Snakes have a bad reputation. Starting with the Garden of Eden, they’ve been universally scorned and feared, but they are, nevertheless, fascinating. We can swim, walk, run, jump. But we can’t glide along on our bellies, nor can we move with complete silence. We have nothing in common with these cold-blooded creatures. It’s not easy […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
My Library Intern
When I first began working at the library, I didn’t think I needed help at the front desk. I was wrong. I met Natalie, who is now seven, a couple of years ago when I was working with her mother, Jennifer, at the Gathering Grounds. Natalie was always very sweet and talkative; I didn’t mind […]
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In the Good Old Summer Time
Well, it looks like summer time is upon us here in old Patagonia. I’ve always felt like summer belongs to the locals. The rain, thunder, and lightning are our reward for a year of hard work. We earn the smell of wet dirt and green grass. The summer brings the nightly concerts of crickets and bull frogs and the promise of those cool summer nights.
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On Editing
Sometimes at PRT, we hear that a writer—who may have spent a good deal of time preparing an article for this newspaper—is irritated by the editing that’s been done to his or her writing. We can all appreciate proofing for grammar errors and typos. But what about when someone changes our carefully chosen wording? Maybe […]
Posted inOpinion
The Day the Water Died
My perspective on life changed when our well went dry. I’d never taken water for granted, but now it was an expensive commodity that affected my life day in and day out.
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Life Among the Humans: And Let’s Not Even Mention Mom
After an art opening in Tucson, a bunch of us went out to eat. Sitting right across from me was someone I didn’t know, a pleasant-seeming woman, in her forties, I’d surmise, whose salient trait, for the moment at least, was a rather extraordinary display of cleavage. Her bosom was fairly erupting out of a […]
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From Our Readers
Extreme Views [Regarding the interview with Dinesh D’Souza (May 2014)]: In your interview (last paragraph) you state that Mr. D’Souza has “rather extreme views.” I’m not aware of his extreme views and would greatly appreciate it if you enlighten as to what they are. I thank you in advance for your kind consideration of this […]
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What a Great Town!
A couple of weeks ago, we were having dinner with some folks from out of town at the Velvet Elvis. It was a busy Thursday night, and a lot of people were in the restaurant sampling Cecilia’s fine cooking. Right after ordering our meal, one of our dinner partners headed outside, returned, and then keeled […]
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How to Win an All-Expenses Paid Vacation to Siberia (In the Dead of Winter)
From Stories for My Daughter I was in the Peace Corps in the late 1960s, stationed in a little fishing village near Singapore, a big duty-free port. Soviet ships stopped there, and the rubles their sailors left in the economy could be bought for about three cents, while on the world market they were worth […]
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Coming Together as a Community Through Discussion
It is critical that we as individuals, our governing bodies, and our community organizations mindfully support existing businesses and invite new business activity that will create a stable and sustainable economy and provide livelihood to all who are willing to work. Let’s first consider some historical and economic information. The longest lasting local economic activity […]