Knight-Ridder

"Two payments are now past due on your loan," declared the blue default notice from the mortgage company. "The amount now required to reinstate your loan must include all late...

These days, we call it real estate. Or acreage. In another time and place-the pre-industrial China of the Manchu Dynasty-it was salvation. Pearl S. Buck called it, simply, "The Good...

It`s that time of year when everyone looks forward to those holiday parties. But how jolly can you be when you`re the one responsible for the bash? Words of comfort...

Most people accept jobs of drudgery, doing as others tell them. Then there is Paul Langlois. Three years ago Langlois was supervising dozens of workers at an auto customizing studio,...

Have you ever visited Palm Beach and longed to peek into those elegant mansions behind tall hedges? Now you can, without leaving your armchair. A new book, ''Private Palm Beach:...

What a timely idea. We`re talking about the wristwatches featuring pictures of 14 famous African-Americans, including Martin Luther King Jr., Bill Cosby, Malcolm X and Lena Horne. The ''African-Americans of...

No one writes it on a blackboard, no one slips it in the playbook, no one pulls a rookie aside and says, ''Look, kid, this is how it is ....

You can ''design'' your new puppy to fit your temperament and living style while enjoying the dog`s personality. That`s the message from dog trainer Clarice Rutherford and veterinarian David H....

One of the most enduring symbols of the American automobile industry is the 14-story General Motors Building in Detroit`s bustling New Center area. Started in 1919, the building today is...

Jenny Busby`s bedroom looks like any teenage girl`s dream room. Walls papered in cheery yellow and white stripes. Soft blue carpet. A gleaming brass bed dressed in a blue and...