I’ve chosen trailblazers in literature, music, painting, political activism and medicine. Many communities lost their own notable...
A True Shero, A New Kate Atkinson novel, Fall Cooking & More!
A True Shero I was moved to my core by Catherine Blasey-Ford’s brave testimony before the hostile Judiciary Committee. She spoke eloquently and truthfully as she struggled to keep her emotions under control. I found her fully credible. Conversely Brett Kavanaugh’s angry tirade where he grabbed the victim mantle was thoroughly disgusting. [...]
Pat Taub
Women’s Rage is A Game Changer
I am woman, hear me roar In numbers too big to ignore –Helen Reddy (1972) These classic words in Helen Reddy’s popular song were the battle cry for Second Wave Feminists of my generation whose rage fueled our protests for abortion rights, equal pay, justice for rape victims, equitable divorce laws and much more. During the [...]
Pat Taub
Dr. Blasey-Ford, Signs of Fall, Fahrenheit 11/9 & More!
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford—Shero! What a horrible, nightmarish week for women! The misogynist Judiciary Committee is trying to railroad Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to be the next Supreme Court Justice. They’re making it very difficult for Dr. Ford who has charged Kavanaugh with sexually attacking her when both were teens. To think [...]
Pat Taub
20 Empowering & Inspiring Quotes About Getting Older
Guest Post by Becca Armstrong-Benson A sister writer in the UK has assembled this wonderful list of wise sayings from people from all walks of life, ranging from fashion designers and actors, to activists, astronauts and comedians. These quotes were originally posted at: https://www.uksmobility.co.uk/blog/2018/06/old-age-quotes/ “I [...]
Pat Taub
Cynthia Nixon, A French Chocolate Shop, Occupying My Cottage & More!
Cynthia Nixon’s Admirable Campaign While I’m not a New Yorker I gave money to Cynthia Nixon’s campaign, admiring her bold progressive platform, challenging Cuomo’s corrupt administration. While she lost, her campaign offers hope for progressive woman running for office. Courtesy of Wall Street donors Cuomo raised $25 million [...]
Pat Taub
How Learning to Play the Ukulele Helped Cure My ‘Nameless Depression”
Guest Post by Martha Rice You wake up one morning, and it’s back. You don’t know why. Things have been going along pretty smoothly. But on this morning, you wake up and for no apparent reason, you don’t have the spirit to get out of bed. You are suffering from a condition that I call “nameless depression,” a debilitating feeling [...]
Pat Taub
Kavanaugh Hearings, Serena, Finding Hope & More!
Sickening Hearings Watching the Republicans try to railroad Kavanaugh through the Senate hearings on his qualifications to be a Supreme, where almost unbearable. What’s really outrageous is the way Maine’s Senator Collins is defending him against recent evidence he purged himself more than once. Mainers, keep up the pressure and keep [...]
Pat Taub
Peggy Akers: A Vietnam Truth Teller
For most Americans the Vietnam War has been reduced to a historical footnote. For those who served, it is not easily forgotten. Many Vietnam vets continue to suffer from PTSD or, for the truly unlucky, from crippling wounds or from Agent Orange. Other vets, like Peggy Akers of Portland, Maine, bemoan the fact that the lessons of Vietnam continue [...]
Pat Taub
Unrealistic Portrayal of Women in Films; Williams Sisters, Surviving an MRI & More!
Taking Issue with the Way Women are Portrayed in Films This week I watched the bland film, “Book Club” about four older women in a long-time book club who decide to read “Fifty Shades of Gray.” They become sexually awakened and suddenly each one has a romantic partner! I find this very unrealistic given how difficult my single friends [...]
Pat Taub
Count Basie, My Spiritual Guide
Guest Post by Michael Steinman I used to think of the pianist, composer, bandleader Count Basie, whose birthday was August 21st, as a monumental figure of the jazz I love. Maybe he is no more to readers than a dimly remembered figure. As I’ve aged, though, I think of him as a spiritual guide – not in anything he said, but in the spacious [...]
Pat Taub