In a time when technology has fallen away, Islanders are rediscovering the ways of the forest. In a frenzy of excitement and discovery, two children, Rose Hip and Snowberry, have yanked quantities of moss and licorice fern from a tree. They turn to head home, only to stop short in surprise! In front of them…
Health Matters
The Unadulterated, True Story …
Bear with me as I weave an inspiring tale about the miracle of you and your body. Books are overflowing with strange stories of ordinary people achieving extraordinary feats of self-healing, endurance, and dignity, in the face of extreme harshness. When we are committed – passionate – we source from deep within, and transform the impossible into the possible. Every one of us is talented,…
Arrival Stories
What Brought You to the Island?
Our journey to Vashon began over 30 years ago when I lost my job as part of a RIF (reduction in force). This was shortly after the Rodney King riots in Southern California. At the time, my wife Michelle and I came to the conclusion that Southern California no longer was a good place to…
Recipes
The End All, Be All of Banana Breads!
After a few of my own adaptations, I’ve made healthy sugar-free banana bread every week for long periods. I often plan ahead to have extra bananas just for this. It’s so sweet, you’d think it’s loaded with sugar, but applesauce is the sweetener! I’ve made this bread with all kinds of flour, gluten-free, all-purpose works fine…
Literary
Two Poems
It’s technically winter, but love and spring are in the air. These poems are both about thresholds. I am not dreaming— yet I am elsewhere maybe with the late moon outside this cold window— clumps of oatmeal cloud move slowly west against the tide— a pulse of cotton reflects the feather’d candy ring that surrounds…
Island Voices
AtWork! On Vashon Island. Part 1 – What Is Supported Employment?
By Aly Norling When, amidst the pandemic, Vashon lost Seeds4Success, the Island’s only supported employment organization, AtWork! stepped in to continue providing employment services for Islanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). AtWork! is a supported employment nonprofit organization that works throughout Washington state to match people with I/DD with good jobs in their communities….
Editorial Page
Code of Ethics – Power of the Pen
Since the advent of the printing press, around 1436, by German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg (and much earlier, in China and Korea), the written word has had a staggering effect on our world. Venice – a primary, Mediterranean shipping hub in the late 15th century – was fertile ground for a fledgling global news network, as…
Editorial Page
Pull, Don’t Be Pushed
By Andy Valencia The world is coming for you, no invitation needed. Your phone rings, a notification chimes, a spam pops into your inbox. For every time your phone rings and it’s a loved one, there are many more selling you extended warranties or potency pills. We give them their very own words, like “spammer”…
Entertainment
All Aboard! January Issue is Here
Grab your copy of The Vashon Loop at businesses and more throughout the Island. Don’t live on Vashon? You can access a copy in pdf form, under Current Issue in the above menu.You can also read all the articles below.