Our skills at onboarding and offboarding information determine the quality of our opinions By March Twisdale Hundreds of books are written, lectures are given, and manuals are printed every year, educating businesses on “How to Onboard and Offboard Employees.” This is because bringing in new individuals, and shedding those who are problematic or no longer…
Island Voices, March 2025
Upside Down Times
By Melanie Farmer There will be two eclipses in March. An eclipse happens when three celestial bodies align, blocking each other. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the moon, while a solar eclipse happens when the moon blocks sunlight from reaching the Earth. In Vedic astrology, Rahu represents the solar…
Island Voices, Legends of Vashon, March 2025
Spotted After a Century, Maury the Sea Serpent of Vashon Island
Legends of Vashon By Cynthia Sadurni Every time I board a ferry, I always scan the horizon, enjoying the sea breeze and the salty, clean smell of the water. I never tire of the natural beauty that surrounds us. No matter how many times I sail the waters of Puget Sound, wonders abound. There is…
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…
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…
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…
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…
February 2025, Island Voices
The Planting of a Monastery
Contesting the constitutionality of an Oregon county’s zoning law was not the beginning foundation we wanted for our monastery. We saw this zoning code as a possible sign that this farm was not the place God intended for us. With Great Lent nearing completion, we decided to put off any further decision until after Pascha….
Island Voices, January 2025
Apocalypse Now! (Or, Maybe Not)
By Michael Shook As I type this, we are about a month away from the inauguration of the President. Trump will go from “President-elect” to full-on “President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump.” These words strike fear and loathing into the hearts and minds of many Americans. But having heard some of…