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…]
Tag: Editor’s Column
Editor’s Column: Why do we believe what we believe?
Voltaire, writer and philosopher during the French Enlightenment, said, “Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.” Who has that power over you? It’s a question we all need to ask ourselves. Who has power over us to make us[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Are you still cutting the end off of the ham?
There’s an old story that applies to any number of human activities. A little girl watching her mother prepare Sunday dinner asks why the mother cuts the end off of the ham before putting it in the pan. “That’s what my mother did, you should ask her,” the harried mother[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Aging is a privilege
‘ll be 49 this year (Lord willing), putting me smack dab in middle age territory. The AARP mailings aren’t arriving yet, and I rarely “feel” my age (thanks, I assume, to reasonably good genes), but I’m starting to notice little changes to which I’m learning to adapt. 1. I need[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: What will you do with the new year?
It’s time to start the annual debate about New Year’s resolutions, whether we’re for or against them. I think some folks are so discouraged by past failures they swing all the way to the other side of the spectrum, denying and defying the notion that making resolutions is a good[Read More…]
You can’t open someone’s eyes with a baseball bat {Editor’s Column}
It’s human nature to want people to agree with us. We all want to be right, and encountering people who don’t see things the same way we do triggers an almost primal need to correct and convince them they are wrong and we are right. We all do it, whether[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: School’s back in session, but is the four-day week hurting us?
When a topic randomly pops up in conversation twice in the space of a few days, it makes me wonder if there’s more to think about. This week it’s the concept of the four-day school week. I remember the discussion and debate the last time our districts decided to go[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: The real enemy is within
Newspapers across the country have been asked to write editorials this week about the media being referred to as the “enemy of the people.” It’s a trendy phrase these days, with all the simplicity of good propaganda behind it. It’s catchy, it stirs up emotion and it’s not terribly specific.[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Leading without malice
The museum display at the White River Museum that includes James Lyttle’s original printing press also includes a plaque naming and honoring Richard Lyttle. The first line reads: “Many years he spoke for us.” The second line reads, “Leading without malice.”
Water is precious. Don’t waste it. {Editor’s Column}
If drought teaches us anything at all it should teach us the critical value of water. Apparently Meeker residents aren’t learning the lesson. We’ve used more water in the last six weeks than ever before in the recorded history of Meeker water usage. When conditions are as dry and drastic[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Thank you to the fire crews
As I’m writing this on Tuesday evening, we’ve had a welcome—albeit brief—rainstorm pass through. The relief is tangible after weeks of hot, dry conditions and several days when it seemed our county was spontaneously combusting around us. Lord willing, any accompanying lightning hasn’t sparked more fires. After two days of[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: You really can’t save time
We all do it, we’re all guilty of trying to save time. Saving time seems like a good idea, and so we’ve been told by every new time-saving gadget ever invented. Remember when email was considered a timesaver? It’s become a giant time suck. So we switched to texting. Really[Read More…]