News, nature, and community throughout the Emerald Triangle
Should kids earn money for testing well? 23 schools in Brooklyn hand out monetary rewards in exchange for high scores in math and reading. Mayor Bloomberg set up what he calls an ‘anti-poverty initiative’ with money raised from private sources such as the Rockefeller Foundation. The Sparks Program aims to motivate students with cash rewards to do well on
Read moreJust because I was a teenage girl, adults assumed I would be a good babysitter. They assumed wrongly. I’ll spare you the horror stories that children endured at my inexperienced hands lest many years after the fact the Child Protective Services attempt to arrest me. But one haunts my memory and I must attempt to exorcise it by confessing the
Read moreWe sat in the living room. I turned the radio to KHUM and began cooking dinner. My oldest has gone retro recently and dug out his old Gameboy. My middle son lounged by the fire reading a novel, they ignored the news as always while I avidly sucked it all in as always. But, then Bill Clinton began to speak.
Read moreThe bottom shelf on my refrigerator exploded. From my oldest son’s explanation, I gathered not much damage happened and, certainly, none of it was his fault–the words “broke without any discernable reason” were repeated more than once. He made sure I knew he hadn’t done anything. “I just opened the door and, phhht, a small piece broke off the shelf.”
Read moreThe bottom shelf on my refrigerator exploded. From my oldest son’s explanation, I gathered not much damage happened and, certainly, none of it was his fault–the words “broke without any discernable reason” were repeated more than once. He made sure I knew he hadn’t done anything. “I just opened the door and, phhht, a small piece broke off the shelf.”
Read morePhoto of Pretty Boy Floyd The story of Pretty Boy Floyd and fellow outlaw, George Birdwell captured the country’s imagination in the 1930’s. One can see why when tales like the following circulated. “[Floyd, known as Choc,] was so well liked that when he decided to knock over the bank in his own home town, Sallisaw, he informed his family
Read moreWhen you are a teenager in a small town, you soon learn you can’t keep secrets from your parents. Or, maybe that was just me…. I remember pretty much the one time in my life when I got a little wild and ended up played strip poker in the L…n’s livingroom (honest, Diane, I wouldn’t ever do it again—you did
Read moreOne day when we were in town, problems were cascading down on us (Torrential rain, flat tire, groceries falling out of the hatchback into puddles, etc.), I was buckling my littlest into his seat and laughingly told him, “We’re having a rough day but we’ll make it. We’re tough.” “Yeah,” he said, “we’re gritty, too.” I started to laugh. Where
Read moreAbove all, I’ll miss my cousins—her voice, his energy, her sweetness, his considered remarks, her giggles, their stories about their lives. Without them, Christmas fades like old color photographs—still essentially the same but paler, thinner somehow. I can remember a time before them. I’m the oldest in my generation and at first they all lived far away. But then their
Read moreMy dad’s ancestors lived in Sanel (right by Hopland). They were some of the first European settlers. I’m really proud of that. I like having my roots so deep in the soil around here. But you might not want to ask me much about that first pioneer. I might pretend I don’t hear you. Or, education about local history being
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