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I thought I had beaten the flu season again this year. Last year I had one day where I had gotten the inklings of being under the weather and I dosed myself with vitamins and rest. It worked and I threw off whatever was knocking at my door. I think, in 15 months, I only missed one day of work due to illness. Many in my office have not been so lucky. The last couple days of April came and I got slam dunked by the flu I had been reading and hearing about. My poor sister got crushed by this...
You were warned. I mentioned in my last column I would be writing about the origins of toilet paper. It was kind of a goof—but then I thought, “what the hey?” When I looked up information on the subject I found reams of material on this a-commode-ating accessory. A Crappy History Once upon a time mankind cleaned their backsides with whatever was at hand (including their hand). Leaves, shards of pottery, hay, discarded sheep’s wool, grass, snow, tundra moss, corn cobs, husks, fruit peels,...
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. ~ George Bernard Shaw *** “Don’t even try to outwork your mother. You’ll never be able to.” It is the first weekend in April and I am bringing an end to my workday by having a beer, or several beers, with a former Saratoga Sun reporter. One Tom “Ted” Dixon, beer in hand, is advising me to work smarter, not harder. When he says the bit about my mother, I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped. I think I very nearly dropped my beer. My mot...
My mother has been telling me for several years, as you get older, the weight just doesn’t come off as easy when you were younger. I figured this out without her prophetic words as I noticed my waist expanding and clothes getting tighter in recent years. Each time I went up another size, I would say to myself, “I love wearing baggy clothes and soon enough I would go back down to smaller sizes.” The illusion nobody had noticed my weight gain was shattered over the holidays. It hit hard I wasn...
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness. ~John Muir *** Growing up, it is safe to say that I was a little averse to the outdoors. I was more content to be inside either playing video games or tying up my parents’ phone line browsing the internet. I was not the biggest fan of hunting or fishing and I rarely, if ever, went on a hike. In high school, the only reason I was excited for the Snowy Range to open was because it made it quicker to get to Laramie. That considered,...
Hi! You have reached the mind of Keith. He's not here right now (if ever), but if you could leave a message after the beep, he will put it first on his list to slowly percolate into his consciousness. BEEEEP! Yes, I am going to be out of the office for a few days. As a matter of fact, as this hits the various newsstands and post office boxes I will be on my way to the San Juan river in Utah where I fully expect to let my mind wander aimlessly while I row said river for a few days. This being...
I am a person who, more or less, looks back at his life in eras. The dictionary defines era as a long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic; a system of chronology dating from a particular noteworthy event; a date or event marking the beginning of a new and distinct period of time. My years as a student, kindergarten until I graduated college, is era number one. This one is my longest since I have eras that last only a year or so. Sometimes those mix together...
Dear Editor, I am glad to see the students speaking out and not letting up. I do fear though, that they are being used by anti-gun lobbies and individuals. (Oprah donated 500K according to NBC News). They should be left to speak as they choose and berating them, or anyone, voicing their opinion is un-American and , until now, has been essentially a liberal weapon. The Israeli program of training and arming teachers has worked quite well and one Ohio school district has had armed teachers for several years without incident. (Dayton Daily News,...
Pool, or billiards, began with … I know that because I made up a funny bit about how darts began, you are waiting for me to give you a completely fabricated, cock-and-bull story about how this sport arose. I, being a semi-sadist, refuse to do it. … plus I couldn’t think of anything outlandish enough. The Name of the Game Billiards got its name from France. It either came from the word “billart, “ one of the wooden sticks originally used or “bille,” meaning a ball. In the 19th century, “poo...
On Feb. 14, 2018, 17 people walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDHS) in Parkland, Florida expecting just another day. These people, 14 of them students and three faculty, would not live to see the end of the day. Since then, the news has been dominated by the survivors of the Parkland Shooting. A deputy sheriff, tasked with protecting the school, stayed outside of the building as the shooting took place. Students dialed 911 so much they were told to stop calling, that people...
I had a tradition when I visited a new country back when I lived in Taiwan. I should point out, during this time, the countries I visited were warm and most had beaches that were often remote. I made a point of skinny dipping in each country I had never been in before. Nothing I can really explain, but I loved to find some deserted area and take a swim without clothes. I think of skinny dipping is an art, because the idea is to do it without offending anyone. Don’t do it around people who w...
Darts were invented by two Scottish physicians and brothers by the name of Dartmouth. In 1844, the pair became inebriated one evening (a Tuesday around teatime) in their office and started throwing hypodermic needles at each other. Eventually the by-then-“holy” brothers began to aim their throws at other targets and as time went by the pair decided to call their new game “Darts.” … What? … You’re not buying that? Okay. I made all that up. You got me. Throwing a 180 The origin of Darts is actu...
Title 18, the municipal code that dictates zoning, is a bit of a mess. Much of it hasn’t been updated since it was adopted nearly 40 years ago. Along with the outdated language and standards, one also has to deal with definitions that vary from section to section. Anyone who has taken the time to read Title 18 knows it is complicated. One of the primary reasons for these complications can be found in the varying definitions of the same structure. Manufactured home and mobile home are often used interchangeably for the same thing: a portable u...