Columns

On May 25, George Floyd was murdered by his ex-coworker, police officer Derek Chauvin, while three other officers stood by and watched. The resulting protests across the country have been met with extreme violence from police and white supremacists alike. It shouldn’t be controversial or dangerous to claim that Black lives matter, but, somehow, it […]

DEAR HEART. TINY YOUNG.  She pastored the Pentecostal Holiness Church right here in Carbondale. It was a simple concrete block structure painted white with an A-frame roof. No elegance or grandeur; nothing formidable about it. Actually, it was a welcoming place with an old-fashioned black-letter sign simply announcing the “Pentecostal Holiness Church.” Made you wonder […]

Perhaps you’ve seen COVID-19 homeschooling memes.  My favorite: Homeschooling going well. Two students suspended for fighting. One teacher fired for drinking on the job. My San Francisco friend Caroline Nassif, who teaches at the college level, says homeschooling is “ridiculously difficult.” One of her friends complained of “hitting the wall”, her patience exhausted. Another replied, […]

With the Michigan Militia bringing guns to a drone war, wild-eyed and bed-headed drivers yelling at Denver nurses in the crosswalk, and every liquor store full of masked patrons, it seems as though the US has totally lost the plot.  This pandemic really brings out the crazy in our eyes. Those who believe we flattened […]

He took his own life in the year 2000. I knew him for 40 years. We were climbing buddies and best friends in the ‘60s, but our bond of respect extended over a lifetime. He wasn’t that easy to know: contrarian by nature, and belligerent. He bucked the tide for the sheer pleasure of it. Sometimes he angered […]

Barefoot, I step quietly through waves and drifts of green. I can hear heavy birds scratching in the underbrush. With one wary eye at a time, they peer about, swiping their beaks back and forth through the decomposing duff. Concealed within a filagree of aspen leaves, I finally spot them. Angry chatters fill the air […]

Despite a childhood marred by divorce, frequent moves and a parent’s attempted suicide, I have never gone hungry. And until Mary Kenyon mentioned it in a March meeting, I had never heard the term “food insecurity”. According to the Colorado Health Institute, half a million Coloradoans experience “food insecurity.” That means that they “lack consistent […]

Turns out I am an introvert.  I like staying home, and there’s nothing like a little self-quarantine to get that spring cleaning started. I’ve been busy: clearing out drawers and closets, sorting through old photographs and papers, binge watching classics like Knight Rider. Best of all, I’ve worn nothing but loungewear for weeks! When this […]

Last week, our paper was practically out of date by the time it hit stands. Next week, we may not put out a print edition at all.  At this awkward moment in the middle, we’ve made some unusual choices that probably warrant explanation.  We have opted not to include a calendar. There may be a […]

“Oh, a storm is threat’ning my very life today If I don’t get some shelter oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away…” I’m quarantined, listening to a 2011 recording of Gimme Shelter produced by Playing for Change, which seeks to “connect the world through music.” It’s a sublime recording, uniting musicians in places like Jamaica, Senegal, […]