“Wait, my hands are full, I can’t talk right now,” the woman said into a cell phone. Leaning over a cart full of groceries, she dropped a couple of boxes of cereal on top of the precarious pile. She still was able to hold her phone and resume her conversation,[Read More…]
Tag: Loose Ends by Dolly
Loose Ends: Best laid plans
This is the best beginning after a terrible year I have ever experienced. I decided not to clutter up 2022 with New Year’s resolutions. Prior experience has finally knocked some sense into me. If I resolve to do something I am overthinking things. The key word here is resolve. That[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Conversations
One skill that we are keen on teaching children is listening. I am sure the first preschool and primary school conferences of the year addressed that one specific skill and informed the parent’s mastering it. I believe it is even more of a problem because of remote learning and the[Read More…]
Loose Ends: The political ring
I was so sorry to hear Rio Blanco County had a low voter turnout this year. Yet, I somehow expected it. Visiting with family and friends these past few weeks before the election I got the feeling that so many people were disgusted with the entire political process, they didn’t[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Language lessons
MEEKER I “Language sweetie, language,” the woman admonished her young son. I used to hear this same reminder when I was little. My grandmother and mother said these same words to me and my siblings regarding the use of proper English. They never had to tell us to stop using[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Reason, is that you?
MEEKER I I haven’t heard the timeworn phrase, “It is what it is,” so much lately. Before Covid vaccinations were available, quite a few of us seemed to blurt those five little words out midstream in conversation, often accompanied by a commonly recognized gesture conveying total exasperation: both arms extended[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Out of Order
MEEKER I “Out of Order! Do not use or you will be trapped,” the paper posted on a stall in the public restroom proclaimed. It seems that some of the signs posted in the small, roadside businesses catering to tourists have had to resort to improving their signage. It seems[Read More…]
Loose Ends: No “normal”
MEEKER | Range Call is done for the year. Its success should be seen as a positive indication that Meeker is on the way to a somewhat regular routine. The Delta variant of COVID-19 had already surfaced here before the event was held and more outbreaks are predicted for the[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Wildflowers
MEEKER | The first Colorado wildflower I fell in love with was the columbine. Often during long tedious hikes, I would catch a glimpse of a bunch of them taking a little shade underneath the soaring, slim aspen trees and change my outlook. My backpacking trips in the Flat Tops,[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Civility
MEEKER | Unfortunately, it appears that we are long past the age of civility. Public and private discourse alike show numerous signs foretelling the extinction of manners. Using some restraint after a heated argument, as well as resisting the urge toward slinging sarcasm are not communication skills we see very[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Weather Conversations
MEEKER | Tall tales of the winter-that-was abound this time of year. It is the time that people of all ages seem to dredge up their old stories. The mention of “Fool’s Spring” describing the mild temperatures and the long days filled with sunshine brings to mind all of the[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Wasn’t Born Yesterday
MEEKER | “I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.” Each time I hear someone say these words or a facsimile, I want to say, “I know, you keep telling us that!” However, I restrain myself. These days when I hear people use such an old folksy expression that asserts the rest[Read More…]
