Keepsake: Something kept or given to be kept as a memento. Presents sometimes fall into the category of a keepsake . . . some do . . . some don’t. My grandmother once sent me an Oral Roberts bible with my name stamped on the cover in gold: Donnie Doman. Although it stayed in the […]
To Ponder
Letter: Censorship and the CPSDB
Censorship is understood to be the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information, on the basis that such material is considered “inconvenient.” At the February 8, 2021 Clover Park School District Board meeting, Director Paul Wagemann asked his fellow board members to amend the December 21, 2020 meeting minutes to include his comments. In […]
Letter: Silver Dollars, Gum Wrappers And Hard Work
When I was a youngster, occasionally my grandfather would give me a silver dollar. Collectors’ coins today, these silver minted gifts now serve as part of my recollection of lessons he taught me. One of those lessons involved gum wrappers. Growing up poor, many of us in our community wanted to go to a weeklong […]
Across the Fence: Salt On Our Tongues
As a kid, I heard of oversalted soil on which nothing would grow anymore. In ancient times, sometimes, the winners of a battle would salt the earth of their defeated enemy in order to prevent future harvests; Roman general Scipio Aemilianus Africanus did this to Carthage after the third Punic War. You wouldn’t believe, therefore, […]
Westside Story – Governor Welcomes Joe Boyle
In late 2010, I met Ben Sclair for some FREE Starbucks coffee and an exploratory conversation. We agreed to test my writing skills by having me submit a few columns. Ben agreed to publish my test columns in The Suburban Times (TST). Our plan allowed Ben to cease publishing my work if he or our […]
The Black Emperor of Broadway – 2020 – Film Review
The only play that Peggy and I have ever walked out on was “Desire Under the Elms” by Eugene O’Neill. It was a production by Tacoma Actors Guild, while they were still in the old St Leo’s High School. The staging and the acting were good, but the story line involved Greek tragedy in a […]
The Forwardness of Memories, Looking Back, and the Roar of the Crowd
Nothing ever happens in the right sequence. Memories weave their tender vines around our lives. A friend lost his mother and I comforted him by telling him that I saw my mother all the time and she had passed away decades ago. A woman wearing a similar blouse that my mom wore, a turn of […]
Across the Fence: Playground Preferences
The other day, on a walk around Chambers Bay Golf Course, I came past the playground and pondered with how much love it has been set up. There were quite a few kids playing there, not all of them physically distancing; but in one corner, on a swing, sat a little girl all by herself, […]
Letter: What’s Going On?
According to recently released public disclosure documents, Deb Hansen, President of the Clover Park Education Association (CPEA), solicited from association’s members their signatures on a template she provided that would be sent to the Clover Park School Board in advance of their January 11, 2021 meeting. The letter – to which CPEA members could sign […]