As you may have noticed, I have not been posting to the blog much lately. As much as some would like to believe that I have finally run out of things to say, I can assure you that is not the case. When I created the blog more than a year ago, I had set…

Gun control. Two words that tend to strike terror into the hearts of people that own guns. Every so often, the debate flares up and causes people to question whether the Second Amendment of the Constitution is going to be erased. It’s back again, and it’s one that’s going to get ugly. President Barack Obama…

Violence shattered the innocence of a Connecticut town on Friday. A man whose motives we may never fully know or understand killed 20 children at an elementary school, along with six staff members and himself. It is unfortunately a type of story that has become more and more prevalent in American society today. Another crazed…

Bullies are out there, and they pop up when you least expect them to. Their appearance at first glance might appear kind, but upon closer approach, the toothy grin and bright eyes turn into a hateful snarl, and you find yourself abused just because you’re different. When I was growing up, bullies were easy to…

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a huge staple in my diet growing up. There were times when my family did not have a lot of money to spend on food, and a cheaper option was the PB&J. Even now, I’ll whip together the tasty sandwich to satisfy a snack attack. I wonder how my…

Nobody likes to have their intelligence called into question. However, when someone does that, it does not bode well from your side to prove them right. Recently, I got my beats switched around at the paper, and I was assigned to cover school board meetings for Shawano. For those of you not living where I…

I love the theatre, especially community theatre, which gives me a certain desire to see as much funding as possible go toward the performing arts. However, when I see how tight money is for everyone, and how governments are slicing and dicing all over the place, I realize that the gravy train for public arts…

I’ve mentioned before why I prefer living in smaller towns. While there are certain advantages to being in a bigger city, there are also some shortcomings to live in metropolitan areas. A trip to one such place reminded me of why it’s a good idea to live in wide open spaces. My roommate and I…

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the beholder’s standards are a tad high for most to accomplish these days. Just take a look at most magazine covers, where you see paper-thin waifs with pouty lips looking at you and telepathically asking, “Why can’t you be like me?” Of course, we’re seeing in…

My hometown of Chino Valley has seen a lot of growth over the years. Going from about 1,000 people in the 1980s to more than 8,000 when I worked for the Chino Valley Review in 2000 to more than 12,000 people today, it is no longer a small farming community. In that time, we’ve had…