Who doesn’t know the Germanism Gemütlichkeit in the English language?! Gemüt (approximately pronounced ga-‘moot) has a bunch of meanings: mind, soul, disposition, feeling. You might recognize that the English term mood is related. Gemütlichkeit (approximately pronounced ga-‘mootlih-kite) means coziness, snugness, homeliness. The concept of Gemütlichkeit seems to have developed during the German era of Biedermeier […]
To Ponder
Letter: When The World Leaves You Behind
Fifteen months into my service as school board director I lost my wife of 50 years to cancer, now just nine months ago today. And at a school board director’s conference this weekend I lost again. It is my hope that these two losses, added together, will equal a win for those who read what […]
Rosencrantz and Guikdenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
In an article by the New York Times about the brilliant playwright Tom Stoppard, we learn that Ernest Hemmingway was one of his favorite authors. Stoppard loved the “Iceberg Theory” in which only 1/8th of the overt meaning of the text is easily seen. The remaining meaning is submerged under water and must be discovered through the subtext. This […]
Sometimes Things Just Work Out
I dropped off my wife at the doctor’s office, directly across the street from the Allenmore Golf Course. While I waited, I drove over about two blocks and went into the Dollar Tree. I had just enough change for two packs of beef jerky and a bottle of pop. I didn’t want to just eat […]
Observations on Lockburn Middle School Board Briefing 13 November 2023
Submitted by John Arbeeny. On 13 November 2023 the CPSD Board was briefed on Lochburn Middle School by Principal Carla Estes. This briefing can be viewed on Youtube at 42:35 on link below: While Ms. Estes has been Lochburn’s principal for 3 years, the EDI philosophy she espoused has been around since 2018. So how […]
Hold On to Your Chocolate Bars
“In chocolate there are nuanced shades of black, veiled mysteries of taste, abysses of pleasure.” – Fabrizio Caramagna Fabrizio Caramagna is an Italian writer and aphorist. He was born in Turin in 1969. He grew up in the Italian countryside with his grandparents, where he spent a happy childhood, developing a particular sensitivity for nature […]
Letter: The Family Room
Life happens in the family room. It is often the scene of laughter and joy and celebrations with and for our family on birthdays, Thanksgivings, Christmases, and other get-togethers. Within the room is the entry to the broom closet and pantry, the door to which has served through the years as a never-to-be-painted-over record of […]
In the Book Nook with … Terry Persun
Author Terry Persun from Port Townsend, Washington, owns a marketing services agency. He has been writing since he was in grade school. His first published poems came out in the early 1970s, his first novel in the early 1990s. Terry has received multiple awards, including two Book Excellence Awards, a Silver IPPY Award, a Star […]
Macbeth Came with a Warning at Pacific Lutheran University
Don’t worry too much about the Macbeth review. The play was a short run . . . an enjoyed run, but still short. Take a look at our comments and consider visiting PLU for entertainment. We look forward to seeing more productions. As an adult, I think I have only seen three PLU productions. As […]