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
Congress Advances "Girls Count"; Senate Committee Examines Rape Kit Backlog; Examining Fraud in Nutrition Programs; Women Veterans' Bills
"Girls Count" Legislation: The bill finds lack of birth registration for girls can exacerbate women's and girls' vulnerability to trafficking, child marriage, lack of access to health and education services, reduced unemployment. House Appropriations urges DoJ to combat cyber-stalking and is concerned with ongoing sexual assault kit backlogs. House Veterans Affairs approved the Ruth Moore Act, and a bill to provide counseling services for women veterans. "GAO found that USDA had not specifically directed states to tell participants that selling WIC formula was a participant violation." more »
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The Revisit: Doesn't Everyone have a Bird in Their Earring?
Roberta McReynolds Updates: I rescued a fledging sparrow about a month ago. It had been attacked by a Scrub Jay and I literally snatched it away. Poor little thing was in shock and bleeding from her beak. I would have bet money that she was going to die within minutes. I wrapped her in a towel and warmed her up. After an hour she was still hanging in there. I found a box and lined it with more towels and tucked her inside, warming the outside of the box with one of those gizmos you heat in the microwave. She survived the night! more »
A Memorial Day Scout Report: iWASwondering, EduBlogger, Freakonomics Radio, Plotly, WWI Visual History and a Darwin Manuscripts Tree
40 maps that explain outer space; For those interested in STEM education, there is much to ponder on an interesting site; Video clips accompany many of the Timeline items, bringing the history of WWI to life. The Edublogger, which serves as the community blog for Edublogs and CampusPress, is designed to help educational bloggers with emerging technologies; Companion piece to the Women's Adventures in Science biography series; Browse the Darwin Manuscripts Tree, a visual representation of his theories; Longform connects readers to new and classic non-fiction from around the web; Wix.com is one of the most popular website builders on the market ... and others. Enjoy! more »
Elaine Soloway's Rookie Widow Series: Deja Vu, Forget Him Not and California Dreaming
An evening phone call to my post-surgery friend confirms he is managing okay. The painkillers are doing their job and he is comfortable watching television. "Thanks for being there for me," he says... I had been certain my nightly routine would seal my husband in my brain. Every night before I go to sleep, I say, "Love you, Tommy" to the pillow I use as his stand-in. And I hear back, clear as if he were at my left instead of his surrogate, "Love you, too!" ...That's when I realized how much I had come to adore my new place, which has quickly become a refuge and cocoon cushioning me from the sad events that propelled me to this new life. How could I ever leave this solace? more »
