What Brought You to the Island By Jane Valencia Nadja Vol Ochs on her boat, Sophie After 20 years of operation, the Vashon Wilderness Program has a new Executive Director, Nadja Vol Ochs. As I walked with her at the marina to her boat, Sophie, Nadja pointed out such waterbirds as mergansers, surf scoters, and…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck In a previous installment, we looked at the Toyota RAV-4 in its early forms, a handy-sized workhorse renowned for its durability and steady character. But among the many things a 20-plus year old RAV-4 has never been known to say are, “Hey, wanna see how fast we can make it down…
About 155,000,000 United States citizens voted in the 2024 Presidential election. About 64% of eligibles! Millions & millions is an amazing number of our US citizen-neighbors: each somehow made the independent decision to vote for a person they never met for lunch, perhaps saw mostly on TV, heard some promises made by practiced politicians that…
Yes, the men considered to be the founding fathers and builders of our country’s foundation were audacious, courageous, determined, and visionary. And yes, many of us can imagine living with laws, rights, and freedoms especially if we have benefited from those protections. Now imagine being excluded from those original laws, rights, and freedoms because you…
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…
By Rocky (Donna) Liberty At 3:30 p.m., I realized the time and charged to the beach to capture the last bit of day. Walking south towards the light, I scoured the beach for aggies, shells, and the odd bit of interesting glass. Curiosity and the thrill of discovery have always spurred me to walk miles…
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 Jane Valencia One late afternoon, I showed up to dance. I’d been working all day, and felt I had two left feet. I had never contra danced before, yet I was willing to stumble my way through. Three musicians opened the session with a sweet waltz. I put on a lei to designate that…
By Stephen Buller “Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants, but debt is the money of slaves.” ~ Norm Franz You and I use debt as money. “Like everyone else, you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see…