Tillicum

Overnight the temperatures had dropped 20 degrees, and by dawn the weather had grown in the ferocity of a minus 10 degrees blizzard. As the farmer prepared for work in the frozen landscape as seen through the frosted window of the mud room, he smiled at the recollection of the shy girl in the gingham […]

It didn’t look like much of a lake. In fact, if I had not looked up and through the trees and my tears, I might have missed it. To reach its edge of this unknown lake, I had to make a trail. On the shore of that unknown lake I drowned in my grief. I […]

The green peppers of the world have united! With good reason, they – with help from a renegade band of baby carrots – had organized, created a logo, and would eventually raise hell in the world of food. Vive la revolution! This revolt of the peppers came about because of its test scores on the […]

The massive wooden door of the castle opened slowly. The young girls from the other side of the tracks – certainly in contrast to where they now stood – stared in awe with mouths agape as the ‘La vie du chateau’ (the good life) opened before them. Then – then! – they were ushered inside […]

This is an article about one of my not-so-good ideas. My dad used to say that I was born with a fishing pole in my hand, and as a boy when I saw water I naturally grabbed one and headed out. Or in this case down. Down the embankment, sliding over the mossy and fern […]

Ninety minutes into the January 11, 2021 Zoom meeting of the Clover Park School District Board (CPSD), Director Paul Wagemann asked for background information on the consultant who will provide training to the District on the subjects of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). With the exception of promising to provide a link to the consultant’s […]

A small wooden sign with the words “No water next sixteen miles” introduced us to a faint trail that meandered up and into the trees. This narrow and overgrown goat-like track – a harbinger of more hard hiking – suggested that others had opted for the wider, well-traveled and easier way downhill. Given that my […]

As the hourly chiming of the grandfather clock marked time, an old man settled into his worn, leather chair. Often on cold, late winter’s evenings – blanketed and cushioned in the comfortable confines of the crinkled leather – he’d read himself to sleep with stories about adventure. One night he read about Captain Henry Keilett […]

If the Clover Park School District Board of Directors is so concerned about a three word statement by a fellow board member – which led to a special meeting being called for him to explain his alleged racist statement – then how do board members know when they see actual racism? If the board of […]