I usually associate construction work with being annoyed. But, during this season of goodwill, I find myself thinking of it with a surprising amount of tolerance and even nostalgia. I suppose it’s on my mind because there has been so much of it so close to me this year. The most ...
When I was growing up in the 1990s, people would accuse someone of being gay, intending it as an insult. That left the person accused of being gay in a hard position. If they denied it, they were ceding the point that being gay was defamatory. An episode of “Seinfeld” mocked the problem, ...
Serving on the Ogden City Council has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. What made this work meaningful was not the title or the politics, rather the opportunity to serve a community that believes in possibility and chooses solutions over division. I have continually been reminded ...
In my classes this semester we’ve read a few stories about the lasting impact of war on individuals. Ernest Hemingway's WWI short story masterpiece “In Another Country,” or Tim O'Brien's Vietnam War story “The Things They Carried,” point to the cost of military service, especially ...
Prior to Abraham Lincoln's presidency there was no national Thanksgiving day. The commemoration of Thanksgiving varied from state to state according to the discretion of state leaders. Lincoln's Secretary of State, William Seward, wanted to increase national power over state power; he was one ...
Sometimes we’re thankful for the things we don’t get. This usually occurs in hindsight… Years ago, my husband and I thought we should move. We didn’t have a solid reason; we just wanted a change, a new perspective, a new ... something. We thought a new home would be the answer. So ...
