When I was a child, my dad had a huge roll-top desk in his newspaper office in Gallatin, Missouri. I would sit there after school and play, of course, “newspaperwoman.” Later, Dad remodeled and got new steel desks for the office, and the old roll-top was relegated to the “back shop.” But it was still […]
The U.S. Census Bureau has released its take on the economic and psychological impacts of COVID-19, based upon responses collected July 9 through 14. It seems both realistic and depressing. Let’s hope Washington can figure out a relief package to help a crisis that is no fault of the individuals being so economically and mentally […]
My mother’s 100-year-old body has just given out on her, and as I write this she is resting peacefully in the nursing home where she lives. She’s not expected to last more than a few more days, perhaps weeks. The following are excerpts from the eulogy I’ll deliver at graveside, if my emotions allow. Grateful […]
Professors from 23 of the most important schools of journalism in the United States have issued an open letter regarding recent arrests and violence toward journalists. This violence against the media could not come at a worse time. And, people, where without the media will you get information you need to make good decisions in […]
City councils in many communities, along with protesters, are calling for “defunding” the police departments. But what does that really mean? Social Services Primarily this means shifting financial resources away from the police department that might better be served with mental health counselors, community diversion programs and other services not directly tied to armed policing […]
I recently Iearned about Operation Manna and Operation Chowhound that British and U.S. forces undertook near the end of the war. In this time of civil unrest and pandemic, I thought it was a wonderful story to share. Food Drops to the Starving Netherlands The troops loaded up their bombers with food and then dropped […]
President Trump’s removal of PEACEFUL demonstrators from Lafayette Park yesterday with teargas, flash bangs and rubber bullets marked a new low in his presidency. For a Photo Op? He removed the demonstrators for a photo op! So he could stand in front of a historic Episcopal church rioters had attempted, but failed, to burn the […]
I have no complete answer to address the unrest sweeping our country. As a child of the 1960s (high school and college), I thought our generation would address these things so the riots we saw in those years would not be repeated. Change occurred, but not enough. A Look Back at the 1960s Harlem Riot, […]
The death at age 70 of former Miss America Phyllis George took me back to 1971 when I was asked to interview her. It’s a moment in time I’m that does not fill me with pride. The Mexico Ledger The circumstance was the Miss Missouri Pageant that was being held in Mexico, MO, where I […]
I am privileged to serve on my city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. I have been doing so for four and a half years. But service without typical meetings is challenging. And while we don’t have a choice, I think the public is not well served. We meet using Zoom We use the Zoom technology, which […]