Joan L. Cannon writes,  "Remember that your newfound cyber-pal has a life too. Don’t treat a new correspondent as though they already understand a) your family background, b) your phobias, c) your pet peeves, d) your most cherished dreams."

Jo Freeman writes:  African-Americans achieved a visibility at the winter meeting of the Republican National Committee not seen in the memory of anyone there, and perhaps not ever on the national level.

Diane Girard writes:There are pajamas I will not wear. I no longer buy the ones with critters on them. I have tried — but the animals disturbed me. I do not want to wear pink frilly nightwear either because then I feel silly, as if I’m stuck in a time warp at a pajama party.

Julia Sneden writes, "My spine has begun to collapse, and most cruelly of all, this is happening as my granddaughter is starting her adolescent growth spurt. Soon she will be kissing me on the top of the head and, worse yet, noticing that my p…

Roberta McReynolds writes,  "I felt the premature thrill of success; a moment later the sculpted flower slid off my fingers on its little wax paper toboggan, smashing upside down on the floor. I don’t recall what I uttered, but it wasn’t anythin…

Sharon Kapnick writes, Languedoc has become known for good-value, popular international varietals, as well as wines using indigenous grapes that offer distinctive new flavors and personality."

Joan Cannon writes, It was a small, special class of senior boys with an assortment of various handicaps, none physical, taking place at the end of a school year. I seriously questioned what in the world I was doing there

John Malone writes: "Rather than continually apologizing for my behavior and then doing the same things over again, I was able to change my behavior, gradually and painfully. I still have to struggle every day with my inflated ego, my anxiety,…

Ferida Wolff writes,  It is winter, now, and the maple branches are bare of leaves. I have been yearning for a step-back-in-time hammock, a return to a place of beginning and exploration, where one hammock could embrace a whole family and that fami…

Jo Freeman writes, "Eight groups had been given NPS permits for 'first amendment activity' on January 20. I paused at a media check-in to shed a tear for the seat on the press riser that I didn’t get and went on my way."

Jo Freeman writes of Inaugural Flashbacks: "'Senator, are you ready to take the oath?' Mid 1960s ... Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s SCOPE project registered 253 Negroes in Newberry, SC. Two local Negroes decided to run for local office in the September primary."

Jo Freeman writes, "Monday was Martin Luther King Day; It was a good day to protest, even if there wasn’t anything to protest about: Celebrating 'The End of an Error,' the Raging Grannies sang to the crowd and Code Pink did the Can-Can, as in 'Yes We Can-Can End War, a take-off on 'Yes We Can'."

Jo Freeman writes, "The combination of the first African American elected President followed by Pete Seeger, the 89-year-old folksinger who had been convicted for 'contempt of Congress' in the year Obama was born, made one believe that the Sixties had triumphed after all."

Joan Cannon writes, "Wanamaker's in New York City had beauty, utility and art for art's sake in a commercial venue. It had an enormous staff, whose livelihoods depended on it for many years. The inventory was huge and so diverse it amazes me to think that they didn't close the store until the nineteen fifties."

Rose Mula writes, "If I won the lottery, I'd buy a new luxury car or two — every year for the next fifty. Furthermore, I'd look young and beautiful forever because I could afford plastic surgery to erase every wrinkle as it appeared."

Adrienne Cannon writes, "9:30 AM. Saturday morning. Jazzercise class. The beat revves up as does the complexity of the moves. Uh-oh ... that old feeling has come back. Was it really three years ago that I began to lament my position of 'last in line?'"

Julia Sneden writes, "Sports venues used to be named after people of achievement, if they weren’t named for the teams that used them. Nowadays, despite the fact that most venues are built at least in part by taxpayer dollars, "naming rights" are sold for large amounts of money."

John Malone writes, "Is this perhaps just a case of the criminal returning to scene of the crime? Or am I searching for answers about the real meaning of my life — the good, the bad and the ugly?"

Julia Sneden writes about Niggly Things, to drive us around the proverbial bend, like the lower corner of the TV frame used to promote next week's offerings. Kyra Sedgwick pops up like a leprechaun, crouched to spring, disrupting Casablanca, let alone Sc…

Rose Mula writes, "They've invented a car that parallel parks itself, but when will they give us one that will drive itself so I can concentrate on my cell phone calls, answer my laptop email, and eat my sandwich  …  without worrying that a cop is g…

Adrienne Cannon writes, "I look around during rehearsals and classes and don’t see many of my age who are as persistent or energetic in trying to perfect their skill. I feel successful in many of the things I do, in spite of not being the best perfo…

Andreas Capellanus (late 12th cent.); Treatise on Courtly Love 1. Marriage is no excuse for not loving. 2. He who is not jealous can not love. 3. No one can be bound by two loves. 4. Love is always growing or diminishing. 5. It is not g…

Liz Flaherty writes, "There are a host of things I don’t mind. Skimpy tops with body parts hanging out — although I must confess to jealousy here; I’d give my earring collection to have the kind of body that looks good in those tops."