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Shopping, Garden and Footwear: For the Love of an Astrantia

We’ve been in love with the Masterwort known as Astrantia since we first saw it in a shelter magazine, probably the late, much-lamented US House&Garden .

Digging Dog Nursery informs us that “According to (Sir James Edward) Smith’s Exotic Botany of 1805, ‘The more refined admirers of Nature’ rate Astrantia among their favorite blossoms. The flowers bloom like tiny enchanting fireworks: a star burst of bracts surround the spray of small flowers and splashy groups of buds shoot out from branched stems like the finale on the Fourth of July.

If a natural look is what you’re after, plant Masterworts near a shady patio or path where you can enjoy their detail. This is an ideal flower for arrangements, fresh or dried.

The Missouri Botanical Garden uses verbiage to describe the flowering plant that we’re unfamiliar with but then again, we’re not true horticulturalists, are we:

Noteworthy Characteristics:Astrantia major is an umbelliferous, stoloniferous, clump-forming perennial of the carrot family that typically grows to 2-3’ tall. Each flower is a dense, domed umbel of greenish-white or pink florets subtended by a showy ruff of papery, petal-like, greenish or pinkish tinged involucral bracts which extent beyond the umbel. In comparison to the species, ‘Magnum Blush’ features a more abundant bloom of larger flowers that are ivory white tinged with pink. Flowers bloom from early to late summer. Foliage clump rises to 24” tall with flower stems rising to 30”. Medium green leaves on petioles are palmately cut into 3-7 (usually 5) toothed lobes. Leaves appear primarily in basal clumps, with smaller sessile leaves on the upper stems. Genus name comes from the Greek word for star in reference to the star-like quality of the flower heads.

Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Slugs are occasional visitors. Editor’s Note: Aren’t they always?

Garden Uses: Part shade areas of perennial borders. Also effective in open woodland, wild or cottage gardens. Excellent along a shady path. Good perennial for sun-dappled areas below open trees or near patios.

*A volume (1 of 2) sold in London at Christie’s in 2005 for £180.

And now to flip-flips (sold through Cafe Press).

The great thing about the Web is that nowadays the hunt for a particular item will show the images connected with said object. And so it was that the astrantia flower flip-flop appeared. It turns out that we haven’t owned flip flops for decades — I don’t usually find them that comfortable — but it so happens that a beach looms in the future. Hence, the Cafe Press Astrantia Hidden Jewel footwear; once I saw the blooms, I couldn’t resist.

My husband’s choice was those that featured a map of Florida. If you do go to their site, don’t forget to visit the SeniorWomen.com site for our products.

April 17, 2012
Politics and the Dancing Body: Haitian voodoo ritual and ‘a guitar that kills Fascists’

Through the medium of dance, 20th-century American choreographers created dances that reflected the diverse spectrum of cultural expression. In addition to works made by choreographers Ted Shawn, Lester Horton, Martha Graham and Alvin Ailey that celebrated America’s traditional music, folk and immigrant practices and Native American rituals, choreographers were not afraid to craft political dances that protested injustices or advocated reform.

A Library of Congress exhibition, “Politics and the Dancing Body,” explores how American choreographers from World War I through the Cold War realized this vision — using dance to celebrate American culture, to voice social protest and to raise social consciousness.

The exhibition is on view through July 28.

Many choreographers — including Isadora Duncan, Jane Dudley and Sophie Maslow — produced dances that commemorated the ideas of the communist “experiment” established by the newly created Soviet Union after the Russian Revolution of 1917. During the 1930s and 1940s, choreographers Charles Weidman, Erick Hawkins, Daniel Nagrin and members of the New Dance Group, to name a few, asserted their voices against the rise of fascism, the exploitation of workers, homelessness, widespread hunger, unemployment and racism.

In reaction to intensified fears about the spread of communism in the post-World War II era, the United States government sent numerous dance companies throughout the world as vehicles for cultural diplomacy and to counter anti-American sentiment. These tours, which included the American Ballet Theatre, the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the José Limón Company, continued until the Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1987 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

This exhibition spotlights the rich dance, music, theater and design collections of the Music Division of the Library of Congress, including the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Collection, the Daniel Nagrin Collection, the Erick Hawkins Collection, the Federal Theatre Project Collection, the Martha Graham Collection and Martha Graham Legacy Archive and the New Dance Group Collection, to name a few.

