Month: February, 2025

You Might Be Meditating
February 2025, Island Voices

You Might Be Meditating

By Diana Diaz In high school in New York City, I had an after-school job at Train, Smith Counsel. The late John Train was a well-known investment advisor, and he was also a pioneering writer. He gave me writing advice and shared some of his more whimsical books with me.  I was paid $5 an…

Editorial Page, February 2025

WA State Legislature 2025

Control, Acrimony & Taxes! By Caitlin Rothermel Washington state politics are absolutely lit this year.  To start, we are broke. As a state, we are broke. Only after the November election did we learn that Washington has at least a $12 billion deficit – maybe more like $15 or $16 billion. On his way out the door,…

A Storefront in Vashon Town
February 2025, Island Businesses

A Storefront in Vashon Town

by Andy Valencia As Amazon eats the world, it’s an interesting exercise to walk the town of Vashon and see what sorts of businesses remain. Most have something to do with eating or drinking, and Vashon Bikes makes a fine exception to the rule. Next door to Cafe Luna, they offer a range of new…

Headlight Encounters of the Third Kind
February 2025, Island Vehicles

Headlight Encounters of the Third Kind

By Marc J. Elzenbeck Once upon a time, cars all had identical headlights. From 1940 to 1984, there was a United States sealed beam standard. While the adage, “You can’t stop within the reach of your low beams, young fella,” was mostly still true, safety had improved. By 1978, lights could come in both rectangular…

Crows Remember
February 2025, Island Voices

Crows Remember

By Seán Malone and John Sweetman Seán has always fed birds, and his deck has been full of them ever since he began to live in the cabin. At first, I noticed at least one crow would be very skeptical if Seán poked his head out the patio door. Seán’s story explains why.  We were…

Post-Christmas
February 2025, Island Voices

Post-Christmas

By Gates Johnson  What does one my age do when the holiday chaos has passed? Remember all those appointments and meetings and lunches and whatnot that got put on the back burner while attending to more pressing things? Well, the time has come. So, here I go. First off, those visits to specialists that were…

February 2025, Island Voices

Let’s Save Our Democracy, Together

By March Twisdale “Please do not come to my house to clean. I can’t have someone in my home who supports this administration and the destruction of our democracy. I am not open to any discussion.” This is the text I received two days after President Trump’s inauguration. To be clear, I worked for this…

Oh, To Be 80 Again!
February 2025, Island Voices

Oh, To Be 80 Again!

By Suzanna Leigh Journal Entry – by Suzanna Leigh “How do you spend your days, now that you are 100 years old and retired?” I asked my mom, Marj Watkins. Waiting patiently while she struggled to find the words, I resisted the impulse to fill in the word I thought she might want. I thought…

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