Doris O'Brien
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
The Seasonal Tsunami of Senior Mail; No Longer a Pandora's Box
Doris O'Brien writes: Casting a ballot is usually a biannual event. But the obligatory trek to pick up our paper-based stash has for many of us become an urgent daily ritual. For some, the habit may have even morphed into an obsession. At the appropriate time of year, for example, we may happily discover a birthday card or two, sent to us by those who still buy and lick stamps. And if we're lucky, the holiday season may bring a comparative bonanza of greetings — though, again, there's always the chance of ending up as disappointed as Charlie Brown. more »
Having a Field Day With the Candidates: Judging Oratorical Skills of Hillary and Donald on the Trail
Doris O'Brien writes: Trump, an inveterate risk taker, refuses to play it safe. He often repeats phrases, as if to nail them down. And while his supporters profess admiration for his talking 'extemporaneously,' he is technically doing no such thing. By definition, 'extemporaneous' means to speak from notes, as opposed to memorization or reading from a script. Hillary's speaking style suffers from being the reverse. She is too predictably 'on script,' making her delivery sound mechanically driven, rather than 'in the moment' inspiring. When she does veer from her teleprompter, she measures her words carefully, punctuating them with a lot of annoying "uhs". more »
Politics As Unusual: Strategists Left with Crow on Their Plate and Egg on Their Face
Doris O'Brien writes: That's probably been the nature of the beast since some ambitious caveman settled by the fire and grunted his way to tribal leadership. And while some earmarks of politics never seem to change, others do. Every election is in some way different from those that came before. And Election 2016 is a doozey! more »
Election, 2016: I Want To Soar Like a Hawkeye
Doris O'Brien writes: Picture yourself shaking hands with Hillary, Bernie, Martin, Jeb, Chris, Scott, Marco, Rand, Dr. Ben, The Donald, and all the other celebratory hopefuls. Can't you almost smell the slow-burning spare ribs and taste the tangy apple cider on a frosty Iowa evening? But more to the point: it's not my stomach but my political soul that makes me envy Hawkeyes. That's why I'm hankering to be in their number when the wannabes come marching in. more »
