Around the roots of each stalk of sweet corn I see a little circle of wet dirt, a gift of the morning dew, a drink of water conjured out of the air. The corn plant itself seems designed to capture and funnel this free air water to itself; my cabbages even more so, their wide leaves a ring of ...
As our country celebrates not just any Independence Day, but the 250th anniversary of one of the boldest declarations in human history, the festivities give us an excellent opportunity to look back on two-and-a-half centuries of this American experiment and check ourselves against what the founders hoped they were setting in motion. Draped in red, white and blue and surrounded by flags and fireworks, it is easy to forget how we got here and why we are free to celebrate as flamboyantly as we’d like. Richard Henry Lee made the motion to declare independence in June 1776, but not ...
Gardeners around the world throw stones out of their gardens. The residents of remote Easter Island carried stones in to use as mulch because rock mulch works. Also, because they had nothing else. Anyway, they were used to moving incredibly heavy things like those strange, iconic statues they ...
Earlier this year, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced legislation to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. Since then, other U.S. Senators have put forward additional proposals to cap rates. As a longtime elected official in Columbiana County in Appalachian Ohio, I can say with certainty that any cap on interest rates misses the mark on what members of our community need. Over the last several years, Columbiana County has been a hotbed of new investment and economic development. Main Street storefronts that once sat empty are being filled. Small businesses are the backbone ...
This is not my normal happy, whimsical column. If you’re not prepared to read my whining complaints, if you don’t want to know how my wife and I have suffered, are suffering, through the process of getting a new kitchen installed, turn to the funnies now. I admit we were out of touch ...
Recognizing that June is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month, we are challenged to look at PTSD not only as a clinical disorder, but as a form of traumatic grief. It is the body, mind, and spirit carrying profound losses that have not yet found a safe place to be fully mourned. After a traumatic event, individuals certainly grieve the person or people who died, but they also grieve their own sense of safety, trust, identity, innocence, faith, or the future they once thought they would have. This reframing matters deeply. Too often in our society, symptoms are treated ...