Featured items include the original invitation from Germany’s Third Reich to Martha Graham, asking her to participate in the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics (which she refused); a page from dancer-choreographer Jane Dudley’s FBI file; costume designs for Helen Tamiris’ choreography, “How Long Brethren?” from the Federal Theatre Project’s 1937 production; photographs from American Ballet Theatre’s 1960 trip to the Soviet Union (photographed by official Soviet photographers); set designs by Oliver Smith for “Rodeo” (1942); and rare photographs from the 1930s, including images of Ted Shawn, Lester Horton, Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham.

April 16, 2012
A Philadelphia Family’s Titanic History and the Fate of the RMS Titanic Pets
Widener Titanic Exhibit Focuses on Philadelphia Families

A boarding pass provides entry for the exhibit noting the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic at the Widener University Art Gallery until May 12. The exhibit, which focuses on the Philadelphia families touched by the tragedy, will even include a section on the dogs that perished on the Titanic’s maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York on April 14, 1912.

Upon entering the exhibit, visitors will receive a replica boarding pass with the name of a Philadelphia resident who was on the cruise. The last section of the exhibit will include portraits of Philadelphians on the ship, and visitors will find out if the person on their boarding pass perished or were among the lucky survivors.

The exhibit is produced and curated by J. Joseph Edgette, Ph.D., professor emeritus of education and folklorist emeritus at Widener and an authority on the Titanic. Edgette’s research has primarily focused on Philadelphians who were on the cruise, such as the *Widener family for whom Widener University is named. However, he said he was touched and intrigued by the dogs that were also on the cruise. He said there were twelve dogs on the Titanic and only three survived.

“There is such a special bond between people and their pets. For many, they are considered to be family members,” Edgette said. “I don’t think any Titanic exhibit has examined that relationship and recognized those loyal family pets that also lost their lives on the cruise.”

The exhibit will also include displays on the impact the Titanic has had on popular culture, the company that built the Titanic, the details about the ship, *the Widener family, the recovery efforts following the tragedy, and how families memorialized members who lost their lives.

A reception will be held on April 14, the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the gallery.

The gallery is located on the Main Campus of Widener University in University Center on 14th Street between Walnut Street and Melrose Avenue in Chester.

Photo Caption: Dogs on the deck of the Titanic. Twelve dogs made the voyage, only three survived.

*Widener Library, which opened [at Harvard] with a solemn ceremony on June 24, 1915, commemorates Harry Elkins Widener (born January 3, 1885 in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania), a 1907 Harvard graduate, who was a book collector and victim of the Titanic disaster. His mother, Eleanor Elkins, made a $3.5 million donation to Harvard University to build a library named after him. The library was designed by Horace Trumbauer & Associates, the architect of many private houses for the intertwined Elkins and Widener families of Philadelphia including the renowned Lynnewood Hall. The Associate responsible for designing Widener Library was the chief designer of the firm, architect Julian F. Abele, the first major African American architect.

**
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The Widener Family and the RMS Titanic. In the spring of 1912, George Widener, his wife Eleanore Elkins Widener, and their son, Harry, travel abroad. On the return trip, the RMS Titanic slams into an iceberg on April 15, 1912. Eleanore Widener survives, but more than 1,500 people, including George and Harry Widener, perish.
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April 13, 2012
Life Expectancy and the Long Hot Summer

New research from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) suggests that seemingly small changes in summer temperature swings — as little as 1°C more than usual — may shorten life expectancy for elderly people with chronic medical conditions, and could result in thousands of additional deaths each year. While previous studies have focused on the short-term effects of heat waves, this is the first study to examine the longer-term effects of climate change on life expectancy.

“The effect of temperature patterns on long-term mortality has not been clear to this point. We found that, independent of heat waves, high day to day variability in summer temperatures shortens life expectancy,” said Antonella Zanobetti, senior research scientist in the Department of Environmental Health at HSPH and lead author of the study. “This variability can be harmful for susceptible people.”

In recent years, scientists have predicted that climate change will not only increase overall world temperatures but will also increase summer temperature variability, particularly in mid-latitude regions such as the mid-Atlantic states of the US and sections of countries such as France, Spain, and Italy. These more volatile temperature swings could pose a major public health problem, the authors note.

