Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Brace yourself

Elspeth Thompson, the much-loved gardening and interiors writer for "The Sunday Telegraph" who has died aged 48, had a particular talent for bringing beauty to the places where she lived, no matter how unpromising those places first appeared.

Monday, March 29, 2010

"The cause was general decline."

Mrs. Carter was one of the first people in broadcast-television to recognize that the shelf-life of natural pearls cannot be improved by waving around corporately-generated excessive comparisons.


This is one heckuva life story.

(H/T to Steve Slosberg)

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Reporter Who Challenged Fed Secrecy

“This is a personal loss, a professional loss and a societal loss. He is truly irreplaceable.”


Never heard of the man but he was obviously among the best in journalism. The world needs more like him.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

While taking a walk with his dog, Ridley

Richard discovered Thoreau in high school and heard a different drummer the rest of his life.

With that, we get a taste of Richard Piscitello. There's more.

Saturday's puzzle, too?

She enjoyed travel, golf at the Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va., and the Chartwell Country Club near her home in Severna Park, she was a proficient bridge player, and fully capable of completing the New York Times crossword puzzles in ink.


More about Sylvia Rindskopf here.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

How the Kevlar vest came into being

They put their new vest over a gelatin mold to determine how a body might react to the impact of a handgun bullet and then drafted, as test subjects, a series of unfortunate goats.


Read all about Lester D. Shubin's fascinating life here.

Monday, March 22, 2010

He never forgot his alma mater ...

He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, majoring in poker.


Read more about James Needham here.


(H/T to Thom Forbes)

Friday, March 19, 2010

Plus, she hated her name so she changed it, at 81

She had an active and happy social life during her youth from which she would recall stories of picture-show dates at the Rivoli or the Opera House Theater, parties at the Rutgers fraternity houses, sodas at the Roger Smith Hotel, and canoe rides on Farrington Lake.

Read more about this sweetheart of a gal here.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Expiration dates? Suggestions ...

She was an avid reader and if you ever noticed a tiny pencil mark on the first few pages of a library book from the Hudson Library, that meant she had read that one. Rita was a lover of nature and enjoyed feeding "her" duck, Dovey. To Rita, expiration dates on food packages were only a suggestion. She loved to shop, and would hit the clearance rack at JC Penney with a vengeance. There was never a piece of chocolate or dessert she didn't like and she truly believed there was always room for ice cream.

Ah, Rita Brooks.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

A blue-ribbon bonsai



Mrs. Gibbs began growing bonsai trees with her daughter.

“Growing bonsai is something you do for decades if you get the chance,’’ said her friend Gail Docktor of Ipswich. “She knew the irony of it. She did it in hope.’’

Mrs. Gibbs’s bonsai tree won a blue ribbon last year in a category for novice growers at the Topsfield Fair.

Rebecca Richardson Gibbs was only 44.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

But, wait, there's more!

An avid biker, political observer, flatulator, and cinephile, Mr. Amland was born in Iowa City, Iowa, on the eighth of February, 1931.

More things you never knew about David Amland.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Sounds like a fine way to wind things up ...

In her later years, suffering from dementia, she commented while sitting by the fire, "I do not know where I am or why I am here, but isn't it a nice place?" Contentment found.

Read more about this British Columbia pioneer.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Mary J. Ray, 114 years, 294 days

“If you shook her hand she would pull you in close," Ray said. “She was strong. And her mind was sharp as a tack."

Read all about the life and death of the oldest person in the U.S.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Such a positive outlook!

All arrangements are being handled by Boyd funeral home in Marion, Ohio. No showing, no nothing — it is what it is.

Sounds like she made quite an impact on those around her.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Why did she climb to the top of the orange tree?

A neighbor banged on the door and said there was an old lady with a broom on top of the ladder knocking off oranges. My God, it was my mother!


Lots more about this amusing woman's life!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Don't leave them guessing which one ...

Along with her love of flowers, she was fond of birds, in particular the cardinal.

More about Rose DeMatto.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

She was and is a true free spirit

"Westbrook - Rebecca 'Norris' Fowler passed away on Feb. 27, 2010, at the age of 97, though she liked to say 98."

So begins a charming tale of woman whose life was more interesting than most.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

"Denis' friends are numerous and mostly weird." No doubt!



While most people want to go quietly with dignity and grace, Denis assumed he would leave this world kicking, screaming, crying, and headed in the other direction.

Check out the rest of the story AND the drawing!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Born in an elevator?

Always one to make a grand entrance, Bob was born in an elevator on January 26, 1924 in Redlands, California and took his final bow on February 17, 2010 at age 86.

Here's more about this man with "a keen and clever sense of humor."

Monday, March 1, 2010

A delicious way to be remembered

She will always be loved and sadly missed but will joyfully be remembered for her delicious crescent rolls, apple squares, and awesome lemon meringue pies.

Read more about this wonderful baker here.