Word: husbanding
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Serious study of suicide has been hampered by the fear and loathing that society brings to the idea of self-destruction; an example is Mary Hemingway's initial insistence that her husband's death was accidental. Primitive tribes usually fear the suicide as a ghostly avenger. Pre-Christian Greeks tended to disapprove of it as an offense against the gods, whose property men were. But the Stoics and Epicureans, taking man as the measure of all things, condoned self-destruction as a blessed escape. Said Seneca: "Against all the injuries of life, I have the refuge of death...
...tedious routine, but Tracers does not shun sly tactics. For example, to confirm that it has found Alfred Alumnus, whose last address was 1500 Shady Lane, Tracers may place a person-to-person call to William Alumnus at the suspected new address. "There's no William here; my husband is Alfred," the wife replies. Tracers' agent interrupts, tells the operator, "We're looking for the one who used to live at 1931 Shady Lane." "Oh no," says the wife, "we used to live at 1500-it's not us." But Tracers, of course, has nailed Alfred...
...prepare for her marriage-with disastrous results: her bearnaise sauce congealed because she used lard instead of butter; her calves' brains in red wine fell apart; her well-larded wild duck set the oven on fire-she had completely forgotten to put it in a pan. Says Husband Paul gallantly: "I was willing to put up with that awful cooking to get Julia," but he still shudders at the memory...
...Mother never cooked anything that wasn't in a can or a container, and all she had to do was warm it up," says exurban New York Matron Maria Cunningham, 31. Not Maria. Veal, lamb and chicken are her favorites, and she and her husband like Julia's recipes for saute de veau Marengo, gigot de pre-sale roti a la moutarde, and supreme de volatile aux champignons, which they served recently at a dinner for 22. Says Maria: "The only thing that made it possible is that Julia tells all the things you can do in advance...
What makes the Hills's story interesting, if not believable, is that both are reputable citizens. Betty Hill, 46, is a social worker for the state of New Hampshire; her husband, 44, works for the U.S. Post Office in Portsmouth. In credulous themselves, and greatly disturbed by the experience, they preferred for a long time not to talk about it. But one friend who heard about it suggested that the Hills needed psychiatric care. They applied for treatment to Boston Psychiatrist Benjamin Simon, who found them both suffering from "crippling anxiety"; to relieve it, he hypnotized them...