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
Look Ahead to November: Marijuana, Gambling, Reverse Mortgages, Minimum Wage and GMOs on the Election Ballot
New Jersey could become the 11th state with a minimum wage that increases automatically if voters approve a constitutional amendment this fall. More states are adopting minimum wages that are indexed to inflation or increases in the cost of living. Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington already have such policies, and in all of them except Vermont the moves were approved at the polls. more »
Elaine Soloway's Caregiving Series: The Turn Around Tango
I’m in the kitchen preparing dinner. A pot of spaghetti is nearing its boil on the stove. I remove a colander from its place in a cabinet and set it in the sink. When the timer rings, signaling al dente, I lift the pot by its two handles and turn around to dump pasta and water into said colander. Alas, the pockmarked utensil has vanished. In his fancy step, while my back was turned, Tommy has removed the colander from the sink, placed it back in the cabinet, and exited. He has not done this to vex me; this I know. He just can’t help it. more »
A New Study: Marriage Can Have a Significant Health Impact for Patients With Cancer
People who are married when diagnosed with cancer live longer than those who are not, report researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Married patients also tended to have cancers diagnosed at an earlier stage — when it is often more successfully treated — and to receive more appropriate treatment.
September 23, 2013
Tags: BasicResearch, CopingWithCancer
Paul Nguyen, MD
People who are married when diagnosed with cancer live longer than those who are not, repo… more »
Joanne Brickman's Senior Women Sleuths, Part One
Miss Jane Marple of the Kentish village of St. Mary Mead, a blue-eyed, frail lady who dressed in a black lace cap and mittens, has had a broad and lasting appeal, aging along the way. Miss Marple first appeared in a series of short stories published in Britain's The Sketch magazine. In the beginning, Miss Marple is a gleeful gossip and not particularly nice. Over the years as social rules changed, so did mystery female series' characters. more »
