Make way for younger folk? No, thank you
She’s 83 years old and still the dynamo she has always been. She works full time. She volunteers for countless causes. She jogs three miles every morning. She’s right there to care for her husband, her grandchildren, her pets, her petunias. She’s what all of us should hope we still are in our ninth decades. Except for her attitude about making way for the next generation. She ... READ MORE
Gift books that take you round the globe
The Bibliophile These lavishly illustrated travel books make great gifts: Go Here Instead: The Alternative Travel List, by DK Eyewitness, 224 pages, DK Eyewitness Travel hardcover, 2022 Choose your itineraries with the input of 40 travel writers, editors and tour guides who can direct you to less crowded sites that replicate the experience of more congested destinations. The... READ MORE
Fairy tales intersect in “Into the Woods”
Into the Woods, playing at Signature Theatre in Arlington and directed and choreographed by Mathew Gardiner, is an excellent production of the Stephen Sondheim musical. Running through January 29, 2023, it brings together four fairy tales: Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood, intertwining them in clever ways. Act I presents more-or-less traditional... READ MORE
Flick even more wonderful as a musical
The classic Frank Capra film, It’s a Wonderful Life, is one of cinema’s greatest gifts to Americana. It was released in 1946, and in the decades since has aired on television every Christmas Eve. Some years ago, Toby Orenstein, founder and director of Toby’s Dinner Theatre, discovered that the movie had entered the public domain. So, she commissioned actor/singer David Nehls and... READ MORE
Cookbooks make time in the kitchen fun
The Bibliophile A 2019 survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation revealed that a majority of Americans prepare their entire Thanksgiving meal at home. Here are three cookbooks that can help you prepare innovative as well as traditional meals. The Complete Autumn and Winter Cookbook: 550+ Recipes for Warming Dinners, Holiday Roasts, Seasonal Desserts, Breads, Food Gifts, and More, by ... READ MORE
Oh, the wonders of yesteryear’s libraries
The flight attendant was making the usual pre-departure announcements. She urged everyone to put their rolling bags in the overhead compartments, wheels first, “and then turn them to the side, like books in a library.” This frequent flyer had never heard that line before. I was nodding my head at the cleverness of it when the very young man sitting next to me said: “I have never ... READ MORE
Former prison now an active arts center
Once a prison, the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia, today is a beehive of artists’ studios, galleries, theaters, classes, community events, a museum and more. Plans are in the works for an outdoor amphitheater, event venue, education center, Fairfax County Museum, more art studios and outdoor arts areas — even a new café and brewery. Coming soon are two enticing... READ MORE
A comedic “Ghost” entertains at Toby’s
The current production of Ghost: The Musical at Toby’s Dinner Theatre will bring back fond memories of the 1990 movie starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. For some of us, it might even recall the classic ghostly adventures of Topper and Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, earlier productions that mixed mad-cap adventures, romance and the supernatural. For those new to ... READ MORE
Older authors publish books about sports
The Bibliophile A book about your favorite sport can provide a broader perspective than reading the sports section or watching the highlights. Gods at Play: An Eyewitness Account of Great Moments in American Sports, by Tom Callahan, 304 pages, W.W. Norton & Company paperback, 2022 Enjoy a yarn or two from this spellbinding raconteur’s stories about yesteryear’s sports icons... READ MORE
What to do with what you leave behind?
We walked them across the street by the hand. We fed them, clothed them, drove them, hovered over them. And now that our children are adults, do we owe them anything more? Some seniors say yes. They say we should arrange our assets (if any) so that the kids and grandkids inherit everything. They say that you’re always Mom or Dad. They say that you don’t really need one more... READ MORE
Arts 2024
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