Mary Higgins Clark has died. She was 92.

I know...I know. I had no idea she was alive either. Or that she was 92.

Famous Writers with Dogs: John Cheever

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet dogs.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their canine companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.


Today:  John Cheever

John Cheever is the snappiest dresser for casual photo shoots on the beach you'll ever see. The tux must've been at the dry cleaners.

And just look at the jealousy on the face of the old dog in the background. Cheever has betrayed the poor thing by cozying up to the attention hog down in front.

94-year old woman graduates college with a 4.0 GPA.

Amy Craton started college and slowly worked toward a degree until she was 40-years old. She stopped in 1962 when she divorced her husband, went back to work, and raised her children.

Now retired and living in Hawaii, Craton decided to finish her college degree at the age of 94.

Hard of hearing and confined largely to a wheelchair, Craton enrolled in online courses at Southern New Hampshire University for no other reason than she used to live in New England many years ago, so she felt nostalgic.

"I couldn’t see just sitting there watching Netflix all the time," she said in a video provided by SNHU.

Netflix has hit a new low when elderly people confined to their wheelchairs want nothing to do with you--but I digress.

Craton told The Today Show that the hardest part was finishing assignments before deadlines with the time difference between Hawaii and New Hampshire, which required her to stay awake well past her bedtime. That said, she doesn't regret completing her degree.

"It feels good to graduate, to finish that part of my life," Craton told the university in a video they posted online. "But I feel that I’m still on the road."

SNHU president Paul LeBlanc flew from New Hampshire to Hawaii to personally deliver Craton her diploma and hold a surprise party.

And as for a graduate degree now? Oh, she's going for that now. No sense in stopping just because she's 94.

"As long as I get good grades, I’ll be happy," she said.

Getting good grades probably won't be a problem.




photo:  Diana Bowen / Southern New Hampshire University

Richard Adams, author of "Watership Down," dead at 96.

2016 has been a great year if you have money riding in a celebrity death pool.

Have you already won this year? You're a horribly morbid human being.

Haven't won yet? Don't worry. Betty White and Bob Barker can't live forever.

This is a roundabout way of saying that Watership Down author, Richard Adams, died on December 24th, according to a press release from his family. He was 96-years old.

The book sold over a million copies in his native United Kingdom, became hugely popular worldwide, and was eventually made into a movie.

In other words, Adams had a good go of it.

But if I'm any other celebrity at this point, I'm sitting in a padded room, alone in the dark, and trying to ride out the next four days in hiding.

Born poor, born remote, born long ago, but born with a desire for knowledge.

A two minute video of a Nepalese gentleman who, at 69-years old, went back to school and is in the 10th grade.

The real highlight might not be that he went back to school. It might be the smooth soccer moves this man has for his age. I'm half his age and just felt a hamstring pull.

Plus, it should be noted, that's a world class beard.

100-year old Massachusetts woman finally becomes a high school graduate.

Clare Picciuto has lived a long life and a good life. One hundred years long, to be exact, which means she was just a teenager when the Great Depression began.

When the Depression started, Picciuto's family told her she had to quit school and get a job to support the family. According to Boston's WCVB, Picciuto's brothers were allowed to go to school, but not her--and that didn't sit well with Clare. "I didn't like it, because women should have education, too," Picciuto told the station.

Lacking formal education while she worked sewing curtains in a factory, Picciuto turned to encyclopedias and the dictionary and became self-taught.

"We'd pick up another big word and we'd find the meaning of it. And I tried to speak well if I could," she said--which, should be noted, she spoke well.

As her 100th birthday approached, Picciuto's daughter, Deborah, sought out the local school district and told them of the circumstance.

North Reading (MA) Public Schools Superintendent Jon Bernard presented Clare with her high school graduation tassels and a diploma while she busied herself with a bingo game.

"I told her that, in my opinion, her life experiences alone had earned her the honor tassel and diploma," Bernard said. "Clare was so articulate, sharp and positive. She is truly representative of all the things we should aspire to be."

When read the decree of being awarded her diploma, Clare mentioned it felt good, sat in joy, beamed and said, "I graduated!"

Nah. She graduated in those factories all those decades ago. The world is just catching up to her now.




Photo: WCVB

91-year old museum visitor fills in crossword puzzle that's actually a piece of modern art.

The wave of criminal shenanigans by elderly people has hit the museum world.

Case in point: An elderly 91-year old German woman recently visiting Nuremberg’s Neues Museum saw a blank crossword puzzle on a wall, beside it which had a sign saying "Insert words."

Maybe it was age talking or a stunning susceptibility to do as signs command, but the 91-year old threw caution to the wind and proceeded to fill in the crossword puzzle with an abundance of words. The small problem was that the crossword puzzle was actually modern artist Arthur Köpcke's 1977 creation "Reading work-piece," valued at everyday affordable price of $90,000.

"The lady told us she had taken the notes as an invitation to complete the crossword," a police spokesman said, according to The Telegraph. True. You can't deny the allure of a good crossword puzzle invitation. It's like Tinder for the elderly.

