I’ve chosen trailblazers in literature, music, painting, political activism and medicine. Many communities lost their own notable...
Help! My Time is Running Out!
As my birthdays pile up, I’m forced to face the fact that I’m running out of time. It feels scary. I’m healthy and financially secure, but no one lives forever. How much time do I have left: 10 years, 15 years? The last 10 years raced by. If the next 10 years are going to be equally accelerated, how can I make the most of them? [...]
Pat Taub
Sister Megan Rice, Writing Challenge, “Sex Education” & More
Sister Megan Rice, Celebrated Peace Activist When I tuned into “Democracy Now,” earlier this week and heard Amy Goodman announce the death of peace activist Sister Megan Rice at 91, I was jolted into remembering that Sr. Megan had stayed with me in my Portland home three years ago when she was in town as a guest speaker for Peace Action [...]
Pat Taub
It’s Never Too Late to Follow a Dream
I have a friend who’s been telling me for years that she’s going to take Italian lessons. Another friend has a long-standing dream to visit Japan. For just as long, every time I pass an art supply store I revisit my dream of taking up watercolors. We’re members of the late-in-life dream club whose engine is stalled. But it doesn’t [...]
Pat Taub
An American in Paris
It didn’t take much persuasion when my youngest son phoned and said, “Mother, you have a birthday on October 1st. You haven’t treated yourself in a while. What about a birthday trip to Paris?“ Jonathan offered to accompany me and be my travel guide. This is the son whose adolescence antics drove me up the wall. Maturity is a [...]
Pat Taub
Will We Stand with Our Young People?
GUEST POST by JANET WEIL The young faces, lined up in rows on the zoom screen, looked ready to get things done. I, on the other hand, had turned my video off and was almost melting from self-consciousness. “I’m so old, so NOT them. Should I be here?” went through my head as the organizers for Portland Youth Climate Strike led the group [...]
Pat Taub
Autumn As a Time of Renewal
At autumn we leave summer behind and anticipate cooler temperatures with joyful images of cozy sweaters, glorious foliage and sitting by the fireplace. But autumn can be much more than reenacting nostalgic traditions. It can be a time of renewal. As the days grow darker I am called to deep reflection, reviewing the past year and then doing [...]
Pat Taub
My Brother Visits, Cecile Richards, Book and Film Tips & More!
A Visit from My Brother Earlier this week my brother, Curry, who’s 20 months younger than me, visited me in Portland. He’s a retired Civil Liberties lawyer who lives in Asheville with his second wife. Curry and I walked, talked and ate out a lot, while lamenting over the future our kids and grands face as climate change accelerates. [...]
Pat Taub
Taking on the Anti-Aging Movement
In a society that worships youth, my wrinkles, white hair, sagging breasts and flabby upper arms render me unacceptable. The anti-aging industry to the rescue! If I go in for plastic surgery, facial fillers, hair dye, beauty creams and medical supplements, I can defy nature, while stuffing the pockets of the anti-aging fat cats, on target [...]
Pat Taub
Abortion Nightmare
Thursday morning I woke up to the news of the new Texas abortion law, which denies abortions to the 7,000,000 women of child-bearing age in Texas. I was stunned and terrified. As I sipped my coffee, I reflected on my own abortion in the late 1970’s. I was married with two young children and had just taken a job as Director of Counseling [...]
Pat Taub
Texas Abortion Law, Culture Wars, A Hidden Treasure, Teenage Grands
Texas Abortion Law Like most women across America, I have been stunned by the new Texas abortion law, which the Supremes upheld. This horrible piece of legislation makes an abortion illegal after 6 weeks– most women don’t even know they’re pregnant this early! It gets worse: any Texan who knows of a woman seeking an abortion [...]
Pat Taub