When the first beams of sunlight tear the sky on a spring weekend, who doesn’t want to go and enjoy the great outdoors again?! Well, last weekend, my husband and I decided we’d head for the Olympic Mountains and see what hiking opportunities are closer by where they are neither too high nor too steep. […]
Across the Fence
Bacon’s Double Take: Moving
Seeing my dear friend and co-author Joe Boyle’s photo for the first time, my instant thought was “Santa”, and quite a blue one, too. We all know that Santa is wearing red and white, not blue and white, right? So, is a blue Santa still a Santa? Or is he just blue? Or could he […]
Across the Fence: A Crisp Idea
You have probably heard that rumor has it that with Covid vaccinations we are implanted with chips. I keep telling people that I like the “Sasquatch Surprise” flavor of Tim’s Kettle Chips best, though I doubt that we get vaccinated with them. Or that they would help against a virus. Though they certainly make me […]
Across the Fence: Words That Matter
The other day, I asked my friends on Facebook whether they had any wishes as to which uncontroversial topic they’d like me to write about in my Friday Suburban Times column. Some asked for more food topics (I promise, I will sometime soon). One of my friends, German author Bettina Strang (https://wortstrang.de), suggested a number […]
Across the Fence: What’s in a Handshake
The other day, a friend of mine shared on her Facebook page how there were so-called obligatory Life Skills classes at a New York school’s ninth grade. While thinking that it is sad that a lot of parents these days seem not to be able to teach those skills to their kids anymore or lack […]
Across the Fence: Aggression Pays
Really?! Does this otherwise so peaceful columnist condone aggression?! Think twice, as you know me better than that, and let me enjoy the double-take I probably caused you when you were reading my headline. Today, I was clipped by another car while doing a left turn at a crossing. It was in the left lane, […]
Across the Fence: Being Seen
The other day, I was wondering what good we had gained by the Corona pandemic. Seriously. Because I keep thinking that, no matter what we experience, there is something to learn from it. And before you think that I will belittle the results of the pandemic, I should hope you will know me better by […]
Across the Fence: It’s All Greek To Me
The other day I finished a book that my sweet friend Katerina in Athens had taken great pain to find for me. It was the English translation of a Greek author, in this case Ilias Venezis. A wonderful book to boot. But it made me thoughtful why, besides the great classics like Homer, Aristotle, Plato, […]
Across the Fence: National Days
Have you ever pondered what a national day is? By definition, it is a day that marks the nationhood of a nation or a state. The other day I looked it up on Wikipedia. Including a map that shows two nations that, to my utter surprise, don’t have any – the United Kingdom and Denmark. […]