Like many children who grew itchy at time’s slow passage as Christmas neared, I liked our Advent calendar. In its presence, December’s dark days seemed a sort of tunneling toward magic, and as the calendar’s little windows opened, they lit the way. My semi-religious grandmother had given the calendar to her somewhat-wayward son’s family, and […]

I once knew a man who collected pigs. Not live ones but oh, how he loved them. His name was Mr. O. We kids used to sneak up to his home to spy on him. We’d cluster beneath his window to watch him seated in his big, pig-shaped leather armchair in his den, smoke curling […]

This country still struggles to achieve popular control of government. In Revolutionary terms, the king would give way to the Congress. Nice idea, but it’s not working. What’s even worse, people are growing used to an extremely powerful executive. The idea behind the Constitution was to prevent the chief executive from controlling everything and instead […]

During the past month, I attended memorial services on three straight Saturdays. This is my new reality at age 81 or, for you mathematicians out there, 34. Witnessing the realities around the world and in America concerns me much more than my own mortality. Blood spills not just in the streets of Ukraine and Russia […]

Tipping demands sure have gotten out of control. With every purchase you make — at coffee shops, fast food restaurants, chain stores and more — you are presented with a digital payment screen that asks you to leave a tip. On one hand you feel guilted into leaving a tip, because the person who just […]

There’s no question the Legislature will begin the 2024 session in a tough place. The majority in both chambers have longstanding disagreements with their fellow Democrat, Gov. Janet Mills, over a number of issues, including firearms safety. The Lewiston massacre on Oct. 25 demands a state response, but what that response should be is uncertain, […]