Cathy and I pulled the plug (pun intended -- kind of) on our Endnotes columns today. We'll keep this blog, hoewever. I've been a journalist for 34 years, and I believe it's important to recognize that everything has a lifespan, including columns. When I was…
…we all scream for gelato? Oh, yeah. As anyone who has tasted the treat will tell you: “It’s sooo much better than ice cream!” And it is another gift a Florentine (Bernardo Buontalenti credited for inventing gelato) has shared with the rest of the world.…
We have seen the image often: the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima. The man who was responsible for that flag raising has died. The images of historical moments are part of our American story and become even more meaningful when we know…
My friend Chris, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, is now in the radiation phase of the treatments. She goes five days a week for six weeks. In the waiting room yesterday we spotted a basket filled with hats and scarves, and they mostly…
Washington State University has a flasher on the loose. See story. Police think he's been involved in at least six incidents. My EndNotes co-author and I -- Hi Cathy -- were flashed by a guy years ago during our GU in Florence days. A guy…
If we have advance notice of our approximate time of death (“Mr. Jones, you have stage four cancer…you have perhaps four months left”), how will we choose to spend the time? A colleague of mine died of cancer and she worked that last year, after…
I worked for USA Today in 1983 and 1984, when it was brand spanking new and revolutionary in its short stories, big photos and trend alerts. It was kind of a blog before blogs existed. The offices outside Washington D.C. were huge and state-of-the-art. The…
In this week of chaos and deep sorrow, and the reminders from Boston that no one is truly safe from acts of violence, it's good to pause and remember the good people among us. Etter Milla, buried today, was one of the good ones. The…
Last night was chaotic and confusing in Massachusetts: One police officer was shot and killed near MIT; scores of law enforcement responded to gun shots, explosions? in Watertown, Mass. Media reported scattered details leading to uncertain conclusions. One detained man was ordered to remove all…
A man of compassion expressing his disgust and disappointment yesterday, President Obama spoke in a press conference about the Senate’s failure to pass a sensible law that would require background checks for all people who buy guns. The grief of the families who have lost…
Often other people say it best…But I will say, our hearts are broken, we pray without ceasing and our American resolve of compassion and generosity will aid Boston in the days to come. Peace. (S-R archives photo)
I have been searching just now to find a poem I remember studying in college. It was about the horror and destruction of war, and the line I remember is this: Ten years is a long time to fight a war... In class, I remember…
In my Boomer U stories today, I wrote a sort of manifesto for aging boomers and seniors to connect using modern technology and social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and texting. As we age we have to "cross the street" to the younger folks part…
He made my parents laugh…and laugh…and laugh. He died and will be remembered by the audiences he entertained as well as the comedians he mentored. Jonathan Winters was 87 years old when he died Thursday evening at his Montecito, Calif., home of natural causes. I…
The Preventing Chronic Disease online journal sent out a report today on how excessive alcohol use causes approximately 80,000 deaths in the United States each year. Before you say yes to that third (or even second) drink, consider: Excessive alcohol use includes binge drinking (defined…
When I was growing up, diverse America remained pretty hidden. The beauty standard for little girls my age in the late 1950s seemed to be blond hair, blue eyes. Not a hint of ethnicity. Look at a photo of the original Mickey Mouse Club cast,…
Monday is the last day to file your 2012 tax returns, unless you've gotten an extension. As a person who turned term papers in early in college, I have never understood the last-minute filers. But I know some. A 2010 Psychology Today analysis said people…
North Korea continues to flex its supposed-nuclear muscle and threaten its neighbor to the south. Whenever I read about such political or social unrest, I ponder the reasons. But when I have traveled to the destination where trouble brews – my heart aches. In 1978,…
My husband did a terrific job of writing about his hearing loss today. He's a retired English professor, and I loved best this scene he wrote about from Great Expectations. Mr. Wemmick is a character from Dickens’ “Great Expectations” who has a seriously hearing-impaired father…
The week has been filled with anniversaries of historic events: the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the last episode of M*A*S*H. We often ask each other: “Where were you when this important event happened?” When Martin Luther King, Jr was killed, I sat…
Recently, I reported on an AARP study that showed the happiest people watch less than an hour of TV a day. Now, another study links newspaper reading with happiness. University of Maryland researchers concluded, after analyzing 30 years of data, that, "very happy people" read…
I spent late yesterday afternoon with some of my great-nieces and nephews. They were gathered for a spring break fun day at one cousin house where a trampoline is a fun activity. I have not jumped on a trampoline since I was a teen. You…
Press release from The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization today: Last year, 1.65 million dying Americans were cared for by hospice. Yet, there are some important facts about hospice that people don’t know. And this may be keeping people from getting the best care…
Families and friends have wondered and agonized and prayed for the remains of their loved ones to be found within the debris, the pieces, of the September 11 attack. Some may still receive the physical evidence, the pieces of bones, of life, that once were…
At Easter Mass yesterday, the crowd filled the pews. Catholics kneel a lot during Mass ( though not as much as we used to) and I noted how many older people didn't kneel entirely. They rested their behind on the pew and their knees on…
Spokesman-Review features writer Rebecca Nappi, along with writer Catherine Johnston of Olympia, Wash., discuss here issues facing aging boomers, seniors and those experiencing serious illness, dying, death and other forms of loss.
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