray
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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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Abortion Is Slowly Becoming Legal in Name Only
In Kansas a new licensing law for abortion clinics mandates what size and temperature clinic rooms must be, requires that staff dressing rooms have toilets, that clinics stock particular medical equipment and supplies, and that they be connected to nearby hospitals. South Dakota enacted an antiabortion law with requirements so onerous they essentially deny a…
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CRR: An Update on Locally-Administered Pension Plans
The financial crisis and ensuing recession have had an enormous impact on state-administered pension plans … the demands of local plans are only half the story in terms of pressure on local budgets; local contributions to state plans will be a major driver of future budget burdens.
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CSM’s Article: “A woman’s credibility is put under a microscope”
Witness credibility is particularly crucial in sexual assault cases, say lawyers, because the alleged victim is likely to take the witness stand. Any information germane to the accuser’s credibility can be brought up during cross-examination. This would include statements to other people, interviews with the police, and even who her friends are.
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The GAO Examines Retirement Income and Celebrates Its 90th Anniversary
For the two middle net-wealth households GAO profiled with about $350,000 to $375,000 in net wealth, experts recommended purchase of annuities with a portion of savings, drawdown of savings at an annual rate, such as 4 percent of the initial balance, use of lifetime income from the DB plan, if applicable, and delay of Social…
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The College Affordability and Transparency Center: Why Costs Have Gone Up and What Will be Done?
Three lists focus on tuition and fees, and three others look at the institution’s “average net price,” the price paid by fulltime students after grants and scholarships are taken into account. Each list will be broken out into nine different sectors to allow students to compare costs at similar types of institutions.
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Women of Note: Capt. Leigh “Breaker” Larkin, A Recipient of the Mackay Trophy
Captain Larkin took charge of the scenario and began relaying to the Combined Air and Space Operations Center the horrific situation of the surrounded coalition forces. “My emotions were a combination of thrill that we did everything right and stress that the soldiers on the ground were still outside the wire.”
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Michele Bachmann’s Waterloo
She claimed government money received by her husband’s counseling clinics did not benefit the business, because the funds paid for employee training. It’s true the clinics received $24,041 for training, but the business received thousands more in government funds, including money for treating crime victims.
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Congressional Bills Introduced; Abortion, Employment and Feminine Hygiene Products
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, bills to prohibit taking minors across state lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents in abortion decisions. Others: A bill to ensure the safe use of cosmetics and a program of research regarding the risks posed by the presence of dioxin, synthetic…
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Alchemy in France: Roquefort’s Legendary Tradition
I made a trip I’ve long wanted to do, to a special town in the department of Aveyron. King Louis XIV was not the first foodie to pass this way. When the Romans built the Via Domitia, the route passed not so far from Roquefort. The precious cheese would be sent to the coast and…
