Opinion

Northern cold versus southern cold

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I’m a recent transplant – from a northern state to a southern one. I now spend winters in Florida but, for most of my life, I endured the (harsh, frigid, bitter, unending, Arctic, hyperborean) winters of Minnesota, a.k.a. Minnesnowta (cold nose, warm heart). I like to think it made me stronger. Hell, I know it did. You can’t survive and […]

Compromise is not a bad word

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“Compromise” is not a bad word. Neither is “cooperation.” Or “compassion.” One of the most important lessons we learn in Kindergarten is how to get along. Cooperation is perhaps second only to lining up single-file. Okay, maybe third in importance after learning the “be quiet” signal. Some of us took to these essential lessons easily, while it was a struggle […]

Sick days (and nights)

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I was sick last week. It felt like a long and miserable 12 days – and that was just Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I’m not good at being sick. Thankfully, I don’t get much practice. I’m one of those robust and healthy types. I like to joke that I’m too crabby to get sick; germs know it’s best to steer […]

Another week on ‘hold’

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It’s been a long time since I got sick, truly sick. So this past week and a half was overdue, perhaps. No, I wasn’t “sloppy’ sick, and did not go through a tree a day in Kleenex. But some nasty cold virus went straight to my chest and I’m still coughing like crazy. I am able to learn, in my […]

Being invited

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For much of my life, I’ve been the inviter. I enjoyed planning and inviting people to those plans. But in the last few years I haven’t invited much of anyone anywhere. I didn’t have the heart for it. I lacked momentum and (to be honest) felt broken so I took on a rather new role. I found myself waiting to […]

MNA convention: time for awards, reinvigoration

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Everyone loves to be acknowledged for their hard work, and newspaper folk are no different. We may even need it a bit more than others. What we do can be very isolating. Most of our work is done hunched over a computer in an office (or home office), in isolation. We do receive accolades from our readers, and we appreciate […]

Being a part of the neighborhood

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I live in a neighborhood where we are all part of an association. An association of what, you might ask? It’s an association of rules and regulations, and bylaws, and committees, and a board of directors. It’s a mighty association, to be sure. But it’s all good. If I’ve learned one thing during my adult life, it’s that when other […]

Can we find some civility?

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The United States of America has faced presidential elections for nearly 250 years, and we survived. Some were highly contentious. Some were boring. Most are pretty much lost to history. I would dare say, however, that no historic election has been as divisive as this year’s presidential election is heading. A core problem, in my opinion, is our tendency to […]

Never have I ever

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I started this column thinking I might write about some of the things I’ve never yet done, like take an Alaskan cruise, drink ouzo in Greece, taste French bread in France or parent a dachshund. But I missed out on the most important never ever of all: Never, have I ever … played pickleball. There it is. I said it […]

We must find ways to get along

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As another contentious election season is upon us, divisions again flare, and tensions give way to violent clashes. You will blame whomever you want for this, but here are a few facts to keep in mind that, I hope, will help keep things on a civil level during the coming onslaught. Social media can often be a major instigator and, […]


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