By March Twisdale Nowadays, you can walk into almost any business, whip out your preferred form of plastic, and buy what you want. If you’re over 50 years old (like I am), you remember when this was anything but normal. But, here we are, and the question is: “Do we want to stay here?” If…
By March Twisdale When we’re dealing with human nature, concepts tend to last. Consider the phrase, “Out of the frying pan into the fire.” This has roots as far back as ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE, and its wisdom is summed up by two other well-oiled phrases: Sometimes, we get “caught between a…
By March Twisdale While researching my first article about choosing cash over debit and credit cards, the Vashon Island business community showed considerable interest. I followed this up with online research, but the bulk of the data influencing my articles comes from local business owners. We, as consumers, have a brilliant opportunity to listen to…
By March Twisdale When we moved from West Seattle to Vashon Island, it was after a two-year search. We were looking for a rural environment with an eclectic homeschooling community, but every rural community in the region was almost exclusively religion-inspired. Concern that our children would be disconnected from both schooled kids and homeschooling families…
By March Twisdale You may have noticed that young folks working the register tend to automatically assume customers will pay with a card. This happened at C&P Coffee a few weeks ago. As I was tapping on the screen, my brain started to ping at me. Only when I handed my $20 bill to the…
By March Twisdale We need people who know the job. If I were running for the school board, this would be my first and primary focus. What is my role? My duty? My obligation? Who do I serve? We need people who can hold power responsibly and gently. Power is scary, because coming along right…
By March Twisdale When we hear something said often enough, we have a human tendency to believe it is true. This is known as the illusory truth effect: Hearing or reading a claim, especially repeatedly, makes you more likely to think it’s true. And it’s used against us, again and again. When businesses hire advertisers…
Abuse happens. How we respond determines whether the abuse is effectively stopped. Or whether a pattern develops, as the abuse is tacitly allowed to continue. On Thursday, April 27th, Vivian Lyons read a letter at a Vashon Island School District board meeting, written by one of two women who have co-filed a formal complaint against…
Awhile back, I began to question my credit/debit card habit. It felt like a convenience – with a hidden cost – and I wasn’t the only one to notice. “Keep Cash Alive” and “Cash is King” have entered the public sphere, along with several reasons for returning to good old-fashioned paper money. For me, two…
Kate Moore is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of “The Radium Girls.” A British writer based in London, she has published numerous Sunday Times bestsellers, writing across various genres including history, biography, true crime, and humor; her work has been translated into more than 12 languages. The Radium Girls was the winner of…