By Rich Osborne If you have been following my letters, you know that I lead the Music Mends Minds sing-along at 1:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the Vashon Senior Center. You should also know about other programs the Vashon Senior Center offers. Just last month, the Senior Center hosted Monday/Wednesday/Friday lunch service and delivery and…
The Dancing Wild – Within and Without
When I smell the Ponderosa Pine needles baking in the summer sun, I feel a deep warmth in my belly. I feel a sense of homeliness akin to sitting in front of a fire with a cup of coffee. Growing up, I found a home in the wild. The wild home that Merriam Websters defines…
The Dorsal Spin: Indigeneity
The COVID-19 lockdown brought into sharp focus our intergenerational trauma – emotional and spiritual baggage habitually restrained in “normal” times. We dove deep into our Indigeneity. Our thoughts turned to our First Nations ancestors who endured countless pandemics inflicted on them by colonization, the federal government, and the military. Would we survive this novel coronavirus?…
Land Acknowledgment – Salmon Return
Welcome back, dear Salmon! We celebrate your return to our Island. We honor the end and beginning of your life cycle, and the wonder of your transformation. You feed the waters and forest, the creatures of sea, land, and air, as well as us humans You nourish our bodies, brains, and imagination, our spirits and…
Big Changes at Vashon’s Pub
By Andy Valencia We moved onto Vashon more than 20 years ago, and although there were occupants in Vashon Village, most times when I walked through, the feeling I got was “ghost town.” Eleven years ago, Cliff Goodman established himself as a local brewer whose products eventually made their way onto the ferries and to…
Virtual Predators
by Jonathan Laine The holiday season has arrived. Now is the time to gather gifts for our loved ones. This is a warning about a new product that many may know about, but few understand. It’s been in the works for a long time, but it’s here now and relatively affordable. I’m talking about virtual…
What We Hold in Our Hands
Money. Hold-in-your-hand coins. Pull-out-of-your-wallet cash. Circles of metal that last decades, centuries and millennia … matter. Not only are coins “literally” matter, but they offer an experience, a record of human society, an imprint on our lives and tactile memories that no electricity-dependent, Virtual Reality method of accounting or digital currency can offer. A child,…
Barley Cranberry Scones and Introducing Marj Watkins
By Marj Watkins Many people, like me, are allergic to hard wheat. It’s the gluten in it that makes us sick. For a high price, you can buy gluten-free bread and pastries at the stores. But why buy, when for a much lower cost you can make your own? Try this recipe. Barley Cranberry Scones…
Beach Cleaning
By Rich Osborne Suzanna and I go walking every day we can. Our favorite beach walks are Tramp Harbor and KVI beaches. A couple of years ago, we noticed that the amount of beer cans, cigarette butts, vape containers, and general trash had increased exponentially. At Suzanna’s suggestion, we started to take a plastic bag…
Dear Old Mom
By Mary Litchfield Tuel I have spent years in therapy trying to get the critical inner voice of my mother to pipe down, without success. Having realized that, I thought if I can’t get her to move out, I might as well mine her for material. My mother was fond of telling me that I…