On our way to the Washington coast from the eastern part of the state, we stopped in the town of Connell to get lunch. Connell is not much more than a speck in a...

Our house sold the second day it was listed. A week later the prospective buyers backed out so the house is on the market again. This means what seems like an interminable amount of...

We’re moving along in the process of downsizing. One of our sons and his family were here last week. They helped us sort, donate, and sell more of our stuff. In addition to our...

A recent issue of Harper’s Magazine had an essay about the inability of most people to feel content. To feel they have enough. Ever. No matter what it is — money, fame, houses or...

We’re in the process of downsizing. I’ve spent the last two months going through closets, drawers and long forgotten boxes.. Sort, donate, sell, sort, donate, sell, repeat. It’s amazing how stuff has a way...

My neighbor two houses up the road is from Ukraine. That’s not unusual. The town where I live has 50,000 eastern European immigrants, most of them from Ukraine. I have wanted to talk to...

A few weeks ago I saw a man leaning over our fence and looking back and forth. It took me a minute to figure out who he was. The house belongs to one of...

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. Though I normally dislike what I call “fabricated” holidays, I find myself grateful for the love and good feelings that still prevail in the world, despite threats of war and...

Rarely a generation passes without at least one person in our family being afflicted with what I call the “Uncle Walter Gene”, which compels a person to take unusual care for the welfare of...

I just read a short piece in the latest print issue of Harper’s magazine, a list of accidental damage done to works of art in museums. One incident involved a visitor tripping on a...