On the holiday each year when we hold our freedoms most dear, I get a bit frustrated that so many folks forget that with freedom comes great personal responsibility. Lighting illegal fireworks all night long is not you “exercising your freedom,” it’s just you being a selfish jerk. Those are[Read More…]
Columns
Editor’s Column: Cannibals among us?
There’s a Bible verse that’s as applicable to small towns as it is to church congregations. It’s a warning: “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” Small towns are notorious for “biting and devouring” one another, whether through gossip or manipulation[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: About those deadlines
Sometimes I wonder if we’re doing enough; particularly when someone hangs up on me in a snit because we didn’t print an article and photos that came in two hours before press time. There’s a difference between deadline and press time. Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. (Tuesday at 3[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Why? Because if you drop the basket, (or it leaves town or someone invents a better basket) all is lost. The firm hired by the Town of Meeker to “refresh” the town’s comprehensive plan, a municipal housekeeping task that needs to be done every decade or so, will get to[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: What do dogs think?
Having a puppy following me around the house paying super close attention to every move I make got me thinking… what do dogs think about their humans? Do they think changing clothes is just taking off one set of fur and exchanging it for another set of fur? Or do[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Troll fatigue
I’m tired. I’m tired because we just got a puppy and she’s on a baby’s sleep/wake schedule, but that’s a good kind of tired. Her name is Nellie (after Nellie Bly the famous journalist, not Nellie Olson from Little House on the Prairie). You’ll be hearing more about her in[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: About those rocks…
There are decoratively painted rocks all over Meeker, tucked into nooks and crannies and out in plain view. If you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably seen them. If not, you may have stumbled upon (or stepped over or walked past) a painted rock and not known what it meant or what[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Errors and Escapees
Admitting error or fault is never easy or comfortable, no matter how old you are or how often you get to do it, but it’s part of becoming a responsible, trustworthy adult. It’s “character-building,” as parents like to say when they force their kids to endure uncomfortable things. Here’s the[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Personal responsibility includes being considerate
My grandkids are at that age where they understand there are rules for cohabiting the same space, and they get very angry when one of their siblings is not complying with those rules. Every parent has heard the tattlers… “Susie ate two cookies. You said we can only have one[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: ‘Small’ is in the eye of the beholder
“I live in a small town. The population is just 10,000.” It’s a conversation we kept overhearing while we were in Denver this month. Apparently the definition of “small” is quite subjective. For example, the television show “Twin Peaks” (which some of you remember from 20+ years ago, and some[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Mulligrubs
I fell in the mulligrubs this week. Last Friday I had to put down a dog. She’s been declining, but I thought we had more time. Isn’t that always the case? Then I tried to do Ethan’s final tax return. He did his own taxes for the first time last[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: The politics of fear
Fear is a terrible—and terribly effective—way to manipulate people. If you can make a people group afraid, you can make them react, and if you can make them react, you can control them. If there’s a divisive or contentious topic on the table for public debate, it’s sure to be[Read More…]