WEIRD is how someone might describe Sherlock Holmes.  The term is psychological parlance to describe people who think logically when problem-solving.  (“The Science of How We Vote” Scientific American Mind, May/June 2016, pg. 8.)  15% of the world’s cultures think WEIRDly, mo

Politics on the local and national spheres share one value in common. Voters expect their representatives to serve their constituents without seeking personal gain.  In Oregon, the feeling is so strong, that when I served in public office, I rejected a free lunch if it was offered. 

I’ve never played chess but I have played a little politics and from where I sit, the Democrats need to refine their strategies to take control of government.   Too many of its shinning stars are lining up for the Presidential race.  Instead, candidates from red state

Last week, I went to a movie playing in my neighborhood.  At  3:10 in the afternoon, the lobby was quiet enough to hold a séance.  Loneliness has never bothered  me, so  I shoved 8 crumpled dollars under the cashier’s window to buy my ticket. “What seat?” the woman spat in

When I was in the sixth grade, my town was large enough to support two  junior high schools, Lincoln and Garfield.  The posh kids went to Lincoln.  The poor kids went to Garfield where there was a flutter of gang activity.  At the time, I lived with my mother in a small, apartment

On Friday,  I complained I experience vertigo as a result of sharing the world with Donald Trump and his followers.  I don’t even know how to describe Trump.  Is he  a president or a cult leader?  A president or a would-be dictator?  Certainly, he is a celebrity.  As such, th

Of late, Donald Trump’s favorability rating has jumped to a high of 49 percent in one major poll.  I admit, I am puzzled, like a salmon swimming upstream while numbers of my species are headed toward the sea. Where are they going?  What are they thinking?  Okay, I get

Recently, an article appeared in a newsletter which reminded me that everyone has a story to tell. The one I was reading contained the recollections of a woman, near my age, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. She was seven at the time but retained vivid memories of her internm

Last week a woman on Facebook was drumming up support for a Oregon petition.  The purpose was to prevent the state legislature from raising the gas tax to pay for road improvements.  That people complain about potholes but don’t want to pay to fix them, isn’t new to me .

Probably, I should be embarrassed to admit I hate sports.  Any kind of sports.  If it involves competition and movement, I’d rather read a book.  When I taught school in Zimbabwe, I feigned enthusiasm for games because one of my duties was to chaperon the girls’ hockey teams to