RBC | “M” words are some of the best. “Magnificent!” “Marvelous!” “Magical!” I even like “millennial.” Shocking, I know. A new favorite “m” word of mine is “malaphor.” Ever heard of them? A malaphor, according to yourdictionary.com is “an idiom blend: an error in which two similar figures of speech[Read More…]
Opinion
Letter: Thank you from Oldtimers
Dear Editor: We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped make the Old Timer’s Association Dinner a success. Thank you to the board of Haley, Connie and Bob for all they do and all the time they invest in this association. Thank you to Darryl,[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Gobsmacked!
It means “utterly astonished; astounded,” and it’s the perfect descriptor for my reaction to the announcement that I was chosen Meeker’s Citizen of the Year for 2019. It’s taken me several days to wrap my head around it. First, I’m honored and challenged: honored to be chosen when there are[Read More…]
Letter: Thank you
Dear Editor: Six weeks have passed since losing my Sonny. Again, I thank the many, many people who were and continue to give me such warm and wonderful support. Thank you to my friends who wrap their arms around me, soothing my tears. Thank you to my employer, Rio Blanco[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…]
Guest Column: Journeying through grief
RBC | “Some days are harder than others.” That’s quite a common phrase when it comes to managing grief. I can attest to this in my own life in regard to the loss of my precious first-born daughter almost two years ago: some days, are in fact, harder than others.[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Three Card Days
MEEKER | “You don’t see my card on the door, do ya?” the elderly gent asked. Dressed in a cowboy hat, plaid shirt with pearl snap buttons, Wrangler jeans, and well-worn boots, he looked to be a longtime resident of my new community. He held the post office door open,[Read More…]
Guest Column: What remains of a planet
RBC | Last winter in these pages I reviewed consensus studies predicting impending dire consequences of climate change (IPCC Special Report, 2018; Fourth National Climate Assessment, 2018). Now the biologists have weighed in with a consensus evaluation of the health of the world’s ecosystems (IPBES, 2019). We’re in trouble. For[Read More…]
{OPED} Loose Ends: ‘Hey Back East, how’s it going today?’
MEEKER | Moving to Meeker midwinter more than four decades ago, the cultural clash between my childhood hometown in the midwest and my new home in the west became a daily reminder. I was not only a newcomer but an obvious outsider to the community. It wasn’t until I had[Read More…]
Letter: National Mental Health Awareness Month in May
Dear Editor: May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, and this May we also have a report of yet another school shooting in a Denver suburb. This May, Mind Springs Health/West Springs Hospital reminds people to take care of your own mental health just as you do your physical or[Read More…]
Letter: “Your Heritage” matters
Dear Editor: To the 40- to 50-year-old Rio Blanco “oldtimers.” I’m no longer shocked or dismayed by the sheer lack of knowledge or understanding of heritage and history displayed in other parts of our great country, but continue to wonder how that attitude of disdain has permeated the 40-50 age[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…]