We all know the power of gifts as well as of weapons. But let’s ponder that of words. Because there are so many nuances to what has to be ascribed to something Germans call Sprachgefühl (approximately pronounced ‘spruh-ga-fool), the feeling for language. This term has actually made it into the English language because it describes […]
To Ponder
Honey and a Little Mead Competition
While waiting to have my eyes checked I was reading the September/October 2023 issue of Smithsonian. The headline “MEAD” IT’S NOT JUST FOR VIKINGS caught my eye. I’ve had experience with mead, so I was interested in what the Smithsonian had to say. Mead has been drunk for over five thousand years by Greeks, Africans, […]
Opportunities and Possibilities
Freedom to read, and freedom of speech, are often juxtaposed to censorship, plagiarism, copyright infringement, and other limiting systems to value creation. Dealing with these things in the community setting are often, and sometimes destructive. What is really involved is the different value systems of individuals in a community, trying to maintain some semblance of […]
Letter: I Married the Farmer’s Daughter
Boxes of tulip bulbs arrived yesterday. Soon they will be planted in my wife’s memory. Beauty will abound next spring, appropriately enough as it was the first day of spring this year that she succumbed to a long, long battle with cancer. She was Dutch. Wooden clogs hang on the door. A windmill her father […]
In the Book Nook with … Tennison S. Black
Author Tennison S. Black from northwest Washington State works as a writer and the managing editor at Sundress Publications and at Best of the Net. They have been writing poems and stories as a kid as well as “lexicons,” long lists of words, grouped by theme. In 1995, they wrote a novel but the agent […]
State of Washington Not Living Up To Its Duty To Maintain
Submitted by Tom McClellan. Fort Steilacoom Park is the jewel of the City of Lakewood’s parks system, and is beloved by its many visitors. The great staff work hard to maintain the park, and the citizens of Lakewood help in multiple ways, from picking up litter to pulling scotch broom. Unfortunately, the State of Washington […]
Letter: I Saw You Holding Hands Today
I’ve seen them emerge from the Marriage Licensing office, prized manilla envelope in one hand, a greater by far precious possession gripped in the other. I’ve seen them at the fair. Especially sweet was an elderly couple, strawberry scone in one hand, the other hand clasped in that of their loved one, smiling, strolling toward […]
Perspectives on Surveys
It seems everyone has to have a survey. Sometimes websites now have surveys one has to take if you want to see what they are selling. If not a survey, they have a list of things for you to fill out. This is not a “paywall” like some newspapers and publications have, but in a […]
In the Book Nook with E.C. Murray
Author E.C. Murray from Fox Island, Washington, works primarily as a writer but additionally is a creative writing instructor at Seattle Central College. She started keeping a journal at fourteen and wrote her first play at eight. She began taking her writing seriously in 2007 after her first writing class. E.C.’s first book was a […]