By Michael Shook “… we all eat strawberries with cream – whether we like strawberries with cream, or not.” My mother had a number of sayings she was fond of, and this was a standard around the house, used when one of the three of us kids would whine about something not being fair. It…
It’s Been a Couple of Interesting Months Around the Old Johnson Farm By Pam (“Gates”) Johnson I’ve been slowly going out of my mind with inactivity since my spinal surgery in early December. A couple of friends are also going through some recovery. One had a shoulder replacement, another badly broke his leg. When the…
By Suzanna Leigh Marj Watkins – Illustration by Suzanna Leigh I dreamed about my mother early this morning. She is 101 now, and I see her about every other day. I watch her slow decline and wonder how long she will continue to enjoy life. Sometimes I dream that she is walking easily again, the…
By Seán C. Malone and John Sweetman I suppose Seán’s story of the “Turtle Rock” might have begun years ago when we both lived in the obscure eastern Washington town of Republic. I had been the mill manager of the Day Mines for a time. It had been one of the only gold mines…
By John Bean In “House of the Dead,” Fyodor Dostoevsky reveals his conviction that the quality of a civilization can be judged by how it treats its prisoners. If you believe in a strongman society ruled by force, then prisons might look like El Salvador’s notorious CECOT – a site for Kristi Noem’s appalling photo-op in front…
By Pam (“Gates”) Johnson Almost seven weeks in of staring at the four walls of my front room. My back surgery went well, but I came out of it looking at a couple of months of recuperation. When getting discharged, I was given the option of going to a rehab place or going home. Since…
Tropical Interpretation By Melanie Farmer Neptune’s Transition: From Pisces to Aries As Neptune exits Pisces, a significant shift occurs in the collective consciousness. This transition signals the cessation of the victim mentality – there are no rescuers on the horizon and no cavalry arriving to save the day. Empowerment in Aries With both Neptune and Saturn entering Aries, a…
By Monica Schley I was listening to Ada Limon, our nation’s former poet laureate, being interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air. My ear caught a phrase she said, “sing back into the places you love.” By chance, I have been reading her book, You Are Here, which is a culmination of a larger project, a collection…
By Dave B. What does it take to be a Vashon Island restaurant? I have noticed many things over the years here on Vashon and one is the number of restaurants that have opened and closed. What I find interesting is that, as diverse a population as there is in the Pacific Northwest, we on…
By March Twisdale I recently got a new job. During the hiring process, I filled out government forms warning me of severe consequences should I answer the questions dishonestly. Falsifying my identity is (and should be) a serious crime. Even my new boss could get in trouble! As I signed my name, feeling the weight…