Doris O'Brien is a retired college Speech teacher and banker. She has published two books of humor (Up or Down With Women's Liberation and Humor Me a Little) and for many years contributed light verse to the Pepper 'n Salt column of the Wall Street Journal. She is an avid writer of letters to the editors.
Doris celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in the same year she welcomed her first grandchild. She now lives in Pasadena with a great view of the San Gabriel mountains — and the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
She can be reached by e-mail: witsendob at (@) gmail.com
Getting Past It: Let’s Look for Ways to Serve Multiple Intelligences
Julia Sneden wrote: Slow learners and average students, after all, do not necessarily learn less than "gifted" students. They simply learn at a different speed. They are often surprisingly thorough and reflective and creative students who retain what they learn as well as or better than those who learn things faster. Brilliance has no lock on perseverance or creativity. more »
While Waiting for the Plow: Vehicles for the Snow, NATO, International Polar Foundation, British Royal Marines and Texas Oil Fields
Editor's Note: Before turning on the Barrett-Jackson current auction sales for my husband's amusement (and outright envy), I encountered a program displaying the charms of the Snow-Trac, no longer manufactured, but still being acquired by devotees. The cable program which, we assume, may be downloaded through your cable station is Extreme Auto Hunters. Those who live in frequently snowed-in areas can of course, go a bit further with a vehicle/station designed for the International Polar Foundation. But, of course, we've found a free You Tube version, too. more »
What Is In Those Pills? The FDA Does Not Evaluate a Supplement’s Contents or Effectiveness Before It Appears On Shelves
There is little to guarantee that any vitamin, mineral, probiotic, sports supplement, herbal treatment, or other dietary supplement is safe, effective, or even contains what’s on its label. Last year a NY Attorney General's investigation found that several popular store-brand supplements at four major retailers — GNC, Target, Walgreens and Walmart — contained contaminants not listed among the labeled ingredients. Just 21 percent of them actually had the DNA of the plant species they purported to be vending. more »
While the Snow Falls & You Avoid the Shovel; IRS Offers More Free Federal and Free State Tax Software Options
"We are proud to once again offer the industry's most innovative and secure tax software at no cost to 70 percent of American taxpayers. Tax time can be stressful, but Free File makes step-by-step help accessible to everyone making $62,000 or less. IRS.gov/FreeFile is the one place where taxpayers can choose from a variety of industry-leading tax software options in order to prepare and e-file their federal tax returns at absolutely no cost." more »
