By Maggie ConklinBeebalmI kept driving by a field of spotted beebalm, aka horsemint, bergamot or the Latin binomial name Monarda punctata, and telling myself I’d go harvest it tomorrow.This had gone on for a couple weeks, OK, more than a month till I finally parked my Mini and picked an armful in five minutes. Why Read More…
By Scott SullivanEditorhungry iGeometry, content, composition … click. Do a photo’s still subject objects move me after I process them, let the content cool, then return for reassessment and maybe revision. Still?The hungry i (1950-1970) was a San Francisco comedy, music and sometimes strip-bar nightclub where Mort Sahl, Bill Cosby, Lenny Bruce, Joan Rivers, Woody Read More…
I received a phone call from a distraught reader and mother a few days ago, that really hit home. She called me because of the strong positions I have taken in past columns about Big Pharma, opioids and doctors that might administer them.I asked her to write me a letter explaining her situation. Here it Read More…
In 1951, the renown Protestant theologian, Richard Niebuhr published his important book Christ in Culture. In it, he outlines the different ways Christ, and his church is in relationship with the secular world. Seventy-two years later the book remains in print, and I have read it several times over the years to better understand the relationship between an Read More…
By Maggie ConklinGumboMy dear father grows a vegetable garden every year, and some of my earliest memories are of him roto-tilling the field in the spring.Every year is a bit different, but always includes little redskin potatoes, golden potatoes and string beans. There’s a raspberry patch and blueberry row, with wild strawberries strewn between the Read More…
By Scott SullivanEditorFinal JeopardyNostalgia makes no sense. Why relive something? Once was not enough?Nor does headline hubbub about Covid’s comeback. Of course a virus will mutate, as flu does. New ones take time to study, develop vaccines for and test their safety.Impatient? Drink Clorox, gulp hydroxychloroquine or heed politicians: they know more than medical professionals. Read More…
My daughters are keeping me up to speed on the outside world since I’ve decided to boycott the news here at the Arbor Springs Old Folks Hotel. I can hear Fox News blaring from multiple rooms, and I’m suspicious that one reason we are not doing all that well is because the President running the Read More…
I recently obtained a list of words that a certain company is demanding their employees cannot use, or they will be subject to dismissal. The list was passed on to me after the confidential informant attended a diversity training seminar she was told she must attend.One of the targets of these diversity training programs is Read More…
Monday marked the end of Labor Day weekend and summer holiday season and, for many, when children went back to school.When I was growing up. Father advised us, “Get to know the secretary, janitor, stay on their good sides and respect them. They’re as important as the principal, maybe more.”This seemed counterintuitive, as only teachers and Read More…
It’s great to see so many American flags displayed around the community. What’s even better is to see POW/MIA flags flown as well. It’s unknown how many Prisoners of War (POW) are still missing, but there are some numbers on how many members of our Armed Forces are still Missing in Action (MIA) from all Read More…