The most curious coincidences create lasting impressions and terminology. In 1856, in a German valley between the towns of Erkrath and Mettmann, Italian lime miners excavated bones that looked as if belonging to a human skeleton. The valley’s name was Neandertal – back then written as Neanderthal –, pronounced nay-‘under-tul, which means valley of Neander. […]
To Ponder
Music Man at Tacoma Musical Playhouse – Review
By Don and Peggy Doman and Lavinia Hart. We got our tickets and waited in the lobby for seating. An old friend came over and asked “Is this the actress?” We had kept after my cousin Lavinia Hart to join us for The Music Man. We introduced the two of them. As an actress, director, […]
Letter: Mass Shootings as Performance Art
Submitted by Aaron Arkin, Steilacoom. “Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a public in a fine art context in an interdisciplinary mode. Also known as artistic […]
Falsettos Opens with a Bang – Olympia’s Harlequin Theatre
We had excellent seats in the middle of the second row facing the stage. The very versatile three-member band opened the show including Aaron Lamb on piano and synth, Andy Garness on drums and percussion, and Nick Hall on woodwinds. The production begins with a bang with the four male leads (Nicolas Main – Whizzer, […]
Letter: Morning by Morning
“Morning by morning” – even mourning by mourning – “new mercies I see.” A rose from the neighbor’s yard that has found its way through the opening in the picket fence in your yard to greet you as you sit alone in the early morning on the pillowed porch rocker where the two of you […]
In the Book Nook with … Gene Hill
Author Gene Hill lives with his wife, Sandy, in Kitsap County, Washington State. He used to define and design new computer chips for the Intel Corporation; PC Magazine honored him as Unsung Hero and Person of the Year for two of his designs. In retirement, Gene and Sandy founded and run a non-profit educating on […]
Across the Fence: Abseiling
Have you ever done any abseiling? I have plenty of times, though not always in the literal sense that the Anglicized version of the German term “abseilen” (pronounce ’up-zi-len, meaning to rope oneself down) implies. Let me explore the literal meaning first, before I come to the second meaning Germans use in colloquial speech. Abseiling […]
Letter: In Cahoots in Heaven
I’ll be the first to admit I do not know the names of flowers. I just find them so beautiful. So did my wife, and so did our mom. Nothing – other than watching their children and grandchildren grow and blossom – made them happier than being down on their knees, using a small spade […]
Rowing, Repairing, Sailing, and Catching the Wind
I’m sure we always think our fathers are a little weird when we’re growing up and then we sometimes think our children are a little weird when we’re raising them. That thought crossed my mind as I sat in my car waiting for my wife Peggy to get some allergy shots from her doctor. I […]