The Telegaph also added, "If the museum didn’t want people to follow the artist’s instructions, they should put up a sign to make that clear, she told police."

Grade-A sass from a 91-year old grandma who gives no you-know-whats at this point. She's thisclose to doodling all over Picasso's Guernica any day now.

96-year old becomes oldest graduate from USC.

Wait, hold up. What happened?

It was all sort of an oversight.

You know how it goes. It's 1953. You think you just graduated from the University of Southern California. You're in the process of founding your own soil company that you'll oversee for the next 55 years, so you need to skip commencement ceremonies.

There's just a small problem. You're one unit short of a bachelor's degree, you never really graduated, and no one will find out you don't actually have that degree until you're 96-years old. Even you won't find out until your family goes poking around for a copy. That's when they're told it doesn't exist.

Such is the case of one Alfonso Gonzales, who is now the oldest-ever graduate of USC, after he took an independent study course to earn one unit that was separating him from a bachelor's degree, sixty-three years after the fact.

Soil, man. Mother Nature's granular vixen. It's distracted lesser men.

The Friday Poem: Warning Poem, by Jenny Joseph

As another week concludes, we end with a random poem. Famous poets, obscure poets, amateur poets, whatever poets--just a poem to cap off the week.

Like this one:


Warning Poem,  by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Anne Bernays is cooler than your great-grandmother. Sorry, but it's true.

He can appreciate it.

Anne Bernays is the author of a number of a novels, a teacher of writing at Boston University, Boston College, Holy Cross, and other locations, and a winner of multiple awards.

Anne Bernays is also 85-years old, and rocking punk rock blue hair.

In an essay on NPR, Bernays explains becoming a great-grandmother was the impetus, but so was the passage of time of being anonymous. But after dyeing her hair a shade of blue only Johnny Rotten or Billy Idol could rock, people started brightening up around her, shaking her hand, appreciating her a little more."While young people sparkle like diamonds, old folks are invisible — except, as I discovered, if you have bright blue hair," she writes.

Now let's see your great-grandmother try this over this Thanksgiving. It'll brighten the holiday.

Ernest Hemingway loved too much, or didn't know how.

Author A.E. Hotchner was friends with Ernest Hemingway during the final years of the famed writer's life. In 1966, a few years after Hemingway committed suicide, Hotchner published Papa Hemingway--a biography that Hemingway's fourth wife contested in court (and lost).

Now, at the age of 95, and in the final years of his own life, Hotchner has a companion biographical piece about the Nobel laureate, called Hemingway in Love.

Speaking in an interview, Hotchner details some points of emphasis on Hemingway's various marriages, and how Papa longed for an earlier time near the end. "What he's talking about, really, are his first two wives, Hadley the first and Pauline the second," says Hotchner. "In my experiences with him at the tail end of his life, he was reliving the mistakes he made, being in love with those two women at the same time."

Well, if love was ever simple, then there would be no writers.

Rod Stewart wants to release a book of poetry.

I know you've been itching for poetry from the man who wrote "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"--and now that itch can be scratched.

Rod Stewart--a man who never met a can of mousse he didn't love--intends to release a book of poetry with sketches supplied from his former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood*. "It's his sketches and our poems and it's so funny. I can't even begin to describe it. It's just hilarious," says Stewart.

Yes. All that rib-tickling action you'd expect from a 70-year old guy who wrote "Maggie May."



*Ronnie Wood has been a guitarist for The Rolling Stones since 1975. Also known as the guy you see on the stage with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and say, "Who the hell is he?"

Does Harper Lee really want to publish a sequel to 'To Kill a Mockingbird'? Some people doubt it.

Continuing the theme of old age being sigh-inducingly depresing...

Nearly two weeks after Harper Lee's publisher announced that the quiet, reclusive author was releasing a sequel to her famous,--and only--book, To Kill a Mockingbird, some experts have started questioning whether or not she truly wanted the sequel ever to be found, never mind released.

Now 88-years old, Lee has lived in an Alabaman nursing home in recent years after suffering a stroke in 2007. According to a story on Gawker, Lee's lawyer, Tonja Carter, once claimed that the novelist sometimes wasn't of sound mind when it came to signing documents.

Fast forward to 2014, and Carter apparently finds Lee's Mockingbird sequel in a pile of the author's papers. Go Set a Watchmen is set in the 1950s (Mockingbird took place during the 1930's Great Depression) and includes many of the same characters that appear in Mockingbird. But does Lee want it released? Carter claims she does.

Now tongues are wagging that Lee is being forced to publish a book she wanted hidden. The New York Times claims that the gossips in Monroeville, AL, swear Lee is not of sound mind and can't recognize old friends. But, as Florida State English professor Diane Roberts tells the AFP news wire, "There's just no way to judge it without talking to her [...] And no one's going to talk to her because even when she was in her best health, she was very private."

