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Understanding depression: Why a sinking boat needs more than a strong sailor

The Sinking Boat Analogy To understand what Depression might feel like, imagine taking a boat out on a lake. The boat can coast along the water and get where it needs to go easily. When the wind picks up and the waves become higher, it makes the ride a little bumpy and may slow you down, but you can still get to where you need to go. This is like the stress of normal life. Some turbulent times, and some smooth sailing, but you still make it back to shore. For someone with depression, it’s like having a hole in the bottom of the boat. The hole may be small at first, so you may not ...

Columbiana County’s tie to John Brown and the abolition movement

A double whammy hit young Edwin Coppoc of Winona in early 1842. His father died and because his mother was unable to care for all her six children, 6-year-old Edwin was sent to live with John Butler near Salem. Butler, a Quaker, was a “conductor” in the Underground Railroad. He ...

Love that pond muck

Forget the hateful things I wrote about pond muck. Pond muck is my new best friend in the garden. “Pond muck is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer packed with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, suitable for gardens, trees, and composting,” according to Google’s AI ...

Our no-kill garden

“You have to cut back on the garden this year,” my wife said. I nod and smile. Of course I will (won’t.) Honey has to share part of the blame because of her no-kill philosophy about the spring vegetable and flower plants she starts in our house under, as she puts it, 16 feet of grow lights. Each little plant is her child. She talks to them, praising those who prosper, worrying over the weak ones, reassuring those undergoing transplantation. She plants carefully according to our needs, but always has extras. She finds homes for most of the surplus; still, I end up putting more ...

Tomlinson Run Pool Days

David Holbrook died. David was my summer friend and the other half of our gang, The Ringneck Club, during endless boyhood days at the Tomlinson Run State Park swimming pool in the 1950s. David was always there because his father, Napoleon “Nap” Holbrook, was in charge at the state park. Nap may have been park superintendent, but his wife Alta, it seemed to us, was in charge both at home and in the park. The reason I spent so much time at the pool was that family members of anyone working there got free admission. For several summers in the late ‘50s our father and mother both ...

Walking can be dangerous

Wherever you are, and no matter what time of day it is, if you look around, it’s likely you will see someone out for a walk. Take a trip through any neighborhood, and it’s a sure bet you will come across someone who’s enjoying being outside. Some people like to walk in the evening, some in the morning and some hearty souls like to be out in the heat of the day. It’s a great way to get some exercise and to interact with your friends and neighbors, things that we all too often forget should be important parts of our lives. But while it’s hard to underestimate the benefits of ...