“Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.” ― Winston Churchill, British politician. Notwithstanding the keyboard warriors[Read More…]
Tag: Columns
Editor’s Column – Let them.
“A long time ago, I made me a rule. I let people do what they want to do.” ― John Wayne We struggle so much with trying to manage and control what other people think and feel and do and believe, and often tie ourselves up in knots of anxiety[Read More…]
Editor’s Column – Why do we have so much stuff?
“It is amazing, and also a little strange, how many things we accumulate in a lifetime.” ― Margareta Magnusson, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter With summer’s arrival, yard sale season begins in earnest, wherein we get[Read More…]
Editor’s Column – Why are we all so mad?
“A string of reproaches against other people leads one to suspect the existence of a string of self-reproaches with the same content.” ~ Sigmund Freud Have you noticed an increasing level of anger lately, whether in yourself or in others? Does it feel like everyone’s angry switch is stuck in[Read More…]
Editor’s Column – A not-so-grand modern human experiment?
I just watched a TV series set in the 1960s. In every episode, the characters are smoking. At dinner, in bed, at restaurants, in the back of a taxi, etc. While I had to explain to my grandchildren what the ashtrays in the armrests on the airplane were last summer (their[Read More…]
EDITOR’S COLUMN – Certainty
“The only certainty is that nothing is certain.” ~ Pliny the Elder Remember when you were little and you had no doubts about the existence of Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy? Remember the crushing sorrow that came with finding out your parents or grandparents drank the milk,[Read More…]
Editor’s Column – February 1st, 2024
“There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and thus free ourselves from the responsibility for acts which are prompted by our own questionable inclinations and impulses. Both the strong and the weak grasp at this alibi. The latter[Read More…]
History Lessons: The Cavanaugh mystery, Part 1
“Mommy, why is there a grave next to the museum? Did someone die inside?” As you are strolling along Park Ave., you may have noticed a white gravestone placed between the White River Museum’s Heritage Center and the Garrison building which was the officers’ quarters. There is no body buried[Read More…]
Guest Column: The art of writing thank you notes
Following Christmas, it is time for all of us to acknowledge the gifts received with a personal thank-you note. Here are some thoughts to assist you: Do It! Take time to handwrite a brief note of appreciation. My mother used to say, “Don’t expect more gifts if you don’t express[Read More…]
Editor’s Column – “FRA-GEE-LAY”
I didn’t see “A Christmas Story” until I was well into my 30s. Besides the memorable scenes of Flick the bully being triple-dog-dared to stick his tongue to a metal pole and Ralphie so thoroughly bundled up for harsh winter weather he couldn’t put his arms down (which comes back[Read More…]
Pat’s Christmas Letters, Part 1
My mother-in-law, Pat Hendrickson lived in Meeker about a year before passing at the age of 94. She didn’t get to meet most of you, so I would like to share some of her humor with you now. Her Christmas letters from Bartlett, Kansas, population 69, were hilarious stories of[Read More…]
Editor’s Column – Assumptions
Be curious, not judgmental. ~ Ted Lasso By the time you read this, you’ve most likely enjoyed (or endured) the annual gathering of friends and family around the Thanksgiving table. Hopefully, the food and drink were delicious, and the conversation was amicable. However, if you walked away agitated or inflamed[Read More…]


