I was ten years old when I saw “Dateline: Korea” on The Loretta Young TV show. It’s the only episode I recall from the series. In the story, the plight of poverty-stricken war orphans forces a hard-nosed war correspondent to face the flesh-and-blood effects of her cynical editorials. Loretta meets a young Korean orphan on […]
To Ponder
Letter: The educational system has failed our youth
How else do you explain the results of a recent poll that teens think marijuana improves their performance behind the wheel? No really.
Letter: Character, the basis for making right decisions
Whether it’s the choice to make marijuana available locally because, after all, the people voted for it; or treating the homeless as if they were helpless because, after all, without the government making available all manner of public provisions the poor will remain so, these and other examples of profligacy hardly serve as a best […]
My Tattoo of "Ponders Corner Forever!"
Okay, I don’t really have a tattoo showing off Ponders Corner, where I grew up, but the idea isn’t that far-fetched. LeBron James, the basketball superstar bears a tattoo of “330,” the area code of his hometown of Akron, Ohio. People have their own reasons for getting tattoos. “Unlike scarification and branding, the art of […]
John Munn of Lakewood Playhouse to EMCEE Chinese Reconciliation Dinner
Last year I was supposed to emcee the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation annual dinner with friend Denny Flannigan. I had to bow out at the last minute. This year Denny has to bow out for a family gathering. Stepping in for Denny this year is John Munn, the Managing Artistic Director of the Lakewood Playhouse. […]
Home from Home: Beaches
Submitted by Susanne Bacon The very first vacation I remember was when I was barely four. My family took a long train trip from Stuttgart to the Baltic Sea. I will never forget the sensual experience of that first seaside vacation, and maybe it has triggered my love for all things maritime. You can imagine […]
Chop Suey Memories
My dad was a Merchant Marine officer during World War II. He sailed on an oil tanker in the South Pacific. But his home port was in San Pedro, California. I was born immediately after the war and we moved from Nevada, Missouri to Tacoma, Washington. For some time he kept in ouch with his […]
Chris Serface – Just Acting Happy
One of the nicest and friendliest people you will ever meet is Chris Serface, the Managing Artistic Director of Tacoma Little Theatre. Chris grew up in Olympia, where he discovered the theatre early on. He quickly became active in Thurston County theatre. He was the youngest board member for Capital Playhouse in Olympia. At seventeen […]
Our Town . . . Changes & Challenges
Okay, I’m a sap for happy endings. I’m a incurable romantic . . . please, don’t bring it up. I like the stories on the Hallmark cable channel. What I don’t like are all the commercials and the denouement with the loose strands of the plot being tidied up in seconds for a story that […]