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Carnival Countdown

I’m in Nori’s cafe, sitting on the river side, coffee in one hand, pen in the other, my yellow legal tab on the table. There’s nothing unusual about that, since I do it every day, barring out-of-area travel, out-of-control contagion, or out-of-planet intervention. But a couple of ...

Sorry, wrong number

The reality of my retirement is that I am either incredibly productive or accomplish nothing. This week was no different. On my manic cleaning day, I unburied a letter that had been sitting on a side table for weeks. I remember it arriving in the mail, but I tossed it off to the side. Opening ...

Taking off our shoes

At our house, there isn’t much debate about whether or not to take our shoes off when entering the house. We generally do it. It isn’t to prevent germs and disease. We have had dogs, chickens and small children deliberately bring other living and dead creatures into our house. Germs from ...

Cooking for busy December days

Thanksgiving is behind us. November has made way for December. Christmas is just three weeks away. It’s a busy time of baking, decorating, shopping, concerts and holiday parties. But your family still needs to eat. She pushes the stroller with 10 pounds of taters and Caleb down ...

Helmet laws lax in most states

Currently, only 17 states and the District of Columbia have all-rider helmet laws in place. Meanwhile record numbers of motorcyclists — more than 6,000 each year — were killed in 2021 and 2022, the most recent years for which statistics are available. More than 20,000 motorcyclists who ...