I feel like rambling this month. Not any particular topic, just odds and ends that may or may not tickle your fancy, and maybe start a conversation that we can discuss over coffee or a Colvos beer. Why do we have SO many pizza places on Vashon? We have Rock Island, Vashon Pizza, there was…
Island Voices, November 2025
Do We Have an Obligation to Think Twice Before Hitting Send?
By March Twisdale Yes. Yes, we do. Remember that game you played in early elementary school? It’s been called various things. My generation called it “Telephone.” Put 20 kids in a circle, have them whisper a short phrase in their neighbor’s ear, and by the 20th person, the message inevitably changes. The moral of the…
Island Voices, November 2025, Recipes
The Island Epicure Retired
Useless Old Woman? By Suzanna Leigh and Marj Watkins Every once in awhile Marj Watkins says, “Oh, I should write something for The Loop.” She has been writing her “Island Epicure” column since the 1970s and only quit when she reached age 100. I remind her, “I told them you are retired. You don’t have…
Island Voices, October 2025
Treat or Trick
By Seán Malone and John Sweetman Our assignment this month from The Loop editors was to write a “spooky” Halloween story. Now normally we do not take story “assignments,” but this seemed a quite reasonable request since we were running low on story ideas, and a little additional “direction” came just in time to forestall…
Island Voices, October 2025
Charlie Kirk Spoke for the Voiceless. Now, We Speak for Charlie.
By March Twisdale Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed the perfect proof that social media can churn up a hurricane of inaccurate memes, cherry-picked quotes, and other sloppily shared content that utterly misconstrues the true breadth and width of a person’s very public and very well documented life. As the world responded to…
Island Voices, October 2025
From Sailing Adventures to Painting Adventures!
By Suzanna Leigh Sailing season is winding down; I don’t sail much in winter any more. Now I’m off to a new adventure: making watercolor paint from plants. Color from plants gives me a very different palette than I am used to working with. Will I even like it? Have you ever tried to dye…
Island Voices, October 2025
Tech Blitzkrieg, Part Three …
… or, “Open the pod bay doors, Hal.” By Michael Shook That, of course, is an iconic line from Stanley Kubrick’s classic science fiction film, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Hal – the HAL9000 computer responsible for keeping the spacecraft operational – is malfunctioning badly. Rather than allow itself to be partially shut down, and having…
Island Voices, October 2025
The Urge to Purge
By Pam “Gates” Johnson It’s not spring, so why has the spring cleaning bug landed on my shoulder and begun to scream in my ear? It is telling me … PURGE! CLEAN! DOWNSIZE! I ignored the screams until they started to drown out everything and take over most of my waking thoughts. Okay. I get it….
Island Voices, October 2025
Ferry Follies
By Dave B. Here it comes, the ferry discussion. I think we have heard it all, but here goes: Our wonderful ferries and the folks who ride them. Now THIS is a subject all Islanders have an opinion on. How do YOU feel about riding our WSF system? I can tell you if I had…
Island Resilience, Island Voices, October 2025
Beyond Ideology: What Every Death Takes from Democracy
By Julia Carlson On a small Island like Vashon, it’s easy to believe we’re insulated from the turbulence of the outside world. But lately, even here, you can feel the weight pressing down on America. Conversations at the grocery store, whispers on the ferry, posts in local groups, it’s clear that the past few weeks…