Previous studies have confirmed the association between heat waves and higher death rates. But this new research goes a step further. Although heat waves can kill in the short term, the authors say, even minor temperature variations caused by climate change may also increase death rates over time among elderly people with diabetes, heart failure, chronic lung disease, or those who have survived a previous heart attack.

The researchers used Medicare data from 1985 to 2006 to follow the long-term health of 3.7 million chronically ill people over age 65 living in 135 US cities. They evaluated whether mortality among these people was related to variability in summer temperature, allowing for other things that might influence the comparison, such as individual risk factors, winter temperature variance, and ozone levels. They compiled results for individual cities, then pooled the results.

They found that, within each city, years when the summer temperature swings were larger had higher death rates than years with smaller swings. Each 1°C increase in summer temperature variability increased the death rate for elderly with chronic conditions between 2.8% and 4.0%, depending on the condition. Mortality risk increased 4.0% for those with diabetes; 3.8% for those who’d had a previous heart attack; 3.7% for those with chronic lung disease; and 2.8% for those with heart failure. Based on these increases in mortality risk, the researchers estimate that greater summer temperature variability in the US could result in more than 10,000 additional deaths per year.

Illustration: Land surface temperatures of March 8-15, 2012. Land surface temperatures are distinct from the air temperatures that meteorological stations typically measure.

April 12, 2012
Interfering with Bumble and Honeybees’ Extraordinary Feats of Navigation

by Kathy Wren and Natasha D. Pinol

A honeybee is tagged with an RFID microchip to track the effects of pesticide exposure on bee homing systems.

[Image © Science/AAAS]

A widely used insecticide can threaten the health of bumblebee colonies and interfere with the homing abilities of honeybees, according to a pair of new studies. The reports, one by a UK team and one by a French team, were published at the Express Web site of the journal Science.

Bumblebees and honeybees are important pollinators of flowering plants, including many major fruit and vegetable crops. Each year, for example, honeybee hives are driven from field to field to help pollinate almond, apple, and blueberry crops, among others.

In recent years, honeybee populations have rapidly declined, in part due to a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Bumblebee populations have been suffering as well, according to Dave Goulson of the University of Stirling in Stirling, UK, who is a co-author of one of the studies.

“Some bumblebee species have declined hugely. For example in North America, several bumblebee species which used to be common have more or less disappeared from the entire continent,” he said. “In the UK, three species have gone extinct.”

Researchers have proposed multiple causes for these declines, including pesticides, but it’s been unclear exactly how pesticides are inflicting their damage.

“It’s been difficult to make direct connections between pesticides as they would be encountered in natural conditions, and the negative impacts we’ve seen in laboratory studies,” said Associate Editor Sasha Vignieri.

Both of the Science studies looked at the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides, which were introduced in the early 1990s and have now become one of the most widely used crop pesticides in the world. These compounds act on the insect’s central nervous system, and they spread to the nectar and pollen of flowering crops.

In one study, Penelope Whitehorn of the University of Stirling and colleagues exposed developing colonies of bumblebees, Bombus terrestris, to low levels of a neonicotinoid called imidacloprid, found in brand names pesticides such as Gaucho, Prestige, Admire, and Marathon. The doses were comparable to what the bees are often exposed to in the wild.

The researchers then placed the colonies in an enclosed field site where the bees could forage under natural conditions for six weeks. “These bees perform extraordinary feats of navigation in the real world” to find and bring food back to their colonies, Goulson said . “Anything that reduced its ability to learn or to navigate could have a very big effect in the wild which would not be detected or detected very weakly in a lab situation.”

At the beginning and end of the experiment, the researchers weighed each of the bumblebee nests — which included the bees, wax, honey, bee grubs, and pollen — to determine how much the colony had grown.

The researchers then placed the colonies in an enclosed field site where the bees could forage under natural conditions for six weeks. “These bees perform extraordinary feats of navigation in the real world” to find and bring food back to their colonies, Goulson said at the press conference. “Anything that reduced its ability to learn or to navigate could have a very big effect in the wild which would not be detected or detected very weakly in a lab situation.”

At the beginning and end of the experiment, the researchers weighed each of the bumblebee nests — which included the bees, wax, honey, bee grubs, and pollen — to determine how much the colony had grown.

