Columns

It took a while but summer finally got here, and at the library we are in the last month of our summer reading program. On Thursday, Aug. 15, at 10:30 a.m., we will have a special showing of the 30-minute documentary, Earthrise. This story is told solely by the Apollo 8 astronauts and recounts their experience of seeing the earth for the first time from space.  Be sure to turn in your reading logs by Friday, Aug. 16, and then join us for our annual “Ice Cream Social” on Thursday, Aug. 22, at 10:30 a.m. We will have ice cream from Cove Deli and Pizza and will hold our prize drawing.  All are welcome. During the last week of the summer reading program (Aug. 19-24) ...

There aren’t many weeks of the year that can rival a summer vacation. Except maybe a winter vacation, but hey, it’s summer so let’s stay in the here and now. Vacations, no matter what time of year are preferable to a regular old non-vacation week. But in my opinion, summer beats winter a...

My grandbaby has started talking. One of her first words was “water.” It’s a multi-tasking multi-purpose word in her life. When she’s in the bath, she’s surrounded by water. When she’s in the lake, she swims in water. When it rains, water falls down on her from the sky to ...

You have likely heard about the Oxford comma at least once. As a writer, using it is a habit I have grown quite fond of. There is something about that little extra comma in a list that just feels right to write; however, since starting my column, I have learned that this practice is not welcome everywhere.&n...

The media has us fired up about lots of things. And that’s good. We should be fired up. Fired up equals interested and engaged. We should all be interested and engaged. An observation: our culture is ever changing (hallelujah to that). We often need culture changes. They bring about good things and ...

With the advent of texting and instant messaging there has emerged a huge set of online abbreviations to make messaging faster. For those of us who aren’t immersed in messaging lingo, getting a message with a bizarre term or shorthand can be annoying and confusing.  First off, how did this come...

I love my family. We all do. Or most of us at least – on most days, at least. Loving your family is a given. You anticipate loving your spouse even before you meet him or her. This is exponentiated with your children. You love them fully and completely well before they are born. There is nothing that c...

Shaken up. Rattled. Unnerved. While lives weren’t lost in the two large quakes and more than 4,000 aftershocks that recently hit Ridgecrest, California, what was lost was an emotional sense of security. The ground is supposed to be firm. Terra firma. Standing on solid ground. And when that won&rsquo...

The English language is fraught with conundrums. That’s probably why I love it so much. It’s never boring and continually keeps me learning (or guessing – or both). One of these complexities has to do with words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings – our good fr...

Many Americans are passionate fans of coffee. A study conducted by the National Coffee Association in 2018 found that 64 percent of Americans drink at least one or more cups of coffee daily, the highest percentage since 2012. Suppose I told you there is a better option than your daily cup of Joe? Green te...