David Zapatka Reader, friend and fellow bridge player, Maria, writes, “Hi Dave. I came across this word while reading The Road to Character by David Brooks. He was describing the life and writing of George Eliot. ‘She was a meliorist and a gradualist, believing that people and society were best reformed by slow stretching, not…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg A friend of ours (“Janet”) recently emailed me and said that she had fallen and broken her femur. Concerned, I wrote back and asked if she was still in the hospital and, if so, which hospital. I also asked about the circumstances of her fall. Janet wrote back saying that she…
Suzanne Marlatt Stewart There’s a reason for the old saying, “Silence is golden,” but is it really? Researchers have found that silence is more than just the absence of sound. It is something that actively transforms the brain. According to a new study on silence and its impact on the brain, after just three days…
Tim Malone In a world that glorifies hustle and speed, the quiet magic of an unhurried morning often goes unnoticed. Yet within those first golden hours of the day lies a sanctuary—a space where time stretches gently, inviting us to breathe, reflect, and be. To savor the beauty of an unhurried morning is to reclaim…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Ah! For the love of idioms! Here are some common and not so common sayings: Pipe down—Will you please pipe down? This phrase originated in the British Navy when the boatswain’s pipe (or whistle) gave commands for the sailors to pipe down in their hammocks in order to be quiet for…
Bonnie Barazani Santa Claus, aka Fred Barazani, so enjoyed his visit to SaddleBrooke last year that he arrived once again on his sleigh (driven and decorated by Pete Giljohann) with reindeer in tow. Santa delivered gifts to young children visiting their relatives. Their faces were of awe and excitement as Santa arrived on his lighted…