My writer colleague Laura Willis reports from Sewannee, Tennessee, that the economic crisis is hitting people pretty hard in the Southern Cumberland Plateau. Hundreds of people stood in line for hours to receive food . . . .
Barbara’s Riffs on Life
A Case of the Human Condition: Flowers Bursting From the Dirt — How Do They Do It?
They emerge from mud, manure, leaf rot, earthworms, sow bugs. And they are beautiful. How do they do it? Read more.
A Generation of Preschoolers Trapped in Their Yards
Jon and I loved our new house in the hills with the curving, no-sidewalks streets. But all that privacy and rural ambiance weren’t so great for raising kids. Read more.
A Case of the Human Condition: In Your Face Orchids
Stupendously, outrageously beautiful orchids. Read more.
Mad Men Exposes the ’60s Girdle — But Will She Get It Off in Time?
You can’t fool me. I know a girdle when I see one. A stewardess on Mad Men did a strip tease — but how was she going to get that girdle off without turning hot sex into farce? Read more.
A Case of the Human Condition: He Never Called Me Back . . . Why?
The book’s cover was fuchsia, its title blunt: “Why He Didn’t Call You Back.” Just what I needed years ago when I was young and single and wondering why so many guys would take me out once or twice — then disappear without explanation. Gone. Evaporated. Poof. Read more.