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
So You Think You Can Cook? I Could Manage the Basics Or So I Thought!
Rose Mula writes: This morning, starting on yet another health kick, I figured I'd forego my usual breakfast of a humongous blueberry muffin dripping with butter or an automobile-tire-sized bagel slathered with cream cheese or a stack of pancakes swimming in syrup. Feeling noble, I decided to have a much less lethal boiled egg on whole wheat toast. But instead of simply boiling some water and tossing in an egg for three minutes, as I normally would have done, for some reason, I consulted Chef Google. Big mistake. more »
100 Years of Pulitzer Fiction Prizes and a New Way to Submit an Entry to the Competition
The Pulitzer Prize board "has in general stood firmly by a policy of secrecy in its deliberations and refusal to publicly debate or defend its decisions. The challenges have not lessened the reputation of the Pulitzer Prizes as the country's most prestigious awards and as the most sought-after accolades in journalism, letters, and music. The Prizes are perceived as a major incentive for high-quality journalism and have focused worldwide attention on American achievements in letters and music." more »
Thinking Thankful: The Pings to the Heart
Julia Sneden wrote: This morning was a bright, brisk, autumn day in North Carolina, which is in itself enough to make anyone thankful. As I took my morning walk, I was enjoying scuffling through the leaves when I heard it: the sound of a basketball being dribbled. There was a small ping! in my heart, which is what sometimes happens when I hear or see something that reminds me of my sons, long grown and gone from home. more »
A New Berkeley Tradition, Family Thanksgiving for 300: Other Schools are Offering Meals for Students Unable to Go Home
"We were surprised that so many students at Cal had a need for a place to spend Thanksgiving and to eat a traditional holiday meal at a time when the rest of us can be with family and eat more than we should," said Gary Kohler, director of sales and marketing for Hotel Durant and Henry’s, who estimated that it cost $12,000 to provide staffing and food for the students and volunteers. "It's a population we didn't realize was there. We wanted to help." more »
