Mother Teresa said it best: “We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with love.” One of the rarest commodities for many today is time, and giving of our time to volunteer is very precious indeed, but it is the best way I know to do small things with love. So […]
ARIEL WATERMAN
Posted inOpinion
Presents of Christmas past and present
From Father Christmas to Christmas wrap, she’s seen it all!
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse! The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, and I wrapped all the gifts while he snored like a bear!* Charles Dickens wrote, “Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back the delusions of our […]
Posted inOpinion
Gobble, gobble, toil and trouble!
Oh, the efforts we make for the gravy to bubble
I want to give thanks to the late artist, Norman Rockwell, for ruining Thanksgiving for the rest of us with a few stokes of his brush. He’s the guy who painted that lovely scene of several smiling people seated around a table as a blushing grandmother presents a perfectly cooked, golden brown turkey. Rockwell even […]
Posted inOpinion
Falling in love with fall
Reminiscing about golden seasons passed
Did you feel it? That chill in the air, dense with the mist of morning fog? Did you smell it? The scent of burning leaves, cinnamon and vanilla, and pumpkins lit on a Halloween night? Did you taste it? The heat of spiced cider taking the chill off your innards and the rich warmth of […]
Posted inOpinion
Falling in love with fall
Reminiscing about golden seasons passed
Did you feel it? That chill in the air, dense with the mist of morning fog? Did you smell it? The scent of burning leaves, cinnamon and vanilla, and pumpkins lit on a Halloween night? Did you taste it? The heat of spiced cider taking the chill off your innards and the rich warmth of […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t axe me, I just lurk here!
How one writer got in the spirit by selling Halloween
OK, baby boomers, take a little walk down memory lane with me. Remember when we used to make our own Halloween costumes? We’d go through our mothers’ costume jewelry and makeup or our fathers’ shirts, hats, and ties, and come up with clever costumes in which the neighbors wouldn’t recognize us (or at least we […]
Posted inOpinion
Get me to the airport on time
How flying the friendly skies meant one wild ride
I hate airports. I loathe them not because of the long lines for tickets, security screening, and check-in. Nor do I hate them for the noise, solicitors, or over-priced food and coffee at packed eateries. I abhor airports for one simple reason: I am virtually always “The Ride.” Those of you who have been “The […]
Posted inOpinion
Coming to your census
As this decade’s undertaking wraps up, find out why the government thinks you count every 10 years
Now it happened in those days, that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled … .” Chapter 2, verses 1 through 5 of the Gospel according to Luke historically document one of the earliest known censuses. But it was not the first. There are ancient Egyptian population records […]
Posted inOpinion
Do do that vuvu that you do so well
An American’s take on World Cup soccer mania
When I first heard it, I thought a swarm of bees had moved in. “Call a bee-keeper,” I yelled to my husband. “We’ve been invaded by bees.” “That’s not bees, Love! That’s vuvuzelas!” he chuckled. Vuvu-wah? “They’re plastic horns the supporters are blowing at the Cup games,” he continued nonchalantly. Oh, God. The World Cup […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
It’s Curtains for PCPA
The group’s latest production brings down the house (but it’s still going strong)
There’s been a murder at the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts at Allan Hancock College! It occurred right before our eyes on the PCPA stage, as music and mayhem abounded in the comedy whodunnit and show-within-a-show, Curtains. Spoiler alert! This hilarious, entertaining show will slay you (all puns are intended) with perfect timing and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The music raves on
The Winter Dance Party knows what we like
Young people throughout the Midwest turned out in 1959 to hear Buddy Holly and the Crickets, the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Dion and the Belmonts as they toured with the Winter Dance Party. Fans raved: “It was crazy, daddy! … If you haven’t heard them, you haven’t lived, man!” Tragically, on Feb. 3, 1959, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The doctor is in
How one man has single-handedly made chess fun and cool for kids
The Brit (my husband) and I enjoy playing chess, and it was a fun part of our dating ritual. I recalled the chess game scene in the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, wherein the game of chess became a metaphor for seduction and sexual dominion. My grandson (Mini-Brit), […]