Barring some additional 2020 disaster, the Vol. 135, Issue 50 of the Rio Blanco Herald Times will come out on my 50th birthday. Lord willing, we won’t have any random pages from last year supplanting this week’s pages (that was last week), but given the way this year is going[Read More…]
Columns
Editor’s Column: Pioneers, settlers and museum-keepers: which one are you?
Full disclosure, I stole the title from an old sermon series, but it’s relevant. The basic premise is that there are three types of people: pioneers who are hungry for change and new things, settlers who want to maintain the status quo, and museum-keepers who guard the old ways. All[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Out of order
This week there were three public events in 24 hours where face coverings were almost non-existent. When Caitlin told me an elderly lady asked to sit by her because “no one else is being safe” (no masks), I did something I shame other people for doing: I went toxic on[Read More…]
Loose Ends: “How long will you stay?”
“How long will you stay?” was the one question over the years that continued to plague Meeker’s newest residents. It seemed to be an integral part of the welcoming tradition and was included in an impromptu game that most all new residents unwittingly played in the early months of their[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Consider the source
“Besides, as the vilest Writer has his Readers, so the greatest Liar has his Believers; and it often happens, that if a Lie be believ’d only for an Hour, it has done its Work, and there is no farther occasion for it. Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: “Zoombies” and the fly on the wall
Learning to navigate this new realm of virtual meetings has been interesting. You’ve probably heard the horror stories about people in Zoom work meetings who’ve been exposed (literally) not wearing pants, or the middle-aged female politician who changed her shirt while the camera was on, not realizing she was flashing[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Go forth, graduates!
Now that our local graduation has been held in a unique 2020 fashion, the efforts by the local school district to hold an actual ceremony demonstrated the RE-1 District’s dedication to recognizing the efforts of the students, as well as their families, to finish 12 years of schooling. Like most[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: The blame game
We’re blamers. It’s what we do. Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent. Cain blamed Abel and committed the first murder. The smallest child, when asked, “did you do this?” will shake his or her head and point at a sibling or the dog or the notorious “Nobody.” Ask anyone[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Distance
“Remember to give them their distance all the time.” was the caption below the picture of a mother bear and her cubs in a recent edition of this newspaper. Those among us, who spend their daily lives up in the high country, never take the need for distance for granted.[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Adapting is key to survival
I have vague recollections of high school biology that involve discussions around how species that faced extinction and survived did so through the process of adaptation. While this new iteration of coronavirus isn’t likely to cause the extinction of mankind, we are going to have to adapt to living around[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Sacrifices made should inspire us
[responsivevoice voice=”US English Female” buttontext=”Listen to this”] As we prepare to observe Memorial Day, perhaps this year we’ll be less distracted by backyard barbecues and beer and give the day the somber consideration it deserves. For 244 years Americans have sacrificed to defend our country, and our allies. Some have[Read More…]
LOOSE ENDS: ‘Sorry, Wrong Number’
“Sorry, wrong number” is not a message one hears often these days, unless a local directory has listed someone’s else’s phone number in its place. While some of us still keep a landline, there are growing numbers who have reverted to only to a cell phone. A few years ago[Read More…]
