Val Castronovo

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 Luncheon Party

After a leisurely two and a half hours of glorious food, wine, champagne and great conversation — John, in a long life, has lived all over the world and can be relied upon to entertain. There had been a detailed discussion about our lunch, ensuring that everyone had eaten well, asking if the change of ownership…
2010 Xtreme Eating Awards Given by the Nutrition Action Healthletter

“But these chains don’t promote moderation. They practice caloric extremism, and they’re helping make modern-day Americans become the most obese people ever to walk the Earth.”
Testifying About Rape Kit Backlogs

The prosecuting attorney told me they wouldn’t be trying my case, because they had decided it was unwinnable, given that I had been drinking the night of my rape and it was an acquaintance rape. I tried to explain that I had not even known the man’s name until the police told it to me,…
Desert Jewels – North African Jewelry, Flamboyant and Conspicuous Works of Art

Many materials are thought to have protective and healing qualities as well as symbolic meaning. Silver is linked with honesty and purity, and when combined with certain stones it can heal select ailments. Red Mediterranean coral, associated with life-sustaining blood, is prized for its healing properties. It is worn to promote fertility and to prevent…
Scareware Revisited, Sophisticated And Fraudulent

If you’re faced with any of the warning signs of a scareware scam or suspect a problem, shut down your browser. Don’t click “No” or “Cancel,” or even the “x” at the top right corner of the screen. Some scareware is designed so that any of those buttons can activate the program.
Ferida’s Wolff’s Backyard: Ahh, Autumn, Nature’s Palette

Ferida Wolff’s Backyard: “Ahh, Autumn. It remains its beautiful self. It seems like a warmer Fall would alter the timing of when leaves change their color but trees seem to know better. The leaves are glowing with brilliant reds and yellows and starting to fall in huge numbers. I used to like to crunch them…
Not So Sexy – The Health Risks of Secret Chemicals in Fragrance

The average fragrance product tested contained 14 secret chemicals not listed on the label. Among them are chemicals associated with hormone disruption and allergic reactions, and many substances that have not been assessed for safety in personal care products.
Sovereign Debt Crisis: A Governor Explains the Fed’s Important but Limited Role

In the worst case, such turmoil could lead to a replay of the freezing up of financial markets that we witnessed in 2008. With unemployment remaining quite high, and with continued need for balance sheet repair by many businesses, financial institutions, and households, it is particularly important that the United States not sustain a significant…
Lifelong Pursuits: Musing on the Triple Crown

Racing exploits the most fragile of domestic animals, already prone to ravages of physical abuse even by the well-intentioned. They bear pain without the sounds we notice from dogs and cats, or even cage birds. Injuries are common and some easily overlooked until they become laming or worse. An injured racehorse may not be worth…
“Gardens Are Works of Art Rather Than Nature”

“Every article of my dress was most assiduously studied; and while I can now smile with contempt on the singular hat, or odd-shaped pantaloons of some dandy of the present day, I recall to my mind the white coat, lined with blue stain, and trimmed with silver fringe, in which I was supposed to captivate…