His image was grainy and odd when I saw it on the television in 1966. I was 11 and had seen images of war on the evening news for years. It would be a long time until I understood his profound courage, courage he knew…
The mudslide story plays constantly on the Seattle news stations: the faces of waiting loved ones reveal exhaustion and grief. The workers who dig and pole and sift through the muck appear as subject to slipping away as the victims of one week ago. The…
A woman can see and function again. She has reclaimed her life thanks to a printer. Really, a printer. A 22-year-old woman whose skull was thickening, suffered from headaches, lost her vision and her sense of coordination from the thickening skull. In a 23-hour surgery…
Kay Ryan writes a lovely poem that easily fills the grief spaces in our hearts as searchers continue to slog through the sludge, debris and pain caused by Saturday's mudslide. Somehow humans persevere, but each step demands intent and hopeful purpose. A poem: Things Shouldn’t…
The mudslide scene in Oso, Washington reminds us of the eruption of Mt. St. Helen in 1980: the debris and mud and unknown. Where are the lost? We seem to hold vigils almost daily during these days of catastrophes, made by nature or ourselves. We…
Planes, helicopters and walls of mud – all falling away from life. The last two weeks have been difficult. Saturday a hillside became a mudslide and washed away homes, and with them, security. Three people are confirmed dead. An infant clings to life at Harborview.…
So dad can’t “explain” how he forgot his infant daughter in his car in the parking garage; he just “forgot” to drop her off at day care and left her in the car – all day? Hmm. I understand forgetting a half gallon of milk…
Take time to travel with one woman as she seeks and finds her way to a health care plan. Enjoy the comic depiction of her journey. One needs patience and curiosity to arrive at the goal– and more than a bit of understanding to navigate…
When my car was rear ended 18 months ago, and totaled, I had to shop for a new vehicle. No small task when I am married to the king of research. And I mean research –every detail. My stance was simple: no Toyota. The scary…
Seattle’s KOMO 4 team works diligently to report the events of our communities; and they do it with great grace and professionalism – even when they are the story. Dan Lewis was at Sea-Tac when he learned of a KOMO helicopter crashing. Lewis was on…
Good news: colon cancer has dropped substantially in the last 10 years. People are getting screened and paying attention to choices that make a difference, such as less eating less red or processed meat. The biggest decline was among those 65 and older, perhaps because…
So, seems my cousin is turning her cartwheels into comedic business sense. Sherrie Martin was never known as the family comic, but as the beautiful girl with ambition and a takes-no-prisoners way with the world. We haven’t seen each other in years, except I do…
Glenn McDuffie has died. The 86-year-old man passed away in Houston. Remember him? You know his kiss. In 1945, the 18-year-old sailor was changing trains in New York when he learned Japan had surrendered. World War II had ended. He felt ecstatic and saw a…
I do not bake pies; the first year I was married, my sister-in-law baked Thanksgiving pies at my house and told the family we made them “together.” Now, I make pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving all by myself. But the pi we celebrate today – I…
The angelic faces of Syria’s children stare back from the television, the computer, the newspaper. They stare with deep sadness in their eyes. These beautiful, innocent children living in refugee camps throughout Lebanon. And like all children, they dream. The Beyond Association, a UNICEF partner,…
This week celebrates the first National Catholic Sisters Week, initiated by St. Catherine University in St. Paul. And it’s about time. If we can designate weeks intended to raise awareness about almost everything, we can take time to focus on remarkable women whose religious communities…
Alzheimer’s disease claims nearly 500,000 American lives each year. And now new research has discovered the “predictors” of Alzheimer’s disease could rest within one’s specific lipids – detected through a blood test. The test could identify who is most likely (research states 90 percent accuracy)…
Pulitzer-prize winner Ron Suskind has two children and one of them, Owen, has autism. The writer tells the story of his family’s remarkable journey with Owen in his book “Life, Animated” to be released in a few weeks. Autism offers complex challenges to families and…
Joshua France, a 16-year-old high school student, wheels around on stage as Humpty Dumpty in the Puyallup school’s musical “Shrek.” Joshua lives with neuromuscular disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and was diagnosed when he was four. He also lives with his great singing voice and…
Sometimes one needs a poem. Here is one from Mary Oliver titled "Logos." Seems liturgically appropriate given Lent is here. Why worry about the loaves and fishes? If you say the right words, the wine expands. If you say them with love and the felt…
Lent: the next 40 days when Christians prepare for Easter. Some believers forego chocolate or television or social media as a Lenten observance, but… “The evil of the day is sufficient thereof,” said my theology professor – and Matthew in his gospel, read last Sunday.…
When the AIDS crisis was in its early stages in the 1980s, an editor said to me, “Before it’s over, we all will know someone impacted by this disease.” And seems we do. But a new drug tested as a vaccine against HIV shows big…
The role of chaplain can easily be misunderstood as one who offers prayers and theological discourse only at a local church, synagogue or mosque. Not so. Next time you pass through an airport, you may find the non-anxious presence of a chaplain who tends to…
My son turns 20 today. He did not ask permission – he just marched right out of his teen years and into his new decade. I am neither sad nor happy, just a bit bewildered. When I look at him I see not one age,…
No, not a misuse of the word. “Nones” are the people who self-identify as religiously unaffiliated. And, yes, it is a rather quaint collision of these two homophones. But this group is gaining ground politically. Washington state once identified as the least religious state in…
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.
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