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
Missing Persons: I look at our grown-up sons and realize those little boys are never really very far away
Julia Sneden wrote: So I miss them, those children we reared, but all things considered, I'll settle for the way things are now. Besides, when I feel a deep need I can look into the face of my youngest granddaughter and see my son's merry brown eyes looking back at me. And that's no small thing for which to be thankful. more »
Flu Predictions From Columbia's Mailman School of Health & the CDC ... The Season Is Upon Us
Website features: Interactive map of the United States that displays the relative severity of seasonal flu in 94 cities across the country; flu and incidence numbers for each. Influenza incidence predictions by city for the coming weeks; map that illustrates the proportion of flu cases by region. more »
Olfactory Dysfunction is a Harbinger of Mortality: "We believe olfaction is the canary in the coalmine of human health"
For older adults, being unable to identify scents is a strong predictor of death within five years, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE. Thirty-nine percent of study subjects who failed a simple smelling test died during that period, compared to 19 percent of those with moderate smell loss and just 10 percent of those with a healthy sense of smell. more »
Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse, Floral Paintings With an Art Historical and Cultural Narrative
The Dallas Museum of Art exhibit traces the development of the floral still life from the late 18th century through the early 20th century, emphasizing the tremendous depth and scope of creative engagement with the genre throughout this era. The exhibition features more than 60 paintings by more than 30 artists, including renowned figures such as Paul Cézanne, Gustave Courbet, Eugène Delacroix, Vincent van Gogh and Edouard Manet, along with less familiar contemporaries such as Simon Saint-Jean and Henri Fantin-Latour. more »