Publisher HarperCollins quotes Lee as saying she's "humbled and amazed" at the upcoming book release, while her lawyer, Carter, goes on the defensive in quotes to The New York Times, "[Lee] is a very strong, independent, and wise woman who should be enjoying the discovery of her long lost novel," Carter says. "Instead, she is having to defend her own credibility and decision-making."

But even Lee's former Methodist pastor, Rev. Thomas Butts has his doubts, telling the Times, "It is sort of strange it had not been found before."

When even a man of the cloth is raising an eyebrow in suspicion, something seems amiss.




Photo: HarperCollins

Dumbledore actor has quit acting on the stage, says his memory is fading.

We all knew Dumbledore was supposed to be an older guy, but it's sad nonetheless.

Michael Gambon, who has portrayed Dumbledore in most of the Harry Potter films, announced in a Sunday Times interview that he needs to quit working in theater for one simple reason. He can't remember his lines.

“It’s a horrible thing to admit, but I can’t do it. It breaks my heart. It’s when the script’s in front of me and it takes forever to learn. It’s frightening,” the 74-year old actor confessed.

Gambon tried using an ear piece with someone feeding him lines, but it was a short experience.

"[A]fter about an hour, I thought, ‘This can’t work.’ You can’t be in theater, free on stage shouting and screaming and running around, with someone reading you your lines," he said.

As a result, the actor will still do movies, but has given up working in theater.

Voldemort wins again.

Famous Writers Shirtless: George Bernard Shaw

Writers are never known as the studliest or sexiest of people, but that doesn't stop them from showing some skin for the camera once in awhile.

So, occasionally we'll post some literary beefcake for your perusal.

Today:  George Bernard Shaw

I'm pretty certain this is what the Beach Boys had in mind when they wrote all those songs about surfing.

Is that a surf board or is Shaw doing some light handyman work?

Sure, you see emaciated chicken legs and a conservative onesie that hides Shaw's birthing hips. But I see a man ready to show the Atlantic Ocean who's boss.

Famous Writers Shirtless: Ezra Pound

A fleeting internet meme happened of writers in underpants--but it passed too quickly to be truly appreciated.

So, occasionally we'll post some literary beefcake for your perusal.

Today: Ezra Pound

A shirt with no buttons is no shirt at all.

Here we see Ezra apparently in the throws of a sneeze, followed by an instantaneous nap, all while flexing his literary pecs. Semi-nudity does that to an old man.

Is that a fine mist of hair all over his abdomen? "A fine mist of hair all over his abdomen" sounds like the sort of b-level poetic material Ezra might write, too.

Famous Writers with Cats: George Bernard Shaw

Writers need inspiration somewhere in life, and for many that inspiration comes from their pet cats.

This is a running series where we post pictures of famous writers with their feline companions--the cute, the cuddly, the creepy. And that's just the writers.

Today:  George Bernard Shaw

Oh, geez, someone stop Gramps from killing another cat.

Shaw will actually defy the laws of gravity and age if he can actually get himself upright again.

Because grabbing Mr. Whiskers from the top of his head always ends well.

Famous Writers Shirtless: Ezra Pound

A fleeting internet meme happened of writers in underpants--but it passed too quickly to be truly appreciated.

So, occasionally we'll post some literary beefcake for your perusal.

Today: Ezra Pound

In case you're ever wondering what retirees in Del Boca Vista, Florida, look like, Ezra Pound would like you to know it looks like lawn chairs and sun visors. Throw in some shuffleboard and canasta, and we've got ourselves a rollicking good time.

Word to the wise: When your nipples match your overall skin tone, you've been sunbathing too long.

Famous Writers Shirtless: Norman Mailer

Writers are never known as the studliest or sexiest of people, but that doesn't stop them from showing some skin for the camera once in awhile.

So, occasionally we'll post some literary beefcake for your perusal.


Today: Norman Mailer

Emerging from the sea is a pillowy pelt of chest hair rarely seen outside wild bison roaming Montana.

The "I'm a little teacup" look lures unsuspecting innocents close enough for the wild American bison to attack its prey in the water, incapacitating the victim with overly grandiose machismo.

And with that, we've officially exhausted the number of 106-year olds without a high school diploma.

In case you had serious doubts, according to FindTheData.org there's roughly a 48% chance of a 106-year old person dying within the next year. So, time is tight.

Pennsylvania's Reba Williams is 106-years old. And, like 106-year old Fred Butler of Massachusetts, Reba Williams lacked a high school diploma.

Reba's reason was much different than Fred's. Having completed all twelve grades of education, Reba apparently refused to read a book that was assigned to her in the 12th grade. What book, she won't say--but her transgression was enough to not allow her to graduate.

According to daughter Lavata Williams, her mom said "the book was not worth reading and she'd already read it once and didn't like it and wasn't going to read it again."

Fast-forward to 2012, and the Mount Vernon (PA) Board of Education awarded Reba Williams her diploma nearly 90-years after the fact.

Upon being told she the good news, Reba's reply was succinct. "That's nice," she said.

Everything is kind of anticlimactic when you're 106-years old.





photo: MansfieldNewsJournal.com