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
We Have Another Five Years? Underestimating Longevity and Working in Retirement
In the past half-century, life expectancy for newborn Americanfemales, the average increase was about 1.5 years per decade, from 73.1 years in 1960 to 80.8 years by 2010. “There is a general misunderstanding of what ‘average life expectancy’ means, and when people are told they will live to an age such as 80 or 85, they don’t realize that this means there is a 50 percent chance that they could live past that age.” more »
One Woman's Reaction: US Representative Todd Akin on Rape and Pregnancy
Julia Sneden writes: Isn’t it odd that the very people who keep saying we need to get the government out of our lives, at the same time condone legislation insisting that more than half the population needs its government to tell them what to do or not to do with their wombs? more »
Entering College Class of 2016: They have never needed an actual airline “ticket,” a set of bound encyclopedias, or Romper Room
They are probably the most tribal generation in history and they despise being separated from contact with friends. They are helping their parents understand that you don’t take pictures on “film” and that CDs and DVDs are not “tapes.” Those parents have been able to review the crime statistics for the colleges their children have applied to. more »
Shopping With The Irresistibles: Spoon Sisters and One King's Lane
We discovered One King's Lane not long ago and although we've sworn off daily emails from any shopping sources, we have to admit that we lost our resolve with this site. Years ago we added the Spoon Sisters to our shopping pages and although they sound like a singing duo, they're dedicated to quirky, useful, colorful, unique shopping. more »
