Like many people across America, I took a break last week from yard work, cookouts, and visiting with family and friends to attend a Memorial Day ceremony. About 70 people participated in the …

Mary Lou Morrow spoke her mind. The late school teacher had an opinion about pretty much everything that was on the City Council agenda. And she didn’t hesitate to share it. In fact, …

I saw him standing smack dab in the middle of the intersection next to my house when I drove home for lunch. Seemingly unafraid. It was like Gary Cooper waiting to take on my neighbor, not with …

Andy Warhol’s “Campbell Soup Cans” series originally sold for around $1,000 each in 1962. In 2006, one of them sold for $11.8 million. In 1964, the pop artist sold his first …

Sometimes tragedy is just too painful, too large to absorb. The disastrous California wildfires that wiped out whole neighborhoods a few weeks ago got me to thinking about the increasing dangers we …

I’m at that age where I really don’t need “stuff” for Christmas. In fact, I’m slowly unloading. Nevertheless, I did ask for a couple of specific gifts, including a …

Back in the 19th century, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote, “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” — the more things change, the more they …

I’m a procrastinator. Like some of you, perhaps, I developed this propensity for dawdling during my adolescence. It was many a Sunday evening when I finally got around to homework, assigned …

I believe in gremlins. Don’t go away; let me explain. Thanks to science, we know that we humans have limited abilities to experience all that surrounds us. We learned about the …

We’ve all seen them. They’re standing at the end of freeway offramps or parking lot exits, usually with a handmade sign on cardboard that reads something like “Homeless. Please …

When my grandsons play games together, there are sometimes cries of “That’s not fair!” When I play with them, I can understand their complaints about each other, as they tend to …

“I know it when I see it.” That was Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s famous characterization in 1964 for judging what was pornography. Not exactly objective, but who …

People of a certain age, and movie buffs, may recall a pivotal scene in the epic “2001 – A Space Odyssey,” when a tribe of primitive humans stumbled upon a towering, gleaming, …

Many people move to towns like Mukilteo, Edmonds, and Mill Creek because they like the small-town “feel,” and want to raise their kids or retire in a safe place that has a strong sense …

I have a Black friend. Actually, we’ve known each other for several years, so it feels more natural to say I have a friend, Kelvin, who happens to be Black. Our skin color is only an …

In 1991, my wife Cate and I, along with our 5-year-old daughter Caitlin and her Dalmatian Sparky, headed north on I-5 from Southern California to our new life in the Great Northwest. We wanted our …

My wife wants to buy a gun. She isn't a Second Amendment defender or supporter of gun rights organizations. She's not interested in hunting or target shooting or some other recreational …