April 12, 2012
The Mystery of Edwin Drood: “The loveliest girl in the world is yours by will and testament”

“The pet pupil of the Nuns’ House is Miss Rosa Bud, of course called Rosebud; wonderfully pretty, wonderfully childish, wonderfully whimsical. An awkward interest (awkward because romantic) attaches to Miss Bud in the minds of the young ladies, on account of its being known to them that a husband has been chosen for her by will and bequest, and that her guardian is bound down to bestow her on that husband when he comes of age. Miss Twinkleton, in her seminarial state of existence, has combated the romantic aspect of this destiny by affecting to shake her head over it behind Miss Bud’s dimpled shoulders, and to brood on the unhappy lot of that doomed little victim. But with no better effect — possibly some unfelt touch of foolish Mr. Porters has undermined the endeavour — than to evoke from the young ladies an unanimous bedchamber cry of ‘O, what a pretending old thing Miss Twinkleton is, my dear!’”

“The Nuns’ House is never in such a state of flutter as when this allotted husband calls to see little Rosebud. (It is unanimously understood by the young ladies that he is lawfully entitled to this privilege, and that if Miss Twinkleton disputed it, she would be instantly taken up and transported.) When his ring at the gate-bell is expected, or takes place, every young lady who can, under any pretence, look out of window, looks out of window; while every young lady who is ‘practising,’ practises out of time; and the French class becomes so demoralised that the mark goes round as briskly as the bottle at a convivial party in the last century.

“On the afternoon of the day next after the dinner of two at the gatehouse, the bell is rung with the usual fluttering results.

“‘Mr. Edwin Drood to see Miss Rosa.’

“This is the announcement of the parlour-maid in chief. Miss Twinkleton, with an exemplary air of melancholy on her, turns to the sacrifice, and says, ‘You may go down, my dear.’ Miss Bud goes down, followed by all eyes.

“Mr. Edwin Drood is waiting in Miss Twinkleton’s own parlour: a dainty room, with nothing more directly scholastic in it than a terrestrial and a celestial globe. These expressive machines imply (to parents and guardians) that even when Miss Twinkleton retires into the bosom of privacy, duty may at any moment compel her to become a sort of Wandering Jewess, scouring the earth and soaring through the skies in search of knowledge for her pupils.”

From Chapter Three of The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens; Project Gutenberg’s complete eBook text. Illustrated by Luke Fildes.

Watch The Mystery of Edwin Drood Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

April 12, 2012
The Redbud Tree is All Heart(s)

by Ferida Wolff

The ornamental Redbud tree is a delight to see. At every stage it draws you in to appreciate its color, flowers, and leaves. The flowers are now an attention-getting purply pink that last for weeks. The leaves, when they appear, start out as maroon, turn deep green, and eventually yellow. And you have to love the shape of the leaves — they look like hearts!

It is an understory tree, which means that it thrives under the canopy of taller trees, usually growing between twenty and thirty feet. Yet it is adaptable. It can grow out in the open and pretty much in any soil (even clay, hooray!) though it does prefer some drainage.

The Redbud is an early blossoming tree and stands out against the slower developing trees. The fruit hangs in pods like peas and is edible. The flowers can be used in salads. Native peoples used the bark to make a medicinal tea to treat fevers and congestion like whooping cough.

Quite a multi-purpose tree. It nurtures in a variety of ways. Did I mention that bees are attracted to its pollen and that hummingbirds like its nectar? Without a doubt, this is a tree that deserves to be valued. Whenever I look in my backyard and see the spring Redbud, I can feel my spirit expand. And all summer long its heart-shaped leaves will remind me to keep looking for the spirit in all life forms.

About the Redbud:

http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ceca4.pdf

http://www.arborday.org/programs/nationaltree/redbud.cfm

Pictorial details:

http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/ceca.html

©2012 Ferida Wolff for SeniorWomen.com

Editor’s Note: A protest of some dimension relating to the Redbud Woods on the campus of Cornell University prompted the plaque enscribed with the following words to be placed on the former site of the Redbuds in 2006:

*Redbud Woods The land before you was once home to the extended family of Robert H. Treman, creator of parks and protector of green spaces throughout Tompkins County. The woodland that grew up here was inhabited for decades by diverse fauna and more than fifty plant species, including numerous redbud trees. Redbud Woods was razed on July 20, 2005 by the Cornell administration to build a parking lot. This plaque has been erected by Ithaca community members in memory of this cherished woodland.

