Interview with First Salmon in Klamath River Spawn

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Anadromous fish fights her way upstream Hi, my name is Sharon, and I am interviewing the first salmon ready to spawn upstream of the Klamath Dam removal. And who are you? Hi, my name is Celine Salmon. I’m an anadromous … Read More

What Happened to the Public Intellectual?

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Ta-Nahesi Coates may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I love the dialogue he provokes. Bill Safire hosted a wide variety of guests who had at it — Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, and Mary McCarty. I watched a clip … Read More

I Want to be a Cookie-Baking Grandma

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I need to buy an apron I baked cookies with my granddaughter on Friday. That is, I sliced a roll of cookie dough I bought from the grocery store onto a baking sheet. We put them in the oven and … Read More

Minnesota is Not a Gingham-Draped Caricature

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Nor is Tim Walz a “yah, you betcha” hotdisher I was born in Minnesota and it’s where I am from. I lived there longer than anywhere else, raised my children there, and had my career there, mostly. In my last … Read More

Quinault Rainforest & the Enchanted Valley

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The beautiful landscapes others seldom see Enchanted Valley is the place name of the valley in the Quinault Rainforest, part of the Olympic National Park. I took many smaller roads from the interstate and drove an hour without going through … Read More

Bernice Reagon, Civil Rights Voice, Paved the Way for Kamala Harris

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Bernice Johnson Reagon, Freedom Singer, founded Sweet Honey in the Rock Bernice Johnson Reagon went home, over the River Jordan, on Friday. With the presidential sweepstakes taking the news attention, it might be easy to overlook the great musician who … Read More

Caretaking My Fundamentalist Aunt

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When family needs and individual needs collide The hospital social worker called me and told me my aunt had checked herself out of the geriatric mental health unit, where she was for treatment of depression, against medical advice. I sighed … Read More

Surgery Time Out for the Future

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What are your outcomes: surgery, treatment, grieving? Surgery recommendations have been a part of my life for the past year. While I have felt halt and lame, my goal is to be hale and hearty and live fully, not merely … Read More

Don’t Give Free Rent to Someone You Need to Evict from Your Head

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Manage Your Influencers I spent too much time four years ago obsessing over the state of the world. We were in Covid times, and I had lost all sense of control. None of us were in control. I tried to … Read More

The Loneliness of Losing Shared History

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When my elderly aunt with no children died, we, the nephews and nieces close by, hosted her memorial service for her friends in the nursing home and the city. She had outlived many of her contemporaries, so it was a … Read More

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