I’ve chosen trailblazers in literature, music, painting, political activism and medicine. Many communities lost their own notable...
Shop Owners Who Care, Autumn Images & RIP The Village Voice
Caring Signs on Portland Shop Windows Walking about my neighborhood last weekend I spotted these signs, which were a welcome counterpoint to the hatred emanating from Washington. I think the real hope for change lies in our local communities and even at the state level. Maine aside, numerous states are bucking DC to enact climate protections [...]
Pat Taub
Positive in My 70’s
As another birthday approaches I have basically two choices: to agonize over my advancing age OR to look at the glass as half full and take stock of what is positive about being in my seventies. While there are unwelcome aspects to aging, like diminished energy and physical agility, sleep problems and occasionally missing a companion, I refuse [...]
Pat Taub
A Good Read, Thanksgiving Pies & More
A Touching Memoir This week I zipped through Joyce Maynard’s just-published memoir, The Best of Us. It’s about her brief, loving marriage, which ended abruptly when her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died a year after the diagnosis and only three years after he and Joyce were married. Her honest, deeply moving story gave [...]
Pat Taub
The Unbearable Suffering of Palestinian Mothers
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about a YouTube video I watched over the weekend, “How to be a Palestinian Supermom.” It features the Palestinian mother Manal Tamimi, describing her determination to provide a loving home for her children in the face of unrelenting Israeli oppression. Like most Palestinian mothers Manal never knows [...]
Pat Taub
Key West, Signs of Fall & Ta-Nehisi Coates on Trump
Key West on My Mind As Irma heads for Florida my thoughts and prayers are for its residents, but especially for those in Key West where I lived from 2001 until 2007. I moved there desperate for a break from Syracuse’s unrelenting snowfalls and days of limited sun. I have cherished friends in Key West whom I still visit and write. They’ve [...]
Pat Taub
Discovering Joy
Sometimes a book comes into your life at exactly the right moment, offering a path forward that was formerly invisible to you. This was my experience with The Book of Joy, a week-long conversation between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, aptly facilitated by Douglas Abrams, the book’s editor. When a friend recommended The [...]
Pat Taub
My Web Designer, Texas & Polka Dots
My Brilliant Web Designer This week I had one of my periodic meetings with my brilliant web designer, Edwige Charlot. When I started WOW two years ago I knew virtually nothing about designing a blog or pitching it. Working closely with Edwige we settled on a design I love and one that continues to receive many compliments. She’s also been [...]
Pat Taub
The Choice is to Cooperate or Struggle Alone
Guest Blog by Toni Kief Responding to a challenge, I started to write at the age of 60. I stumbled along with a shared project and when it was over I had a new passion. I was in sore need of inspiration, so I searched online and discovered Meetup.com. I found a group just starting out, the Writers Kickstarter and signed on. We were a group [...]
Pat Taub
My Grandson’s Birthday, Nocturnal City Walks & A WOW Muse
My Grandson’s Birthday Today my grandson Max celebrates his 12th birthday. I always associate Max with Katrina because he was born a few days before the flood walls broke in New Orleans turning this beautiful city into a nightmare for its African American citizens. While caring for Max, my daughter-in-law and I were glued to the television [...]
Pat Taub
Engaging with Fear
The Trump wrecking machine is getting crazier by the day, leaving a frightened populace in its wake. Our increasingly unhinged president raises the ante through his racist speeches, threats to bomb the country du jour, attacks on the environment, ICE’s immigration raids, and railings against anyone who doesn’t agree with him. While [...]
Pat Taub