By Pam (“Gates”) Johnson The on-going health saga of Ma Johnson continues. After a little heart-related health scare recently, the doctors decided that the root cause may be sleep apnea. We all know at least 10 people who have sleep apnea and are getting along just fine with a CPAP machine, so my fear-ometer dropped…
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…
Island Voices, January 2025
Cooking for the Hay Crew
By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson Seems like this time of year, it’s all about the food. I spent five days and about three hundred bucks preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for just seven people. If you are brave enough to read this to the end, you will find out the answer to an important Thanksgiving-related question….
December 2024, Island Voices
Tuesday Morning at the IGA
By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson One of the great things about aging on Vashon is Tuesday at the local IGA. If you are on the south side of 50 – or is it 55 – you get a 10% discount on your entire order every Tuesday. This is a serious bonus if you, like me,…
Island Voices, November 2024
My COVID Story
By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson It got me. After these many months of dodging the COVID bullet, the vaccines, the masks, the keeping my distance … it finally got me. It all started the night before my birthday. I was enjoying a warm, cozy sleep when my nose faucet turned on at warp speed. Wha?…
Island Voices, October 2024
Getting Old on Vashon
By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson As I’ve said to anyone who will listen, getting old is not fun. Many of those things I used to do with ease are now next to impossible. Things not impossible are now just too darned hard. Here is an example of the unexpected difficulties I have encountered. A few…
Island Voices, September 2024
The History of Minnie the Heifer
Editor’s note: Even before coming to Vashon, a calf named Minnie showed off her early escape skills, thereafter aided by her bullock brother Chuck. Minnie’s original owner has written this story to fill in the many blanks in Minnie’s life before she became Leslie the Cowzilla. By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson A bunch of years…
Arrival Stories, September 2023
What Brought You To the Island
By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson I’d always dreamed of living on a farm, but resigned myself to a life in Portland, just like everyone else in my family. That all changed when I got married. I was 21 years and two weeks old, and had been married for one weekend when we packed up everything…