By Judy Mulhair Welcome to the AYH Ranch. I bought the land in 1970 and raised two boys, many sheep, goats, horses, and one cow named Hamburger. The orchard, gardens and livestock fed us well. As a United Airlines Flight Attendant, my first goal was to see the world, but this goal was put on…
By Daniel Hooker A friend of mine is about to become a Catholic, and he told me he was starting to study the catechisms. And it just popped into my head: “What chases a catechism? – A dogma.” A friend said to me, “You really ought to do stand up comedy!”I answered, “At my age,…
By March Twisdale When we moved from West Seattle to Vashon Island, it was after a two-year search. We were looking for a rural environment with an eclectic homeschooling community, but every rural community in the region was almost exclusively religion-inspired. Concern that our children would be disconnected from both schooled kids and homeschooling families…
By Andy Valencia If you’re an Islander and have been listening to our public discussions and media, you might have this nightmare image in mind of yourself, holding your chest, on the phone, begging for help which isn’t coming. The truth is, you can set aside this anxiety, because it isn’t going to happen. And…
By March Twisdale You may have noticed that young folks working the register tend to automatically assume customers will pay with a card. This happened at C&P Coffee a few weeks ago. As I was tapping on the screen, my brain started to ping at me. Only when I handed my $20 bill to the…
By Elizabeth Van Deventer Stella taught me one of the most important spiritual lessons of my life. Yet, you wouldn’t find her sitting in the lotus position in an Ashram or giving a sermon behind a church pulpit. She wasn’t a guru with a great following or what anyone would think of as a spiritual…
Editorial Note: In this article “Know Your Home Waters”, the Vashon Loop reports on information which is in the possession of the Vashon School District. Such information includes items such as a report from a professional investigator and parent statements. The Vashon Loop reminds our readers that none of this has been tested in a…
By March Twisdale We need people who know the job. If I were running for the school board, this would be my first and primary focus. What is my role? My duty? My obligation? Who do I serve? We need people who can hold power responsibly and gently. Power is scary, because coming along right…
By Michael Shook A few weeks ago, my wife returned from taking the Scotties on their morning walk, and informed me she had seen a squashed frog on the road. The younger Scottie, Walter, had lunged for it, no doubt to eat. She at first thought it to be a rat, albeit a misshapen one…