Remember the trees…
Remember all who tried to save them.

*From Wikipedia

April 11, 2012
RMS Titanic Book Reviews: “It is impossible to stand. The music’s sounds are lost in an increasingly thunderous roar … “

With the arrival of the sinking of the RMS Titanic’s 100th anniversary on April 15, the shelves are flooding with new books and reprints on every topic related to Titanic. Here are reviews of some of the entries, courtesy of the Titanic International Society.

— Reviews by John P. Eaton*

And the Band Played On by Christopher Ward, Published by Hodder & Stoughton, 274 pp, illus., ©2012 ISBN 978 1 444 70794 6. Available from Amazon.com (US: Hardbound $17.20; paperback $10.25 (plus shipping); Kindle edition $8.66 (Amazon.co.uk: £12.40; £5.43; £4.99)

Songe d’Titanic

Of all acts of heroism and valor realized during the hours of Titanic’s loss, none is so well defined or so often recalled as the audacity of the courageous bandsmen:

… High on the boat deck, in a space adjacent to the second funnel, the bandsmen paused in their music making. Earlier they had played rags, gay pieces from musical theatre, brave marches. The deck beneath them began a slow, almost imperceptible slant forward. Cold hands gripped instruments tightly, chilled fingers groped for taught strings. Bandmaster Wallace Hartley tapped his bow and spoke a title. The strains of the well-loved Londonderry Air (Danny Boy to many) drifted across the calm waters now dotted with drifting lifeboats.

The slanting decks grew steeper, more slippery. The music ceased, then began again, thinly, as Hartley, perhaps in reverie, pulled his bow across the strings for the final time. He was joined as, one by one, the other players picked up the familiar tune — the hymn played at gravesides for brother musicians departed, and Hartley’s own favorite. Nearer, My God, To Thee.

It is impossible to stand. The music’s sounds are lost in an increasingly thunderous roar … (Eaton & Haas, Falling Star, Patrick Stephens, Ltd., 1989, p. 162)

April 10, 2012
Field Work During a Mass Extinction: The curious Hawaiian happy face spider and others

by Darko Cotoras*

Imagine that a “time machine” allowed you to go back in time — back exactly 64,999,995 years ago, just five years before the crash of the meteor that marked the end of the Age of the Dinosaurs. You have just enough time to do your field work, analyze your data, and write your Ph.D. dissertation. Your field work starts in the closest emerged land to the Chicxulub impact site. In no time at all you begin discovering new species of dinosaurs that are unknown from the fossil record, and you diligently test dozens of hypotheses about the behavior and physiology of these Mesozoic giants.

For three years you have that chance to explore a completely different world to the one where you grew up.

Australia is still connected to a temperate Antarctica and India is on its way to cross the equatorial line. Continental seas cover extensive regions of North America, Europe, Asia and in South America, east of the rising Andes.

During your last year of field work, a series of small meteorites begin to impact the Earth. These events become more and more frequent and some of them have local effects similar to the volcanic explosion of the island of Krakatau in 1883. Your advisor and dissertation committee recommend that you come back, but you refuse to do so. You still want to do field work for your last chapter concerning the ecology of Titanosaurus in South America. It is literally the last chance to study these sauropods before they become extinct. However, communications with your family and friends make you change your mind. After carefully packing up all your samples, including Ornithuromorpha feathers, Nymphaeaceae flowers and pollinator insects, you come back to the present. The Cretaceous world is not a safe place anymore ….

Our reality today is in some ways not too far from this fictional story. Based in Laupāhoehoe on the Big Island of Hawai’i this past January, I took part in field work on the slopes of Mauna Kea and witnessed how the environment is changing in a precipitous way. I had the chance to do an altitudinal transect with climate change researchers from the University of Hawai’i, Mānoa. Starting at 1,116 meters we were surrounded by an amazingly beautiful native forest. Huge o’hia and koa trees dominated the canopy, while the understory was full of a variety of endemic plants, including the hapu’u fern, ‘ōlapa tree, ‘ōhelo berries and more than 15 other endemic species. Flying and singing amongst the vegetation, different species of native birds, (i’iwi, apapane, ‘oma’o, ‘amakihi) accompanied us. The bark and leaves of the trees hosted an abundant community of terrestrial invertebrates. Dozens of species of Drosophila, giant Leptogryllus crickets, colorful Tetragnatha spiders and, of course, the curious Hawaiian happy face spider, were part of this unique world.

