The Fly

More often than not, submitting to any kind of surgery is a scary event, conjuring up limiting life functions and a lengthy recovery time. But that’s not always the case. Last week I took a friend to the VA Hospital in Portland for cataract surgery. A short while...

Ruby Slippers

My horrific episode with prednisone last December didn’t resolve the problem with my hip bursitis, so I decided to get one of those gel-foam mattress pads to see if that would help alleviate the night pain. Naturally, since my current mattress is a California King, I...

Fake nuts for eight bucks

It started with a sound I thought might be a tree branch dragging under my right front tire—a scraping, gritty, almost grinding noise. I heard it first as I was leaving my driveway. I heard it again when I slowed to turn off the main road. I heard it a third time when...

Mariner Inmates

Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe our overpaid professional sports figures should be above reproach. They need to be a sampling of the best there is, on the field, and in the community. Our youth look up to these guys, and even if they aren’t winning, at the...