Bad situations are no laughing matter . . . or are they? Laughter can be used to relax people, diffuse explosive situations, and put people in a receptive mood. In the HBO television series Band of Brothers, Easy Company is constantly training. A private asks for permission to speak. Lieutenant Dick Winters grants him permission. […]
Sweet, Succulent, and Healthful in Nine Ways
Have you ever eaten a dried date? My earliest memory of eating a date was in the fifth grade at Park Lodge Elementary in Lakewood. I opened up my lunch pail, packed by my mom, and there were several dates. Each one contained vanilla icing and a walnut half. I loved them. This would have […]
Foldscopes Redux – Beginning Microbiology at Age 65
This is the fourth and final article featuring Richard Dorsett’s trip to Asia to distribute Foldscopes, the fully functional microscope, which users construct by origami principles. The Rotary Club of Tacoma #8 funded the Foldscopes for adventurer and hiking and biking enthusiast Richard Dorsett: Some years ago, I bought two microscopes from the Washington surplus […]
Over-Baked Potatoes – Always Ready
I love baked potatoes with butter, Parmesan cheese, chives, and sour cream. Unfortunately, if you start with a potato the size of high school boy’s basketball shoe, the calories could pile on the weight instead of the enjoyment. I like to use a combination of small reds and Yukon Golds. I throw six to eight […]
Waffle Stop – Restaurant Review
My friend Jim picked me up for lunch at 11:30 am. We drove to the North Proctor area in Tacoma. We parked directly across the street in what appeared to be the only available parking spot. This was well before noon on a Friday morning in January. We walked across the street and entered the […]
Breaking Away – Life Free of Cable
We kept talking about it . . . a friend kept suggesting it . . . we kept paying out good money every month for old movies and PBS. Finally, for Christmas our daughter gave my wife a Kindle and paid for a year’s subscription to Amazon Prime. At the same time, our daughter-in-law gave […]
Foldscopes: Every Picture Tells a Story
This is the third article featuring Richard Dorsett’s trip to Asia to distribute Foldscopes, the fully functional microscope, which users construct by origami principles. The Rotary Club of Tacoma #8 funded the Foldscopes for adventurer and hiking and biking enthusiast Richard Dorsett: Everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that which […]
Beef Stroganoff? Prime Rib Gravy!
In my article about Ponders Corner (https://thesubtimes.com/2017/12/06/ponders-corner/) I mentioned buying a can of Beef Stroganoff from a small grocery store a couple hundred yards away from my parents’ motel when I was a teenager. All I had to do was boil up some noodles and open the can and add a little butter in a […]
En Garde – Fencing for Fun, Exercise and Knowledge
In the seventh grade at Hudtloff Junior High School I signed up for an evening course in fencing. I had always loved stories of The Three Musketeers, pirates and duels of honor. I thought fencing would be fun. No one told me that it was a lot of work. All you need to start with […]