However, as we descended, the increase of invasive species, like strawberry guava, clidemia and Kāhili ginger, became obvious. At 934 meters, most of the strawberry guavas were juvenile — they were the advancing front of an invasion. By 800 meters, the strawberry guava trees were older and the diversity of endemic plants had declined dramatically. Toward the end of the transect, we were in a pure strawberry guava forest. Most of the native plants were gone and many of the animals appeared to be absent as well. It became obvious to me that I was witnessing the potential future for the higher elevation areas.

Today, the disappearance of “critically endangered,” “endangered” and “vulnerable” species could lead us further down a path toward what might be the planet’s sixth mass extinction. Indeed, it is likely that many more organisms will go extinct in our lifetime. The clock is ticking for many species worldwide and we have a limited time to discover and document our existing biological diversity. Unlike the K/T extinction, we can use our knowledge of contemporary species distribution and abundance to prevent these extinctions.

However, for this to occur, human society must undergo fundamental yet attainable changes. If we fail to learn the lessons from the past, there might not be a future from which to escape once the Earth ceases to be a safe place ….

DC’s Acknowledgement: I want to thank Scott Laursen for suggestions for the text and for letting me join the research team to visit Laupāhoehoe.

*Ph.D. candidate, courtesy of University of California Museum of Paleontology; Photo: Mauna Kea vegetation

Other Links:
Field Notes;
Online Exhibits

April 9, 2012
The Multitasking Myth: You may think you’re being productive, but, get real, you’re not

by Rose Madeline Mula

You know how those one-size-fits-all garments never really fit anyone properly? In a way, the same principle applies to multitasking. When you’re trying to do more than one thing at a time, you don’t do any of them well. You may think you’re being productive, but get real. You’re not.

[Editor’s Note: This sticker seen in Paris satirizes the popularity of communication in SMS shorthand. In French: “Is that you? / It’s me! / Do you love me? / Shut up!”}

A prime example of this is texting while _________ (fill in the blank). You are deceiving yourself if you think you can do anything else effectively while punching out a message on teeny-tiny buttons. It’s not touch typing. You have to look at the keys. And while you’re doing that, you can’t be watching something else at the same time — like the road, if you’re driving. I know. You think that diverting your gaze for just a fraction of a second is not a problem. Do you have any idea how far your car will travel in that instant if you’re hurtling down the highway at 80 miles per hour? (And why are you doing that in the first place, by the way? Isn’t the speed limit 65?) So much can happen in that brief time: The idiot in the next lane (yes, you’re not the only nincompoop on the road) may choose that precise moment to cut in front of you … you might hit a pothole you hadn’t noticed … the traffic may have come to a sudden stop because of an accident up ahead (probably caused by a driver who was answering his email or surfing the net).

Unfortunately, our phones may be “smart,” but they enable us to do so many stupid things.

Almost as dangerous as texting while driving is texting while walking. People who do this have been known to break an ankle when stumbling on a rock, fall into open manholes, topple into rivers or into fountains in shopping mall, collide with baby strollers — or with strolling babies … The possibilities for disaster are limitless.

Never mind calamities that result in physical harm to yourself or others. What about just missing out on living in the present moment? Life isn’t happening on a two-inch square screen, People! It’s going on all around you. You know what I mean, I’m sure. We see parents at dance recitals, soccer games, graduations — engrossed in texting, instead of focusing on their little darlings who are going to be grown and out of the nest almost before the next message pops up on mom’s or dad’s I-phone. Meanwhile, students in classrooms are surreptitiously texting, oblivious to the words of their professors — gems for which they (or, more likely, their parents) have paid big bucks. And what about that guy next to you at the movies who keeps sneaking peeks at text messages (probably sent by his girl friend sitting beside him), both ignoring the blockbuster flick on the big screen that they’ve been dying to see?

April 6, 2012