Julia Sneden
Julia Sneden was a writer, friend, wife, mother, Grandmother, care-giver and Senior Women Web's Resident Observer. Her career included editorial work for Sunset Magazine, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios as well as teaching. Julia was a passionate opponent of this country’s educational system, which she felt was floundering. She will be greatly missed as the heart of this website and this editor's friend of fifty years.
Julia Sneden's archive of articles.
FA LA LA LA Frantic: Scaling Back on Holiday Excesses
Julia Sneden wrote: So instead of over-indulging ourselves this year, we will pass along homemade things and/or family items that have interesting histories, and a book or two (gifts of books are sacrosanct at Christmas). We will also make donations to local organizations that feed the hungry, and fill some of the stockings that the local mall sets out for needy children, hoping that what is a small sacrifice for us will be a blessing to others. more »
Puzzling: Jumbled Words, Anagrams, Crosswords, Cryptograms, Acrostics, I Love Them All
Julia Sneden wrote: Back in my sixties, when I read the advice of those who are experts in the elderly mind, I figured that as a word puzzle addict, I was well set to keep myself mentally fit. I come from a family whose women have remarkable (and some would say dreadful) genes for living long. All my older female relatives have died in their 90’s, and both grandmothers and a great aunt came close to a hundred. If you're likely to live that long, you need to do everything you can to take care of your mental agility. more »
The Bored of Education: Lessons From a Lifetime in the Classroom
Julia Sneden wrote, "I suspect that being on a School Board is rather a thankless job. One must deal with many dry facts and knotty problems, so one almost never encounters the joy that ought to be at the heart of education. I don't doubt that such boards are trying to keep an eye on what they perceive as appropriate education for our children. It seems to me, however, that the important question is whether or not they are qualified to make that judgment." more »
A Review of an Oliver Sachs Book, Musicophilia: "We humans are a musical species no less than a linguistic one"
Julia Sneden reviews: Sacks quotes a letter from a woman whose father was nearly a hundred years old, and had begun to lose his grip on reality. She provided him with a CD player, and when his mind began to wander, she would "put in a beloved piece of classical music, press the 'play' button and watch the transformation". "My father’s world became logical and it became clear. He could follow every note... There was no confusion here, no missteps, no getting lost, and, most amazing, no forgetting..." Dr. Sacks says: "Once one has seen such responses, one knows there is still a self to be called upon, even if music, and only music, can do the calling." more »