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
Isn’t There Any Mystery Left to Being Apart? The Obsession to Keeping in Touch With Those Out of Sight
Doris O'Brien writes: The whole world seems fixated on keeping in touch with everyone other than those who are with them. Yesterday I observed a couple seated at a table at a pleasant outdoor café, perhaps to enjoy an early dinner together. It could have been a time for hand-holding or sharing the details of one another’s day. Instead, both were staring into their own latest-technology iphones, their minds elsewhere rather than on each other. more »
Making Us Into Make-Believers: Hype and Hope; Before and After
What did women do before such hype and hope? How did our aging female ancestors cope when they looked into a glass darkly? By what right did a weathered face go from possessing “character” to pleading for revitalization? And when did we buy into the expectation of living longer, while not looking as though we had? more »
Online Dating: A 'Mature' Woman's Search for Romance With Cyberspace as Cupid.
Was I really interested in looking for a companion on a computer screen? And even if I missed having a man around, was it too soon after my spouse’s death? Was it too late for me altogether? Would I be paying for the privilege of getting nothing but a painful reality check? more »
Old Lady Shoes
Doris O'Brien writes: "I bought a pair of chic, shiny blue wedgies to wear as Mother of the Bride. They matched my dress and felt gratifyingly comfortable. By the end of the ceremony, I was being whisked back in a golf cart to my hotel room in order to change shoes, so that I could dance at the wedding." more »
