Opinion

Where there’s Smoke… When I was growing up, smoking was as normal as breathing. We thought it meant we were mature and worldly and it was a given that we would all smoke someday.

Truth or tradition? In my area flea markets are more popular than the mall. On any given Saturday or Sunday cars and trucks will line the highways. They are full of people who are willing to walk down dimly lit paths where vendors sell everything from hamburgers to hardware. The prices at these places are…

Little Leaguers and Big-Time Lawyer Parents By BILL HOGLAND The Wall Street Journal had a story this week about a contentious situation that arose last year between parents of children who were on a Little League baseball team in Washington, D.C. and the coach of that team.

Don’t panic; regroup IV The Emperor, IX of Wands, V of Pentacles Merry meet, dear readers. Before you continue, take note: Tarot is for everyone, no matter your walk of life. While the cards have their own singular meanings, tarot is also largely intuitive and the meanings can change; no two tarot readers read the…

It’s the people I hadn’t been to Lake Weiss in nearly twenty years. My memories there were always fond experiences. And the lure was always big crappie. Jonathon and I decided to meet there and spend some time hanging out and hopefully bringing home large messes of fish and new memories. And while the messes…

A Stink Bug in the Mashed Potatoes By BILL HOGLAND Three nights ago, I was having dinner at home. Out of nowhere, a stink bug landed on my mashed potatoes from the chandelier overhead. I sat there a minute, watching his legs scrambling to get some traction, before I gingerly lifted him away from what…

Willing Spirit,Weak Flesh Springtime renders me temporarily insane. Year after year, I wake on a warm morning in March and imagine I’m young and energetic and full of tireless vigor. The beautiful weather puts impossible possibilities in my brain and sends me rushing into chaos.

Fishing is a great sport that millions of men and women participate in each year. Most of the country boasts of its places to fish and each area has its specialty. For instance, my area is known for its lakes. Other areas are known for their rivers or streams, and some for their access to…

By Bill Hoagland Morel mushroom season is just about here. I wrote a column recently about a group of people in Montana who became sick after eating uncooked morel mushrooms in a restaurant. Five of those dinners were hospitalized and two eventually died from the toxic effects of uncooked morel mushrooms. These dinners ate what…

I brought flowers to Mom this week. Springtime stems of forsythia, dogwood and lilac. It’s too early for the real thing—but silk is fine. March was Mom’s favorite month, and on the first mild day of the month she would say the same thing: “It is going to be beautiful soon!” Her eyes would meet…