By Daniel Hooker Recently, a friend, who like most people I know, quotes the media’s “facts” surrounding the unhoused/homeless situation, said: “Most people who are homeless are unwilling to accept help – because they’re on drugs.” It’s hard to empathize when success is measured by a human’s abilities to be a “contributing taxpayer.” Please understand…
Someone asked me, “What do you call a Dagwood sandwich now in modern times?I replied, “I don’t know … Rubenesque?” ~ A burglar has been casing a mansion for weeks. On Christmas Eve, no one is home, and so he’s able to break in. He sets to work cracking the safe. Suddenly, in the dark,…
By Michael Shook When I hear the word “replace,” I usually think of it in the sense of something or someone being gotten rid of. As in, “Let’s replace that old vacuum cleaner,” or “Bill, we’re sorry, but we’re going to replace you with a robot.” But the first definition in my dictionary is, “To…
By All Ears Vashon “Hey, I’ve got an idea.” “What’s that?” “Build a giant something down at Point Robinson.” “Why?” “It will attract many people to the Island.” “Oh, that makes sense. So many ferry runs are almost empty. It would be nice to fill them up. But how would they get to the park?”…
By Deborah H. Anderson This time of year, when the temperature dips below 40 degrees, I think about my blue flannel cow jammies. Along with my blue socks and a black fake sheep’s wool blanket I bought at Thriftway, they kept me warm when it got really cold during the year that I slept in…
By Jane Valencia This article continues the story of Islander Alice Watkins, who plays on two teams with Rat City Roller Derby, Seattle’s flat track roller derby league. Read part 1 here. Alice isn’t alone in engaging in hefty travel to attend practices and bouts. Players come from all over the greater Seattle area, from…
By Mickey Fontaine This article continues the topic of young adults entering our work force. Read Part 1 here. We next talked with John, who highlighted the huge amount of pressure that we put on students to decide their career path: “The system isn’t tailored well to people with doubts. Right as you become financially…
As recounted to Tripper Harrison I’ll just dive right in here because that’s what I do. Mom always said to never go swimming for at least two hours after you eat, or you could seize up and drown. I generally tried to stick by her advice, but she never said anything about liquids doing the…
By Gene Kuhns We must be courageous enough, curious enough, and intellectually honest enough to break the chain of Accusatory Fog. What does this mean? There surrounds each one of us a fog of accusations, partial truths, or outright lies about many things, organizations, places, items, and people. Whether it started as gossip, because of…