The disturbing details triggered the man to jump up in court and lunge at the alleged killer of the five-year-old. Soon after, he was detained by deputies and placed in handcuffs in the hallway. “I’ll never get to see her graduate from high school or be married or anything. He took that from us. It […]
Lakewood
Letter: The State wants access to your newborn child
“Congratulations! You just had a baby. What’s that knock on the door? It’s a state inspector to make sure your home is suitable.” So begins the February 18, 2019 Podcast with Senator Shelly Short, Republican Floor Leader, 7th Washington Legislative District. The subject is the seemingly innocuous, ostensibly altruistic, so-called “Welcome to Washington Baby Act” […]
Across the Fence: Us and Them
Do you remember November 9, 1989? If you have a German background or were traveling there at the time, you will. Thirty years ago, the Wall in Berlin fell, the Iron Curtain was lifted, and apparently Communism as known in the Western world was defeated. This is what Germans will be celebrating this Saturday. But […]
Lions Club wants your eyeglasses
Looking to donate those eyeglasses you’ve had laying around the house for a long time? Look no further than the Lakewood First Lions Club, which has been collecting and recycling used eyeglasses since 1954. The used eyeglasses collected by the club (more than 8,000 in 2018) are processed and packaged by the Northwest Lions Eyeglass […]
Across the Fence: Off the Grid
The other day, at a book stall at a fair, a fellow author was appalled that I didn’t have a Square to my phone to have potential customers pay with a debit or credit card. Her face fell even more when I told her that I didn’t even have a smart phone. “But you have […]
Letter: The Death of a Star, and a Child
One year ago today I visited the Planetarium at the invitation of my grandson with his sixth-grade advanced math class. What an awesome spectacle, an incredible adventure, to lean back, gaze at the curved ceiling and be transported to the very edge of the universe. Thanks to the astronomical – literally – capabilities of the […]
Across the Fence: Layer by Layer
Now that the weather is more and more iffy again, we tend to dress ourselves in layers. How convenient to discard one or to don another layer just at a second’s whim. In my mother country it has even received a specific name: Zwiebel-Look (pronounce ‘tsvee-bul-look). Meaning onion look. And indeed, the onion, though so […]
Westside Story – 3 Note Charlie
Are you familiar with pianist Charlie Albright? Charlie, who grew up in Centralia, Washington, started playing the piano at age 3 1/2 and quickly became known as a child prodigy. Please allow me to do you a huge favor by providing two links to Charlie playing some fantastic piano. The first video is when Charlie, […]
Letter: Impervious
Unaffected by outside influence; unmoved by popular opinion, argument or suggestion; “standing sentinel” over the fray of insults hurled; secure despite accusations tossed and those with violence and vehemence. On a rock he stands, majestic, unperturbed as the chill winds assail the seas and torment into a wild frenzy the crashing and thundering waves below. […]