With 10,000 baby boomers retiring each day, the question emerges: “What are all those people doing now?” Many boomers are selling their homes, shedding possessions and hitting the road – or check-in gate. Last year 360,000 Americans received their Social Security benefits at foreign addresses.…
When the first day of school started each September my mom put out the American flag. She was delighted, okay, ecstatic, watching her four daughters return to class; she welcomed routine. But no one ever wondered about the family dog’s response. Seems our canine creatures…
Last night Diane Sawyer, anchor for ABC World News, ended her five-year stint. She says she looks forward to the future of possibilities. Sawyer, 68, is not retiring; instead she is moving her office down the hall and upstairs where she will work on investigative…
With a police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, the last few weeks have brought great conversation, protests and violence. The attention on police shootings has been from the perspective of citizens, not police officials. Writer Sean Robinson of the Tacoma News Tribune examines the history of…
The doctor winced as she looked at me and said, “You don’t have many wrinkles.” “And that is bad?” I asked. “Well, not bad, but wrinkles make it easier to hide the incision.” It started as a little red dot on my face that would…
The last few weeks have plagued us with thin lines: the line for Robin Williams between hope and despair. He fell across that line into despair and left us. We don’t know yet what lines were crossed in Ferguson, Missouri, where a police officer shot…
When Sandra Lantz was four months away from her 1963 high school graduation, she was also six-months pregnant. The Bothell High School principal and vice principal quietly took her aside and told her she must leave school – and not graduate. That day she left…
Anne Lamott writes about faith, recovery from addiction, and the profound presence of God in the ordinariness of life. She is not pious or pretentious – she has lived through too much pain and suffering for that nonsense. Robin Williams was her neighbor when she…
With Robin Williams’ death this week, Americans – for the moment anyway – seek a greater understanding of mental health and the need for appropriate care for that patient population. On August 27 Washington state hospitals will no longer serve as boarding facilities for people…
My son was reading a book a few years ago and paused to ask me, “Mom, what does a typewriter look like?” I went to the storage area above the garage and hauled out my extremely heavy electric typewriter. I could never let it go.…
He was outrageously hilarious – and quietly kind. Robin Williams, 63, was found dead on Monday around noon at his Marin County home, north of San Francisco. The cause of death is apparently suicide. He won an Oscar for “Good Will Hunting;” he played a…
The second night of magnificent moonshine appeared last night. In case you missed the sky – take a look! (S-R photo: The July 12, 2014, full moon over Spokane was a "super moon.")
When a disaster or disease outbreak occurs on the other side of the world, we often give the event a passing nod and perhaps a sigh of sadness. But when the event influences our own lives – we take notice. America is finally taking notice…
The film “The Killing Fields” tells the story of the Khmer Rouge and the murdering of Cambodian citizens. More than 1.7 million people died between 1975 and 1979. After decades of delayed justice, a verdict of guilty has been rendered against two of the most…
“What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;” So says Shakespeare. But what significance is in our name and how does our name influence how we are perceived? Last week we were traveling and I…
I met with my favorite 20-something young woman the other day. I was eager to hear details – two months ago I received a text from her reading, “I met someone.” Every woman knows exactly what those words mean – a someone worth considering, a…
The spirit – and commitment - of volunteering continues to increase among our nation’s young adults. What happens when a young person commits to years of service in a foreign culture? In their own words… How has your life benefited from volunteer service - anywhere?…
I love the phrase “Dog Days of summer,” often interpreted as the days when it is so hot, the dogs just laze around. But the real answer is in the sky. When the brightest star Sirius appeared in the constellation Canis Major (large dog), summer…
Spokesman-Review features writer Rebecca Nappi, along with writer Catherine Johnston of Olympia, Wash., discuss here issues facing aging boomers, seniors and those experiencing serious illness, dying, death and other forms of loss.
| Aug. 2014 | ||||
| 31 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 23 |
| 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 |
| 11 | 10 | 08 | 06 | 05 |
| 03 | 02 | 01 |
