Submitted by Fred Willis. On Tuesday, December 4th, Christ Lutheran Church sponsored a well attended public sing-along of Handel's "Messiah". I have attended these twice but have not attempted to sing. You see, beauty and joy cause me to weep. It has always been that way, but I can usually suppress it. This time with the first familiar notes the tears came freely for five minutes or so. … [Read more...]
Home from Home: Pick-up and drop-off
People are talking about how divided this country is, and I see it every day. Not just in a sense of politics – and you know this column was never meant to make any political statements. I find that there is one part of the population who drops off and another who picks up. … [Read more...]
Family Evidence
My wife and I have a closet stacked from floor to ceiling with boxes of old photographs. Okay, so they're not all photographs . . . there are piles of albums and boxes of slides, as well. Some albums have never been opened and some have only a few pages of photos and then blank pages. There are some albums that contain photos of our parents as children, so roughly the closet contains a hundred … [Read more...]
Money for Nothing and Just a Small Fee
Ellen and Jerry have been retired for some time. Jerry can still do some odd jobs for other seniors for cash. They get by. Near the end of the month they count on Pierce County Meal Sites where they can get a meal for $2.50 to $3.00. Sometimes they have to count their change to afford the meals. They don't have credit cards. They get cash from the bank where their social security checks are sent. … [Read more...]
The Upside and Down of Bedding
Apparently I missed the conversion from traditional bedding to millennial bedding. It seems that millennials prefer a bottom sheet and a duvet. A duvet is a cotton cover over a comforter filled with down, feathers, or synthetic fibers. Laundry is still recommended on a weekly basis, but it is quicker, faster, and cheaper with just a bottom sheet and a cotton duvet to wash and dry. … [Read more...]
Film Review: Fantasia
The films that have been made by The Walt Disney Company in the 85 years of its existence number in the hundreds, and you’d be hard pressed to find one film that everyone agrees is the best. However, there is one Disney film I feel doesn’t get brought up enough in conversations concerning the best of the Disney canon, and that’s Fantasia. Whenever I bring up Fantasia in a social setting, people … [Read more...]
Maple Nut Goodies – Hard Candy
Not every time, but quite often when I visit the Dollar Tree on Sixth Avenue in Tacoma, I purchase a bag of Brach's Maple Nut Goodies. Memories fade, but I seem to recall them available by the pound at Woolworth's in downtown Tacoma in the early 1950s. They always looked interesting. Here is how Brach's described them, "These goodies feature roasted peanuts nestled in crunchy toffee. But it’s the … [Read more...]
Letter: Soon it’ll be time for New Year’s Resolutions
On the rare mornings now that the sun appears over the top of the hill, the edgings on the stairs – as seen from my desk surveillance camera where I sit, my hands cradling a cup of coffee in order to stay warm in the otherwise unheated office – become silver ribbons, horizontal icicles, shooting stars. … [Read more...]
Runaway Pills – Problems and Solutions
A week ago I shook a little pill out of its little bottle towards my waiting meaty paw. The pill made a break for freedom. It bounced out of my hand and left for parts unknown. I was sitting in my office chair, so the drop was less than two feet. I have carpet, so you would think it wouldn't bounce. … [Read more...]
Old, Unwanted, and Out of Job
Meet Acer. He and his pals did their job and now they are just unwanted heroes from yesterday. The world has passed them by. Once they could sniff out marijuana on suspects, in packages, or hidden is suitcases. They thought they were making the world a better place, but no. . . now those criminals are your average everyday people. Marijuana is legal. … [Read more...]