Last summer I gave away my corkscrew. I enjoy wine, but my enthusiasm for imbibing the fermented grape waxes and wanes, and that summer the corkscrew was gathering dust. So when my neighbor Stefan appeared on my doorstep begging to borrow it, I told him to take it and keep …
Op-Ed/Letters
March, 2024
February, 2024
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25 February
Two Wheels or a Mule Named Buford
There once was a lady by the name of Anne Mustoe, who lived in Southwold, a small town on the coast of England—also the home of the crime writer P.D. James, and you might know it as the location of the British drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Miss Mustoe was born in …
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2 February
Open letter to Globe City Council opposing Bed tax changes
City proposal ‘robs Peter to pay Paul’ as they cut funding to the Chamber and others to sustain First Friday The City of Globe has recently unveiled a proposal that essentially takes money away from the Bed tax organizations to support First Fridays. The plan involves channeling an additional $40,000 …
January, 2024
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31 January
Resolutions for Realists
I was today years old when I finally learned where the name of the month of January comes from. January, it seems, was named after the Roman god Janus, god of beginnings and transitions. Janus was supposed to have two faces, one facing forward and one facing backward, so he …
December, 2023
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24 December
You Have the Right to Remain Silent
Last Friday was a busy day – I had lots of errands to run, then I was meeting my new boyfriend, Joseph, at a local bar and grill for a quick dinner, and from there we were going to the opening of a friend’s art exhibition. By the time I …
November, 2023
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23 November
Make a Little Change
Long ago, a man named Diderot lived in Paris. Diderot was a middle-aged man and had lived all his life in poverty, working as a writer and philosopher. But one day, Diderot came into money unexpectedly. All of a sudden, he had six figures in the bank and a generous …
October, 2023
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20 October
Life Is Easier Than You Think
Life can seem so demanding and frantic – so much to do, so many plates to keep spinning and fronts to hold down. Standards to live up to and accomplishments to chase, in the hope of reaching happiness. It can be exhausting. That’s why I was thrilled – and relieved …
September, 2023
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20 September
That One Thing. Was Curly, in City Slickers Wrong?
A friend of mine likes to quote from City Slickers, the movie from the ’90s where three urban guys having midlife crises go on a cattle drive in Colorado and learn life lessons. At one point the grizzled old cowboy named Curly, played by Jack Palance, tells them the secret …
August, 2023
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22 August
It Will Be OK
Many years ago, someone gave me a little sticker, only about a half inch wide and two inches long, that read, in friendly blue type, It will be OK. At the time, I just slipped the sticker into an envelope along with some others, and forgot about it. Much later, …
July, 2023
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24 July
Happy Interdependence Day!
Yesterday was the Fourth of July, but since I’m outside the U.S., there were no celebrations, no fireworks for me. I watched a movie that had fireworks in it, just to get to see some. Where I am, the Azores islands, belong to Portugal, and Portugal has its own Independence …